MarketNsight recently hosted its biannual MarketWatch Atlanta event releasing data on the state of the Atlanta new home industry to a crowd of more than 400 home builders, developers, bankers, Realtors and others in the industry. MarketNsight and ViaSearch President John Hunt gave an overview of the Atlanta housing market and shared predictions for the remainder of the year.
Hunt highlighted that Atlanta new home sales are up 12% May 2019 over last May.
“In fact, in the first half of May 2019, Atlanta home builders had already sold as many new homes as all of last May,” Hunt said.
Although Atlanta metro is experiencing bigger job growth, 50% fewer new homes are selling than the old normal.
“You have heard this before; we are missing all of the first-time buyers. They are buying resale or just not buying yet,” Hunt said. “We have to get them to a price they can afford. They have shown us what they will pay monthly in rent. We need to build something they can buy for the equivalent price.”
To reach first-time buyers, builders must build smaller and closer into the cities where millennials want to be. Home buyers will still drive until they can buy, especially for schools, Hunt said.
Suburban new home sales remain steady, especially in certain popular high school districts. West Forsyth, North Forsyth, North Paulding, East Coweta, Cherokee, Creekside – South Fulton, Forsyth Central, Sequoyah – Cherokee, Dacula – Gwinnett, Arche – Gwinnet, Apalachee – Barrow, Westlake – South Fulton, Lovejoy – Clayton, Jackson County and East Paulding high schools claim the top spots.
