New housing data shows potential home buyers in Atlanta have fewer options to own a home

ATLANTA — It’s no secret that the housing market is tough for anyone looking to buy a home in Atlanta, but new data shows that those on the market have even fewer options than they might think.

“My family is in Hapeville. And we moved to be closer to them, said Andy and Alana Giron.

The Girons have just moved back to Atlanta from Texas with their six-month-old baby, Laty, but they said finding a home was difficult.

“It’s like legitimate 40 other people, looking at the same house,” they said. “In this market, you have to put a certain amount over, we were told, by our realtor, 5% is what you want to do.”

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The competition didn’t stop with just buyers. They were competing with investors as well.

Atlanta realtor Hubert Tate, with Keller Williams Buckhead, understands that frustration.

“For buyers, it’s a tough market. I’m not going to lie,” Tate said.

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Tate added that’s because right now, more people, especially young people, want to buy homes, but there aren’t enough houses on the market.

“In the late 2000s, ‘08 or ‘09, when the housing market went bust, a lot of those new construction builders, went out of business and they didn’t come back. We didn’t see an uptick in the new construction market until about ‘16 or ‘17,” he said.

Tate said new construction is underway, but it’ll take another decade to catch up.

The Atlanta Realtors Association says that prices for homes have recently skyrocketed between February 2021 and February 2022.

In 2021, according to the Atlanta Realtors Association, the average sales price for a home was $378,000. Now, that price is $445,000, which is a 17.7% increase, and the number of homes on the market in the metro during that same period dropped to 15.2%.

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Meanwhile, the Girons urged homebuyers not to be discouraged.

“Don’t give up. Find a realtor who is going to work with you, and not let you give up.”

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