Georgia Housing Market 2023 Report
What’s the Georgia Housing Market Like?
The state of Georgia’s real estate market has been sizzling hot in 2022. Home prices are up throughout the state, demand continues to be high, with homes selling at a fast pace. The state is down to a 2 months supply of homes which is still considered a seller’s market.
The median price for homes in Georgia was $359,500 in Sept of 2022, up 13.3% from Sept 2021.
Much like the rest of the nation, Georgia's real estate market numbers reflect the impact of the pandemic and recent mortgage rate hikes. Sales volume has dropped a bit year over year. In Sept 2022, there were 11,577 homes and condos sold in the state of Georgia, a 22.3% decrease from Sept 2021, when there were 14,921 homes sold.
The number of sales over the last three years peaked at 16,815 in June 2021; compared to Sept 2022’s numbers, we are down 31.2% in the number of homes sold from the peak of the last three years. Relatively speaking, this is a significant drop in sales which is a reflection of the impact of the pandemic and rising interest rates.
Looking back at the median home price over the last three years, prices peaked in June 2022 at $377,700. It is clear that the recent steep rise in mortgage rates has curved sales activity and shrunk affordability, and the result has been a drop in home prices and sales.
How Does The Georgia Housing Market Compare to the National Housing Market?
The Georgia housing market is more favorable than the national market as a whole. First, the median price of homes in Georgia is $44,000 lower than the national average, which is an 11% difference in the median price.
Because of the moderate and affordable cost of buying a home, Georgia’s real estate appreciation has been nearly twice the rate of appreciation of the rest of the nation. Georgia’s home prices were up 13.3% vs. the US national average, up 7.5% from last year.
Another positive characteristic of real estate values is that over the past 5 years, homes have appreciated at an average of 13.6% yearly, which is a healthy appreciation rate. Whereas many areas of the country have seen huge peaks and valleys, the trend line in Georgia is steadily up.
Georgia Areas With the Hottest Housing Markets
The state of Georgia has a very attractive location in the Southeast part of the US. The state has a very mild climate, modestly priced homes, and reasonable tax rates. These characteristics have attracted many fortune 500 companies as well as institutional real estate investors to the state. These favorable factors have caused some areas of Georgia to appreciate at a fast rate; here are the top 5 hottest real estate markets in the state of Georgia:
- Hinesville
- Skidaway Island
- Hoschton
- Chamblee
- Jackson
Hinesville
Hinesville is a town of approximately 33,000 residents in Liberty County. The town has a suburban feel to it and is ranked as a fast-growing area with a growth rate of 1.6%.
The real estate market in Hinesville is a competitive area in terms of demand. The median home price in Hinesville in Sept 2022 was $255,000, which was up a whopping 49.7% from Sept 2021.
In Sept of 2022, there were 60 homes sold in Hinesville, a 46.3 % increase in sales from the same period in 2021. Looking back at the last 3 years, sales peaked in Aug 2022 at 73 sales.
The median days on the market is 25, which indicates a seller's market. Compared to Sept 2021, the median days on the market have gone down by 19.3%.
Unlike many areas of the state and the nation where we see median prices dropping as well as significant decreases in the number of sales, Hinesville’s metrics are looking great.
Skidaway Island
Skidaway Island is an affluent island community off the coast of Georgia. The island has some of the most unique and beautiful properties on the east coast of the US.
The real estate market in Skidway Island is currently a mildly competitive market. The median home price in Skidaway Island for Sept 2022 was $849,00, a healthy increase of 39.8% from Sept 2021.
In Sept 2022, 23 homes were sold, slightly lower than Sept of 22 by 4.2%. Looking back over the past three years, the peak of the number of homes sold was in Oct 2020 at 53 homes sold.
The median days on the market is 31, and it’s up 116% compared to last year. Areas with a small number of sales tend to fluctuate considerably, and it is not necessarily a trend. Worthy of notice is the fact that in Aug 2020, the median days on the market was 146 days which is 370% higher than Sept 2022.
Hoschton
Hoschton is a very small town of about 3,500 residents located in Jackson County on the north side of the state of Georgia. It is a fast-growing community with an abundance of open spaces and unspoiled views of the state’s Piedmont Region.
Hoschton is currently a very competitive Real Estate market. The median price of a home in Sept 2022 was $499,000, up 37% from Sept of 2021.
