HomeFinder.com Real Estate News

Home prices in Atlanta continued to get more affordable during the first quarter, as the local housing market maintained a high level of distressed property saturation.

According to a recent report from Clear Capital, home prices in the area fell 2.9 percent in the first quarter from the previous three-month period. On an annual basis, the report noted than prices in the local marketplace had plummeted 17.7 percent.

This is a result of a high-level of real estate-owned property saturation, the report said. These distressed properties often add downward pressure to overall home prices, and this is no different for the Atlanta market where the saturation rate was recorded at 46.6 percent at the end of March. 

While this can be viewed as a negative for current homeowners, there are numerous bargains to be found on these properties. At the peak of the housing market, many entry-level buyers may have found themselves priced out of purchasing a house, but as prices continue to get more affordable, it has become less of a financial undertaking to invest in a home for sale in Atlanta.

A high unemployment rate and a rampant number of foreclosures crippled the Atlanta housing market in the wake of the recession. However, according to CNBC, the local marketplace may finally be coming back from the dead.

While property values and new-home construction rates are down all across the city, the news source noted that there have been signs of life in sales transactions.

Home prices in Atlanta fell roughly 12.8 percent by the end of 2011 on an annual basis, and are down nearly 30 percent from three years earlier. During this same period, national home prices fell just 10.2 percent.

Meanwhile, it was found that the number of new building permits declined 2 percent in December 2011 from a year earlier, as the unemployment rate hovers near 9.4 percent.

However, as a result of declining home prices of homes for sale in Atlanta, there were 2,680 transactions in February 2012, which is a 15 percent gain on a year-over-year basis. Should the sales rate continue to improve during the course of 2012, it could result in a significant increase in overall property values.

A prominent industry expert in the Atlanta housing market recently announced that a broad economic and housing market recovery could be on the city's horizon.

President of the Atlanta Board of Realtors Mitch Kaminer recently told the Buckhead Business Association that, while he is still optimistic, as home prices in the market start to reach their bottom, a rebound could soon follow.

"I do believe things look like they’re getting better," he said. "Until the bulk of the foreclosures are back on the market and sold our housing … foreclosures will continue to act as competition to regular sales."

Meanwhile, Kaminer noted that current homeowners in Atlanta who want to put their properties on the market, need to start pricing their homes responsibly. Since the city has a high presence of foreclosures, there is a significant amount of competition from the lower end of the marketplace adding downward pressure to overall home prices.

Should the local marketplace turn around, buying a home for sale in Atlanta while prices are affordable could prove to be a profitable investment for years to come.