Recommendations on good neighborhoods near Emory University

[IntownHomes247]

Originally Posted by fil

With the market slump hitting Atlanta, is this one of the areas like Dunwoody that remains insulated from the housing market issues?

Even in Sugarloaf, the homes have had a difficult time selling and are going for much less then they are first listed.

Where we bought in Austin is also very insulated and appreciation is great. I knew that we'd be here for only a short time, so the house and location that we picked will make resale easy and we won't take a loss and may make money when we sell.

We would like to build our dream house up by the Mall of GA on vacant property we own, but want to be close to Emory for the first couple of years so we have the same strategy to buy into a value and quality area that is known for resale and respectable appreciation.

My wife is also concerned about crime in this area since we have a young child.

Single family homes in the areas around Emory have the advantage of being in an area that has been well-developed for years and is extremely popular. For the most part, the only "new" building going on in the area is infill or townhome/condo developments. So, while there's no way to ensure that any home will increase in value, areas like Druid Hills and Morningside are always in such high demand that if you buy wisely, the odds of the property holding its value in the short term and even increasing are very good.

[fil]

Thank you again for the insights. If I could rep you twice in a thread, I would.

[RWareham]

Medlock Park. Older homes, but nice, quiet neighborhood......

[greg_atlanta]

Originally Posted by fil

With the market slump hitting Atlanta, is this one of the areas like Dunwoody that remains insulated from the housing market issues?

There's no guarantee prices will not drop in these neighborhoods. A lot of larger homes on Rock Springs (between Ansley and Emory) have had For Sale signs for over a year. Virginia Highlands is still trendy but $500K won't buy much of a house unless it needs major renovations.

[lastminutemom]

Dunwoody is slumping -- maybe not in price but certainly in how long things are staying on the market... I imagine there are few areas in the metro ATL that are truly insulated from the current market conditions, even if the prices don't fall, it is taking alot longer to sell.

[IntownHomes247]

Originally Posted by greg_atlanta

There's no guarantee prices will not drop in these neighborhoods. A lot of larger homes on Rock Springs (between Ansley and Emory) have had For Sale signs for over a year. Virginia Highlands is still trendy but $500K won't buy much of a house unless it needs major renovations.

In this market, it's really important to buy wisely. Right now, anything with a major objection (like being on a busy street such as Rock Springs) is not going to sell unless it's massively discounted because there's so much inventory (17 months worth metro wide and even more in some neighborhoods) on the market that buyers have plenty of other choices. Likewise, when renovating, its important to make good decisions so that you don't over-renovate or do idiosyncratic remodelling projects or choose unpopular finishes that will hurt you when it comes time to re-sell. For instance, I have recently seen homes that had a big built-in hot tub in the basement and homes remodelled to look southwestern. Things like this are not what most buyers are looking for (at least not in Atlanta) so unless the "right person" happens on them and falls in love with the house, they probably will not sell in this market or the price will have to be severely discounted. Conversely, there are still homes selling in less than 30 days and close to asking price when they are exactly what people are looking for in popular neighborhoods and priced appropriately.

[fil]

Intown,
Great advice!

While we were moving from ATL to ATX, we noticed that there are a TON of OTA powerlines in ATX, commented to our realtor, and our ATX realtor commented "welcome to the Austin skyline" which we did not accept. I mean $600K-$800K homes surrounded by powerlines. We were like, geez have any of these people watched 20/20, Dateline, or 60 Minutes in the last 20 years? People have been questioning the safety of living near/under/next to big, scary over the air powerlines. Many homes available during Christmas were also on very busy roads (to the point that they had speed humps) and we also passed on those homes.

So I get you on selecting a universally revered type of home.

We look at this as a 3-5 year investment before we build the forever home and we pay cash, so we're not in for sinking fat cash on a money pit that cannot be resold easily.

[letmusiclive]

If you're looking for a great neighborhood with a true "neighborhood feel", than you've got to look in the Virginia-Highlands. Its a very walkable neighborhood with a ton of park space for kids to play around in. While on some evenings there is a good amount of nightlife in the area, most nights are fairly quiet and its great to just walk around the restaurants, boutiques, and coffee shops that the neighborhood has to offer. In the early spring there are a bunch of nice art festivals in the various parks including the VA-Highlands Summerfest and the Piedmont Park Dogwood Festival.
If you want to be near enough to take advantage of the neighborhood but not fully "in it" then Morningside or Inman Park may serve as good options.
Good luck in the move and enjoy what the neighborhood has to offer! You can't really go wrong.

[emory0915]

Originally Posted by fil

We're considering homes in the $400K-$1M range.

I'm considering looking around Piedmont Park. Concerns?

I suggest you look in the Durand Mill Subdivision -- walking distance to CDA & Emory - relatively new neighborhood for the area - you'll get more for your money and more recent homes than in Piedmont Park area. There is a community park, playground and clubhouse with pool.

[red92s]

Originally Posted by emory0915

I suggest you look in the Durand Mill Subdivision -- walking distance to CDA & Emory - relatively new neighborhood for the area - you'll get more for your money and more recent homes than in Piedmont Park area. There is a community park, playground and clubhouse with pool.

This was originally posted almost several years ago. Do people just search for random terms, read the first post, then hit reply?