In Sept 2022, 39 homes were sold, which is down 42.6% from Sept of 2021. Looking back three years, the peak in the number of sales was Dec 2020, with 75 home sales for the month.
Median days on the market in Sept 2022 were 30, which is up 42.6% from Sept 2021. Due to the small size of the market, there are significant fluctuations in the number of sales and days on the market from month to month.
Chamblee
Chamblee is a town of approximately 34,000 people with very diverse ethnic backgounds. Chamblee is just 20 minutes from downtown Atlanta, a big plus for those who want to live in a smaller town and yet be close to the big city.
Chamblee is currently a mildly competitive Real Estate market. The median price of a home in Sept 2022 was $575,000, up 44.8% from Sept 2021. The peak of the housing prices in the last three years happens to be Sept 2022, which is a positive factor showing that the area has not been overvalued.
There were 18 homes sold in Sept 2022, a 60% drop from Sept 2021. The peak in the number of sales was in March 2021, when 57 homes were sold for the month.
Median days on the market in Sept 2022 was 29 days, a 7.4 % increase from Sept 2022. Sales are not slowing down, and demand keeps growing in Chamblee.
Jackson
Jackson is a progressive and diverse small town of approximately 5,600 residents. It is the county seat of historic Butts County, located about 35 miles north of Atlanta.
The real estate market in Jackson is currently a moderately competitive market. The median price of a home in Sept 2022 was $292,658, up 32.4% from Sept 2021. Sept 2022’s median price also happens to be the peak of the market over the last three years.
38 homes sold in Sept 2022, up 35.7% from Sept 2021. Looking back over the past 3 years, sales peaked at 42 in April 2021.
The median days on the market have increased from 5 days in Sept 2021 to27 days in Sept 2022, a 440% slight increase that, again, considering the size of the market area and the relatively low number of sales, is not indicative of a bigger trend.
Higher Mortgage Rates Could Slow Price Growth in Georgia
How will interest rates affect the housing Georgia housing market? The state of Georgia’s affordable median home price is an advantage to weather the rate storm. If we look at the last 10 years, we can see that Georgia has a very steady market. Even the recent mortgage rate spike so far has had a mild impact on home prices.
While there are areas of Georgia that have had significant increases in home prices year over year in 2022, overall, the state median home price has increased at a slow and upward direction.
As of early November 2022, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage is above 7% on average. The Feds just announced yet another .75% increase to the Federal Funds rate, which means a higher cost of borrowing in many areas. Although not necessarily tied to mortgage rates, an increase in rates in business loans, credit cards, etc. puts additional pressure on budgets, ultimately impacting how much house someone can afford.
Future speculation on home prices is a bit risky, but if things keep going the way they have gone so far, Georgia will probably not have a dramatic home price correction unless mortgage rates go significantly higher.
Key Market Stats for the Georgia Housing Market:
As of the latest compiled housing report with data through Sept 2022.
- Median price: $359,500 - up 13.3% from 2021
- Existing home sales: 11,577 - down 22.3% from 2021
- Median days on the market: 29, up 52% from 2021
- Months supply of inventory: 2 up 100% 2021
Georgia Historic price changes & affordability
The Georgia housing market has seen moderate appreciation for years. Over the last 3 years, homeowners saw their homes appreciate by 48.2% in 36 months which is a significant rate of appreciation.
The steep rise in mortgage rates has shrunk affordability across the nation. Fortunately, the Georgia median home price is still below the national average, which will help soften a correction in prices.
Key Takeaways
- The housing market is clearly shifting nationwide. Georgia has not seen break-neck appreciation; therefore, it is likely that prices will hold relatively steady with only modest declines.
- The relative affordability, good location, and weather, plus a favorable business environment, continue to attract people and businesses to the area. The diversity of the market will help Georgia fare well if there is a prolonged national correction.
- Real Estate markets are highly local, and even within the same state, there will be areas that are projected to be hit hard by the market shift, and others will fare better.
- Timing the market for buying or selling is a big gamble. If it makes sense for you to buy, go ahead and buy a home. For sellers, if you have to sell in the next 12-24 months, you may want to consider doing it sooner than later, especially if you are in an area that may be considered overvalued and has a high potential for house prices to drop.