The number of homes for sale in metro Atlanta dipped below 70,000 at the beginning of January for the first time in a year and has gradually increased to more than 76,000 again.

The seasonal fluctuation is due to many listings expiring at the end of the year and not getting renewed right away. Many homeowners prefer not to have their home on the market during the hectic holiday rush at the end of December.

The number of homes for sale was above 80,000 for a brief period last summer. And Dac Carver, marketing director for Metro Brokers/GMAC Real Estate, predicts the number of homes for sale to exceed 80,000 by spring.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), housing inventory reached a 19 year high in November 2005. And some nay-sayers have suggested that the rise in inventory will cause home prices to crash. However, NAR also reported that existing home sales in November were posting at a higher sales rate than the record sales year of 2004.

Atlantans have begun tracking the number of homes for sale with Metro Brokers/GMAC Real Estate’s now-popular billboard campaign, which includes four billboards with an electronic message center that is updated daily with the number of homes for sale in metro Atlanta.

The billboard campaign lets everyone know how many homes are for sale in Atlanta’s two listing services, the Metro Listing Service (MLS) and the First Multiple Listing Service (FMLS). The total number of homes for sale in MLS and FMLS has never been available to the general public before now.

Unlike any other billboard in metro Atlanta, all of the copy is produced in neon channel lettering and even includes a dimensional, internally lighted image of the company’s mascot, Metro Mike, on display.

The billboards are updated on a daily basis by a computer modem and a telephone line wired to the message centers. The billboards include the address of the company’s website - the only website in the world to display every listing from both of Atlanta’s listing services. And in turn, the homepage of Metro Brokers’ website has a photo of the new billboards that is also updated daily with the number of homes for sale.

“The billboards have become a great conversation piece, especially as the number of homes for sale fluctuated during the course of the year,” said Carver. “And since a home is the largest investment most people will ever make, there is keen interest in what that number is on a daily basis.”

The billboards already on display are located along I-85 southbound (immediately after the GA-400 merge), on I-75 north in Forest Park and on I-75 southbound in Marietta (just south of exit 265 North Marietta Parkway). In addition, a fourth location is planned for I-285 west at North Peachtree Road.

Metro Brokers/GMAC Real Estate, established in 1979, has 20 metro Atlanta offices and offers a wide range of real estate services including residential and commercial sales; pre- and post-license training; corporate relocation; new home sales and marketing; and insurance, mortgage and title/closing services.

The company is the largest GMAC Real Estate franchise in the world and the 38th largest real brokerage company in the country in terms of units sold. The company has more than tripled in size over the last five years with more than 2,300 licensees, making the company the largest license holder in the state of Georgia.

To contact Metro Brokers, call 404.843.2500 or visit metrobrokers.com to see a photo of the new billboards.

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