Decline in Atlanta home prices worst in recorded history (Alpharetta: apartment complex, rental)

[jpatlanta]

What does scare me here is our building standards are so low and unregulated that people can expect a much higher maintenance burden than in some other states. I still cannot believe we allow such bad quality materials to be used. Until I moved here I have never heard of shingle roofs, 7 year water tanks or softwood windows etc. This low quality dramatically runs up the cost of home ownership and I pity the people with Mcmansions once they get ten years old as monthly maintenance may be higher than the mortgage.

[FromGA]

Originally Posted by jpatlanta

What does scare me here is our building standards are so low and unregulated that people can expect a much higher maintenance burden than in some other states. I still cannot believe we allow such bad quality materials to be used. Until I moved here I have never heard of shingle roofs, 7 year water tanks or softwood windows etc. This low quality dramatically runs up the cost of home ownership and I pity the people with Mcmansions once they get ten years old as monthly maintenance may be higher than the mortgage.

Yeah. Pay now, or pay later. Atlanta is more of a pay later place. That is part of what I was referring to as the headwinds to home ownership.

[Mishap]

Originally Posted by jpatlanta

What does scare me here is our building standards are so low and unregulated that people can expect a much higher maintenance burden than in some other states. I still cannot believe we allow such bad quality materials to be used. Until I moved here I have never heard of shingle roofs, 7 year water tanks or softwood windows etc. This low quality dramatically runs up the cost of home ownership and I pity the people with Mcmansions once they get ten years old as monthly maintenance may be higher than the mortgage.

Not sure how else you can get a 3,000 sqft house built on .25 acres of land for under 200k. At the minimum it means home consumption rate should be higher and if we stop building, nature will take its course and reduce inventory more quickly than places where homes are built from a single Redwood, encased in 3ft of water sealed concrete and heated by an included hot springs.

At least home repairs mean the up front (and mortgage costs) of ownership are lower. Rolling a 30 yr water heater into a mortgage doesn't exactly make it cheaper than replacing it on your own dime when it implodes. Of course it does invite people to buy up to the very edge of affordability leaving little behind for ongoing repairs. That is the case for anything I guess though.

[Craziaskowboi]

It's probably all the exurban **** losing half its value that's dragging Atlanta's numbers down. Draw a line connecting the following suburbs:

Kennesaw > Alpharetta > Suwanee > Lawrenceville > Snellville > Lithonia > Stockbridge > Jonesboro > Riverdale > Austell > Kennesaw

Everything inside that line is probably holding its value much better than anything outside it. Not necessarily saying that prices are rising inside that line, just that houses currently on the market outside it are mostly worthless at this point.

[Onthemove2014]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

It's probably all the exurban **** losing half its value that's dragging Atlanta's numbers down. Draw a line connecting the following suburbs:

Kennesaw > Alpharetta > Suwanee > Lawrenceville > Snellville > Lithonia > Stockbridge > Jonesboro > Riverdale > Austell > Kennesaw

Everything inside that line is probably holding its value much better than anything outside it. Not necessarily saying that prices are rising inside that line, just that houses currently on the market outside it are mostly worthless at this point.

I can agree with this to some degree. You are a long way off from any job centers and anemities outside many of those burbs, especially the southside.

[ATLTJL]

I don't know for sure that this is right, but I would think that anywhere that is not within a reasonable commute to the city would be suffering more.

Though, I bet you see it suffering less in certain areas. For example, Alpharetta and Duluth have turned into pretty decent job centers, so I bet they can support exurbs better than the ones in other directions that are further from any real job centers.

I remember when everybody was buying houses, I had some friends get really cheap houses out in places like Hiram, Villa Rica, Dallas, etc. Trouble is, nothing out there ever really happened, so I bet those houses are in the toilet.

You also have to consider that some of the really nice areas, like maybe Hamilton Mill or whatever that seem to be way up there, are likely populated with people who either work from home, offices out there, etc. Think doctors who work in suburban areas, big lawyers that only have to come into town when they are litigating, and so on.

I would say the same rule that applies to the suburbs probably applies to the exurbs. The ones that are north and northeast of the city are probably doing a lot better than the others. Maybe northwest to some degree, but I don't think Cobb county got as many job centers as North Fulton and Gwinnett did.

[MovedfromFL]

Originally Posted by Onthemove2014

I can agree with this to some degree. You are a long way off from any job centers and anemities outside many of those burbs, especially the southside.

Yep. Look at the prices for places like Mableton. From my research, the demographics have shifted and the local high school is rated very poorly on the major rating sites. I saw listings for $30,000 that looked like stately, family homes! Crazy. Ditto for areas like South Hall County. We lived over that way for 4 years and some folks just got caught when the tide went out. Their old family homestead is now worthless because things have changed.

I see incredible deals in the north metro area. Low taxes (but not Gwinnett and North Fulton) and very low prices for homes that may be "outdated". You still get so much more home than you will find here in Florida. Prices are high here for even bad homes in poor school districts, and homeowner's insurace is at absurd levels now. Then you get no basement and barely any yard or trees and 1,400 sf of "living" space to cram your family into. We're having cars broken into in the "best" areas in Central FL , as well has home invasions and folks being held up in their driveways by 14 year olds with guns. (my friend's neighbor 2 weeks ago!)

My husband and I would love to move back up there if at least one of us could get a job.

I think future action could be to the East with the CAT plant in Athens coming in, as well as the Carter's distribution center, and the big medical manufacturing facility that is planned near Social Circle. Exciting stuff. All we seem to get in FL are meth labs.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by jpatlanta

Until I moved here I have never heard of shingle roofs.

Not sure where you lived. 90% of houses in the US have asphalt shingle roofs. Has nothing to do with Atlanta.

[Mister-H]

Originally Posted by Onthemove2014

Buy a home to live in and to avoid rent. Not to flip and profit.

Even though you give sound, rational advice, it isn't sugary, sparkly, and candy-coated enough. It will fall on deaf ears.

[Mister-H]

Who says the housing market has hit rock-bottom?? Surely we aren't listening to people in real estate or economic "experts". People buy things when they can afford them. It's that simple. Housing prices are still inflated.