The intown Atlanta condo market is rebounding due to steady sales and limited new construction.
“We’ve hit the bottom, and now the recovery is happening,” said Anne Schwall, vice president of the luxury condominium division of Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty.
The intown Atlanta condo market is rebounding due to steady sales and limited new construction.
“We’ve hit the bottom, and now the recovery is happening,” said Anne Schwall, vice president of the luxury condominium division of Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty.
Intown developers are building apartments, not condos. That’s left the supply of new condos at its lowest in 10 years, Schwall said.
“A slowdown in construction activity, coupled with widespread price discounting, allowed the market to absorb unsold inventory,” says a recent report on the intown Atlanta condo market from Haddow & Co., an Atlanta real estate consultant firm. “The next step in the healing process is a rebound in values.”
As of mid-year, there were 1,520 unsold units in 73 active projects, according to Haddow. A project is considered active if it has never sold all of its units.
That represents a significant decrease from last year. At mid-year 2011, there were 2,369 unsold units in 93 projects.
Before the market crashed, in mid-year 2007, there were 7,417 unsold units in 137 projects.
Collin Ellingson, senior vice president of sales at Coldwell Banker NRT Development Advisors, said the intown Atlanta condo market could soon return to a seller’s market.
“Condo inventory is down almost 40 percent since mid-2011,” Ellingson said. “Average days on the market has decreased compared to last year, especially in the last 60 days.”
The three top-selling projects in the first half of 2012 are high-rise buildings along the Peachtree corridor.
The condo development 1010 Midtown is leading the pack. The 425-unit project sold 63 units in the first half of the year, with sales averaging $313,177 per unit, according to Haddow. That’s an estimated $273 per square foot.
“We are one of the last men standing in the best location,” said Jason Winburn, vice president of sales and marketing for Daniel Corp., which developed 1010 Midtown with Selig Enterprises Inc.
Winburn estimates that 1010 Midtown will sell 100 units this year. It could sell out next summer.
“The success story at 1010 has been the velocity and the demand for high-quality product in a fantastic location that truly offers a walkable lifestyle,” Ellingson said. “That package has resonated with the consumer.”
Coldwell Banker markets the condo.
Other top-selling projects include: The Brookwood, which has sold 59 units in the first half of 2012 at an average price of $400,335, and The Ritz-Carlton Residences at Buckhead, which has sold 40 units in the first half of 2012 at an average price of $807,452.
The greatest recovery has been with condos priced between $250,000 and $500,000, Schwall said.
She said favorable interest rates and an overall feeling of stability are helping boost sales.
“Hopefully, if these trends continue, 2013 should be a year where we begin to return to some normalcy,” Ellingson said.