ATLANTA — As mortgage rates continue a slight downward trend compared to recent weeks, the availability and affordability of buying a home is a major factor in overall costs facing American families.
Channel 2 Action News reported recently that the latest Consumer Price Index from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that costs of housing were among the largest contributors to inflation, a role housing has played month after month.
In terms of affordability, new data from a leading real estate price tracker showed prices in Atlanta were up, and staying that way, with prices up more than 6%.
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The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indices is the leading report on real estate prices across the country, tracking changes in the housing market across the United States.
The newest report covers price changes from March 2023 to March 2024, showing Atlanta houses got 6.1% more expensive in the past year or so.
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Nationally, prices were also higher, though they rose slightly faster than prices in Atlanta.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index for the United States reported a 6.5% annual gain for March, but price averages in the largest cities were up even more, compared to the year before.
“The 10-City Composite saw an increase of 8.2%, up from an 8.1% increase in the previous month. The 20-City Composite posted a slight year-over-year increase to 7.4%, up from a 7.3% increase in the previous month,” the report said.
Brian D. Luke, head of Commodities, Real & Digital Assets at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said the latest report is another all-time high.
“We’ve witnessed records repeatedly break in both stock and housing markets over the past year. Our National Index has reached new highs in six of the last 12 months. During that time, we’ve seen record stock market performance, with the S&P 500 hitting fresh all-time highs for 35 trading days in the past year,” Luke said.
In terms of what prospective homebuyers have to look forward to as far as how hot the metro Atlanta area housing market is getting, Realter.com’s data says things are cooling down compared to recent months, but still hotter than last year.
“Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA is ranked #176 out of 300 metros in the country in the month of March. This is a ‘Warm’ market that is ‘Cooling Down’ compared to last month, and ‘Heating Up’ compared to last year. Median days on market is 41 days, with inventory moving 11% ‘Faster’ than last year and 9 days ‘Faster’ than the US overall. Properties in the area receive an average number of views 0.7 times ‘Lower’ than the US average,” the company reported.
According to real estate company Zillow’s Home Value Index, the most recent prices in Atlanta are averaging $386,193, up by 1% in the past month.
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