Atlanta's median Days-On-Market (DOM) decreased slightly (-1%) in the fourth quarter 2009, compared to the same period of the previous year, remaining +10.3% higher than in 4Q 2007 and +16.4% higher than 2008 for the full year in 2009.
Many properties still failed to sell during their initial listing period in 2009, causing total DOM to increase during the market downturn.
Even though the overall measure was slightly lower in the fourth quarter of 2009, changes by price range reveal that increases occurred in all ranges except for the <$200K range.
Increases in the higher price ranges were substantial compared to those in the fourth quarter of 2008, and lower prices continue to carry Atlanta's overall real estate demand.
The median of DOM segmented by Sales Price and New/Resale, shows increases in time on market for all but the resale segments below $300K.
The variation in increases between segments ranged from a low of -22% for Resale properties priced <$200K, to a high of +155% for New properties in the $200K-$299K price range.
The DOM measure for New Construction is subject to the point during construction at which a builder enters the listing and the listings are often longer than for resales.
Price, terms and time all have a delicate counterbalance. The significance for Atlanta sellers has been addressed here before - just because a property is on the market doesn't mean that it's "in" the market.
The significance for Atlanta's buyers is that they know the difference between stale and fresh, and when a sign lingers in the front yard a stigma develops. Today's buyers have so much inventory to choose from, that avoiding stigmatized property purchases is a pretty easy pursuit nowadays.
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