Very good snap shot of  National market including Atlanta Stats

Low Supply and High Demand are Largely Responsible, but Technology is also Creating a “New Normal” for the Expected Pace of Home Buying and Selling

Ask a friend who’s trying to buy a home what the real estate market is like, and she will surely describe it as “fast” or a synonym thereof. And your friend is right! To address this new reality, Redfin has developed a new monthly report focused solely on the speed of home sales.

In April, the percentage of homes that went under contract within two weeks increased by 39 percent since the same time last year and by 3 percent from March. Homes going under contract in one week increased 54 percent from last year and by 2 percent since March. Both measures set a new record since at least January 2011, when Redfin began tracking this data.

Several factors are contributing to the market’s need for speed these days. Demand is high and supply is low, which forces people to make decisions very quickly. Also, new technology is compressing the timeline from listing to tour and offer. Today, people can find out within minutes when a new listing has hit the market and to schedule an in-person home tour with real estate agent, all from a smartphone. While market conditions like supply and demand will fluctuate over time, changes brought about by technology are most likely creating a “new normal” for the overall pace of home buying and selling.

“I’ve been seeing more homebuyers writing pre-emptive offers in an effort to get under contract before a bidding war erupts,” said Mia Simon, a Redfin agent in Silicon Valley. “Typically, these pre-emptive offers are well above asking price, non-contingent, and from homebuyers who have already lost out in several bidding wars.”

The Redfin Fastest Real Estate Markets Report ranks 22 markets across the country measured by the percentage of homes that went under contract within two weeks of their debut in April 2013. The metrics include single-family homes, condos, and townhouses.

Other key findings:

• The fastest-moving      market in April was San      Jose (Silicon Valley), California,      where nearly two-thirds of new listings were under contract within two      weeks, and there was less than one month of supply.
• The slowest-moving      markets were Triangle,      NC (Raleigh-Durham) and Philadelphia,      each of which saw 10% of homes under contract within two weeks.
• Denver is the only      market among the five fastest that is not in California.
• Atlanta and Philadelphia      are the only metro areas considered buyer’s markets, with 6.9 and 8 months      of supply respectively.
• Miami has shown the      most dramatic acceleration over the last year, with a 149% increase in the      percentage of homes going under contract in two weeks, followed by Atlanta at 123%.
• Miami also led the      nation with the largest (45%) month-over-month increase in the rate of      homes going under contract in 14 days, followed by Denver at 15%.
• The Chicago and Phoenix markets slowed      down in the last year, with 22% and 16% drops in their respective rates of      homes going under contract within two weeks.
• In the last month,      four markets decelerated, seeing a month-over-month decline in the      percentage of homes that went under contract in 14 days. They were Chicago (-23%), Las Vegas (-3%), Phoenix (-2%), and Dallas (-1%).

Below is a ranking of 22 real estate markets by speed, measured by the percentage of homes that went under contract within two weeks of their debut in April 2013.

Table 1: Speed by Market, April 2013

Accelerations from December to March

Last year, the market sped up dramatically between December and March, with the percentage of homes going under contract within two weeks increasing from 14 to 22 percent. Starting in April, the speed plateaued at about 23 percent for the rest of the year. This year, the same pattern is repeating, with the two-week rate shooting up from 22 percent in December 2012 to 31 percent in March, and then steadying at 33 percent in April.

Months of Supply Inched Up from March to April

Thanks to the uptick in inventory we covered in this month’s Real-Time Price Tracker, months of supply eased somewhat, increasing from 3.2 in March to 3.5 in April. Still firmly in seller’s market territory, but a move toward a more balanced market gives some hope for buyers.
Here’s a more detailed look at four key speed metrics over the last couple of years.

Table 2: National Market Speed 2011 to 2013

by Rachel Musiker | Redfin