Forbes Magazine made some good predictions for Atlanta homebuilders and residents last week. While other cities, like Las Vegas and Phoenix are expected to see home prices decrease by up to 50%, Atlanta is predicted to see significant increases as early as 2009. (This reiterates that NOW is the time to buy Atlanta Real Estate. Discounts on current new home inventory are available now. They won’t last forever!)
Although Forbes mentions the number of Atlanta foreclosures in early 2008, our continued steady job growth rate promises an end to our housing slump. In fact, next year home prices are expected to jump up by 32.5% for single family homes around the metro Atlanta area. Multi-family home prices are expected to rise by as much as 18.4% and job growth will remain around the steady 2% yearly increase that has kept Atlanta afloat and the envy of the nation. We are placed at number nine in the group of ten “lucky cities” that are predicted to experience long term recovery that will begin next year. Other cities where home prices are expected to rise include Oklahoma City, Minneapolis, Colorado Springs, Salt Lake City, Austin, Portland, San Antonio, Charlotte, and Albuquerque. So while times may seem tough now, if we can just hold out for a little while longer, things should be looking up for the economy and the Atlanta housing market once again.

Sales of existing homes shot upward in September, as buyers took advantage of price reductions, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

Sales of existing homes rose 5.5 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.18 million units, and up from 4.91 million units in August. September 2008 sales figures are 1.4 percent higher than the 5.11 million units sold in September 2007.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said more markets are seeing year-over-year gains. “The sales turnaround which began in California several months ago is broadening now to Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Rhode Island,” he said.

Also encouraging are the recent declines in inventory. Total housing inventory at the end of September fell 1.6 percent to 4.27 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 9.9-month supply at the current sales pace. This is a decrease from a 10.6-month supply in August, and marks two consecutive monthly declines since inventories peaked in July of 2008.