Home & Real Estate Hot MARKET More affordable Intown

By Kathy Dean

Intown condominiums and townhomes continue to be a hot ticket for homebuyers. The current limited inventory and increase in prices, however, have slowed things down a bit. Still, a few projects are coming online that could help open things up again.

“The Midtown and Intown markets remain hot for new construction condominium and townhome sales,” said Anne Schwall, Vice President, Atlanta Fine Homes Developer Services Division. “While condo inventory remains extremely low with only a handful of new projects on the horizon, the demand for new condos is still strong.”

For the first quarter 2019, the absorption rate for pending new construction condo inventory has averaged over 20 percent for the quarter, she said. New inventory in the area includes J5 Condos, at Juniper and Fifth Streets in Midtown, and Airline Condominiums near Krog Street Market.

“Townhome builders and developers have not been hindered with the same financing constraints as condo projects and have been more successful in bringing new townhome inventory to the Intown markets,” Schwall explained. “While townhome inventory is more plentiful, absorption rate remains high. In the first quarter, the absorption rate for new townhome inventory averaged 18 percent.”

“Inventory levels of townhomes and condos are on the rise, especially in the higher priced home market — $600,000 and up,” said Christa Huffstickler, President & CEO, Engel & Völkers Atlanta. “Now that spring is upon us and the market is kicked

Condos And Townhomes Are In Demand

into high gear, it will be interesting to see if all of the newly constructed attached home product will become absorbed as quickly as the pent-up demand from the market is forecasted to do so.”

At the same time, condo inventory in Midtown increased 180 percent on a yearover-year basis from 1.1 months in March 2018 to 3.2 months in March 2019. She noted that while the market is still tight, “… it’s promising news for buyers who may have been waiting to make their move.” She added that, in Buckhead, the months of inventory increased 163.5 percent year over year from 1.6 months to 4.2 months.

“The demand is still up, but there’s still a real lack of options,” said Karen Rodriguez, Founder/Associate Broker Group Kora | Berkshire Hathaway. “There are many buyers who are still sitting on the sidelines.” She noted that while there’s been a correction in the market, “…2019 is not looking as bad as some were predicting in the fourth quarter of last year when things started to slow down.”

Lori Lane, Sr. Vice President & Managing Broker, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, New Homes Division, Luxury Collection Marketing and City Haus Developer Solutions, said that she also sees the demand remaining high for condos and townhomes, while the shortage of new inventory continues.

“There are a number of new construction condominiums under construction or in early development stages Intown,” Lane said. “Once these projects start delivering, we’ll see a number of existing condo owners choose to upgrade to a newer product. This could potentially free up some resale inventory for entry level millennial buyers.”

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