Report: Intown condo and townhome prices are rising, yet so is inventory

From pint-sized studios to single-family manors, Atlanta’s real estate market is volatile right now, with drastic differences from one neighborhood to the next, according to a closely watched study.

Closing out the year from October 2017 through September 2018, Engel & Völkers Atlanta has released its Q3 market report, with some interesting findings regarding the city’s intown submarkets.

While the number of sales went down and inventory is increasing in most areas, prices are increasing as well in hotter neighborhoods.

For instance, in Buckhead, it appears the demand for high-rise condos is cooling off. According to the report, the number of new condo listings in the submarket increased about 20 percent YOY, and sales decreased 13.3 percent. The months of inventory also increased 22.1 percent.

On the other hand, while the number of Buckhead townhome listings decreased and the median days on market increased, the median sale price for townhomes increased a staggering 53 percent.

In downtown, a similar result was found regarding condos, with sales down about 29 percent YOY. Months of inventory had climbed by 21.7 percent, and the median sale price was up a more meager 3.6 percent.

It’s not condos in Midtown but townhomes that are a hot commodity, with the number of closings up nearly 42 percent YOY and the number of new listings up 42 percent, per the report.

This is despite a drop in both price and inventory. The report’s findings state the median sales price is actually down 3.2 percent, while the months of inventory decreased about 21 percent from 4 months to 3.2 months.

Atlanta’s eastside—Kirkwood, Candler Park, East Lake—saw an explosion regarding both townhome and single-family home activity, although in vastly different ways.

According to the report, the number of active townhome listings increased a whopping 132 percent YOY, with the number of closings up almost 63 percent.

This could be due to a 22 percent drop in median sale price. Or the advent of several new townhome communities, such as Bixton and Edgehill at Historic Kirkwood.

As for the eastside’s single-family homes, the number of new listings dropped 12 percent, yet months of inventory shot up 33.4 percent. The median sale price also climbed 25.5 percent, per the study.

With the rise of renovations in Westside neighborhoods such as West End and Westview, it should surprise no one that the report found single-family detached homes are becoming pricier, with a median sale price increase of almost 104 percent YOY despite the number of closings decreasing by 26.6 percent.

Where Atlanta’s housing market will go in the next year remains to be seen, but it’ll be interesting to monitor how these particular submarkets change and evolve. Clearly, not much is static in intown real estate these days.

• “Market Intelligence: 2018 Q3 Atlanta, Georgia” [Engel & Völkers Atlanta]