Cobb Residential Market Update – May 2020

Realtors, homebuyers and sellers were all set to have a speculator Spring selling season. Crisp, cool spring mornings and just enough rain to kept everything green. Even the bad yards don’t look so bad this year! In an effort to beat this virus, many sellers and buyers have elected to stay on the sidelines until it feels safer. But, there are many out there who, out of necessity, are selling homes and purchasing homes now. Here is what’s happening in the market.

Average List to Original Sales price 97.5%

None of us know exactly how this will play out locally or nationally for the real estate market. We do see in East Cobb and most of Atlanta, that Sellers are holding pretty firm on sales price. The average Sales to Original List is holding steady at 97.5% for the metro Atlanta market. Some seller’s may be helping out with closing costs or other concessions. But, with so little inventory, Sellers are holding firm at this time and pricing properties at realistic values.

12 County Metro Atlanta Area residential single family Market Brief provided by First Multiple Listing Service FMLS

• Average Sales Price is up 3.8% from last year
• Atlanta area housing inventory decreased by 9.7% from March, 2019.
• New listings totaled 4,551, down 16.6% from March, 2019 and up 24.1% from the previous month
• The month’s supply over a 12-month period increased to 2.3 months.

We missed the Spring Buying Season…but expect a bounce back later in the year

“The housing market is temporarily grappling with the coronavirus-induced shutdown, which pulled down new listing and new contracts,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “As consumers become more accustomed to social distancing protocols, and with the economy slowly and safely reopening, listings and buying activity will resume, especially given the record low mortgage rates.”

Yun acknowledges the typical spring buying season will be missed this year due to the pandemic. Further, a “bounce back later in the year” will likely be insufficient to make up for the loss of sales in the second quarter, he adds. Home sales are projected to decline 14% for the year.

Lawrence Yun Nation Association of Realtors Chief Economist

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