The news just keeps getting better for the Atlanta real estate market; based on the January 2013 S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Index, the one year increase in home prices for the area is now at 13.4 percent, making this the first time the city has seen double digit increases since the onset of the housing bust.

Atlanta was one of eight cities covered in the report to post double digit annual returns, the others being Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Phoenix, San Francisco and Detroit.

Nationally, the report saw an overall increase of 8.1 percent for the past 12 months, with all 20 cities included posting positive changes.

“The two headline composites posted their highest year-over-year increases since summer 2006,” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “This marks the highest increase since the housing bubble burst.”

Blitzer continued, “Economic data continues to support the housing recovery. Single-family home building permits and housing starts posted double-digit year-over-year increases in February 2013. Despite a slight uptick in foreclosure filings, numbers are still down 25 percent year-over-year. Steady employment and low borrowing rates pushed inventories down to their lowest post-recession levels.”

This news may come as no surprise to many analysts and Realtors in the Atlanta market, who have been saying for months that the Atlanta inventory of homes for sale is at historical lows. Reports of multiple bids on homes in good condition homes in popular submarkets have become more common, as well as a shorter number of days on market.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Index part of the S&P Dow Jones Indices has been published since early 2006. It is constructed to accurately track the price path of typical single-family homes in each of the metropolitan areas covered.

Great information provided by the Atlanta Real Estate Forum.