Home Prices Continue To Appreciate
According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Price Index, housing prices increased 3.5% in June 2020 over June of last year. This does not come as a surprise since after the country began to reopen, the pent up demand along with record low inventory levels, created bidding wars and houses were flying off the shelves. Of course since real estate prices are highly impacted by local factors many cities saw increases much higher than 3.5%.
Since June the market has gained even more steam. According to the article on Realtor.com, “Median home list prices rose 10.1% year-over-year for the week ending Aug. 15, marking the fastest growth in listing prices since January 2018.” The local Atlanta real estate market has been no exception with houses in many price ranges going under contract within days and at full asking price. Inventory levels are dropping even lower (currently 2.6 months) and with record low interest rates, demand is even stronger than the pre-pandemic days. Keep in mind that this is all happening with a weak economy and many uncertain about their jobs. As the economy continues to improve and people regain confidence, demand should increase even more, pushing prices even higher.
Read full Realtor.com article here.