The Seattle housing market showed a lot of resilience, especially in the context of the slowdown experienced in April and May. Even before the virus hit the region, it was quite evident that if the inventory crunches further, the affordability will become a bigger issue in the Seattle real estate market in 2020, especially with homes in the lower tier. That trend continued to follow even during the Covid-19 pandemic. July 2020 was the ninth straight month Seattle-area home prices have topped national averages (S&P CoreLogic).

According to the Realtor.com's Housing Market Recovery Index, the US housing market is sitting at a 110.6 of 100, while the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma metro area is sitting at 121.3 of 100, for the week ending September 26. The higher the index value, the higher the level of recovery. The Seattle metro area is down 9.4 points from the previous week.

In August, tight inventory and high demand pushed home prices to new highs. The region saw the second consecutive month of record-setting price growth with home prices experiencing double-digit increases as compared to a year ago. The median sales price in Seattle surged by 10.61% to reach $766,000 (source: NWLS). The Kind County also recorded a steep price rise of 10.57% year-over-year, and it is currently holding at $680,000. We also saw the lowest number of homes for sale in more than 20 years and the lowest mortgage rates on record.

Homebuyers are trying to take advantage of lower interest rates, and the local real estate agents are struggling to meet the demand. August was a great month for the Seattle housing market. The latest trends point towards stronger sales and a rise in prices for the next three months. According to local realtors, as buyers seek to cash in on record-low interest rates the market is predicted to remain this way until at least April of next year.

With pending sales outpacing new listings, inventory continues to shrink. Right now the latest news is that Seattle's housing market remains in a shortage with around one month of supply of properties on the market. There are far more buyers than there are available homes for sale. Despite an increase of 7.69% in active listings, the inventory equals 1.78 months of supply. The entire King County is a hot seller's real estate market with only 1.16 months of inventory — still well below what is required to meet the volume of buyers right now.

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This article has been updated to reflect recent changes in the Atlanta real estate market due to COVID-19. Metro Atlanta housing market has experienced a smooth recovery by far. The market has not only returned to pre-COVID-19 levels in the Housing Recovery Market Index of Realtor.com but it has also surpassed January's baseline by 7.8 points. A value of 100 means the Atlanta real estate market has recovered to January 2020 pace. The higher the index value, the higher the level of recovery.

The Atlanta metro area is up 4.9 points from the previous week for an index number of 107.8 points — for the week ending September 26. Total residential units sold in August in the 29 county Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) were 9,617, up 8.81% from the previous year (source: GAMLS). The median residential sales price for all properties has increased by 11.64% to $275,000 compared to the previous year. Total active residential listings still lagged year-over-year numbers by 53.47%.

Month Supply of properties has reduced to 1.9. After five months, sellers are back in the housing market with new listings being gradually added to solve the low inventory issues which have been keeping many buyers at bay. The small number of homes for sale has been a key limiting factor for buyers in the Atlanta real estate market.

The August 2020 monthly report by Realtor.com shows that the Atlanta housing market is a balanced market, which means there is a healthy balance of buyers and sellers in the market. If a region's housing market is balanced it means that there is enough demand from buyers to equal the supply from sellers. The median list price of homes in Atlanta, GA was $350,000 on their platform, trending up 7.7% year-over-year.

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This article has been updated to reflect recent changes in the San Francisco housing market. San Francisco consistently ranks among the most expensive real estate markets in the world, and it is one of the most densely populated cities in the U.S.

San Francisco Bay Area housing market had the strongest sales growth in August with a more than 10 percent surge in sales from last year. Closed sales have jumped by 1o.8% from the previous year but declined by -6.3% as compared to July.

SF Bay Area home prices have also been climbing due to strong demand and low supply. After reaching near-record levels in July, the median price of single-family homes increased to $1,068,000 in August. It is an increase of 18.7% as compared to August 2019 — the highest median price increase in the state of  California. The price increased by 1.7% as compared to the previous month (July).

In San Francisco county, housing prices dropped by 0.1% to $1,663,000, $2000 less than July’s median price. Sales of single-family houses rose by a whopping 28.9% from last August. Sales also increased by 1.9% from July. The condo market is much weaker, comparing the demand to supply.

Condo prices in San Francisco fell from $25,000 to a new median of $1,275,000 and their sales declined by -6.5% in August. The number of pending sales has been increasing, but at a much lower rate than the inventory is growing. Sales volume is climbing but is still far below the high points of recent years.

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