Despite the poor housing market, Metro Atlanta housing prices have continued to rise, all except DeKalb County where the average price of a home slipped to almost 4 percent. Compared to 3rd Quarter in 2006, the average sales price of a home in DeKalb County dropped to $212,499.

However, the average housing price in Metro Atlanta rose to $221,907, a 1.5% increase from the same time last year. According to data from Georgia Multiple Listing Service, which tracks existing home sales, larger counties such as Fulton, Cobb and Gwinnett are seeing the average sales price of existing homes rise.

With other counties showing improvement in sales, experts believe there are some contributing factors to the decreasing housing prices in DeKalb County. The lack of high end houses in addition to a high amount of foreclosures are contributing to an already high existing home sales inventory. According to Kevin Levent, president of Metrobrokers, the problem with a high foreclosure rate is because those types of homes will sell for much less, which drives down the prices and property values of surrounding homes. However, Levent remains optimistic, he states that banks are selling foreclosed homes aggressively, and he believes once that inventory is cleared out; the average sale price will level out. He also indicates that while DeKalb County may be performing a little worse than other counties, the average sales price in the overall market is holding.