Atlanta's real estate market is shifting, slightly

With pending home sales down year over year, Atlanta's real estate market is showing early signs of slowing down. But home prices are still up 23% from May 2021.

Why it matters: We keep hearing about a market crash, but so far, local data doesn't support that claim.

Yes, but: Monthly data show early signs of a cooler market, even if it's slight.

What's happening: From May 2021 to May 2022, new listings were down 3.7% and pending sales were down 8%.

• More buyers are holding off as home ownership becomes too expensive.
• This comes after mortgage rates surpassed 5% for the first time in 10 years.

Zoom out: Nationally, mortgage applications were down 24%, and, on average, 6.5% of sellers dropped their asking price each week in June, per Redfin's latest market update.

• In June, national pending home sales were down 13% from this time last year, the largest decline since May 2020, Redfin's report stated.

Be smart: Inventory is still critically low overall which continues to push home prices up.

What we're watching: New listings and pending sales. If more listings flood the market this summer and buyers don't bite, that’s when we would start to see more power shift into buyers' hands.