With a surplus of demand for housing, metro Atlanta’s new home market is flourishing. Gone are the days of builders falling over each other to reach buyers first and give them the best incentives possible. Engel & Völkers Buckhead Atlanta suggests that with very few homeowners putting their homes on the market, the only option left to those looking to buy is to turn to new housing.

“The lack of available inventory is causing a push on homes that are being built, and they are contracting quickly,” said Jamie Mock, vice president of sales at Engel & Völkers Buckhead Atlanta. “Builders are not pushed to offer huge incentives anymore, because people are buying homes as soon as they become available.”

This seller’s market has allowed home builders to raise their home prices to cover the increasing costs of building a home, but buyers do not seem to be phased by this. A report by Metrostudy, a national housing and consulting firm, was cited in a recent Atlanta Building News article. The report showed that the number of metro Atlanta housing starts was up 67 percent in 2013 from the previous year and is expected to grow an additional 25 percent in 2014.

According to the Atlanta Building News article, “Ongoing Improvement in New Home Market,” what buyers seem to care about more than price are the features of the home. With the advent of websites like Pinterest and Houzz, many home buyers already have a good idea of what they want their home to look like and how they want it formatted before they even walk in the builder’s door.

So, because home buyers are willing to overlook higher prices to get what they want and builders are allowing buyers to customize their homes, the new home market in Atlanta’s 22-county metropolitan area is making a spectacular comeback from the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis.

However, because demand for new homes exceeds the current supply, home buyers need to be ready to buy immediately.

“If a buyer finds a home they fall in love with, I recommend that they act quickly and place a contract on the home.” said Mock. “If they wait to buy the home, it is highly likely that it will have a sold sign on it when they return.”

For more information about Engel and Völkers Buckhead Atlanta, visit www.buckheadatlanta.evusa.com.