Is ATL still affordable? (Atlanta, Sandy Springs: transplants, real estate market, 2015)

[k374]

ATL used to brand itself as one of the most affordable metros to live in based on cost of living but based on the recent skyrocketing of real estate prices is it still so? I cannot believe how expensive ATL real estate has become. As I had stated when I looked in early 2015 prices were still very reasonable but now things have increased so much prices are rivalling Southern California is some parts of ATL.

In places like Sandy Springs I am seeing prices north of half million which is 75% the prices in LA or San Diego. With the trajectory the way it is perhaps ATL will become as expensive as SoCal, the difference being that LA is one of the world's most iconic cities... whereas ATL is definitely not.

The greatest appeal of ATL was it's COL compared to it's amenities... what is the appeal now?

[krogerDisco]

You might have to become an "urban pioneer" and settle in an area in the process of "gentrification".

[DaBurgh]

I spent some of this weekend looking at listings and was surprised at the jump in prices in the north metro.
Its good news for me - the house I bought in Cumming 4 years ago would sell for almost 50k more than what I paid for it.
I can't tell for sure but the South metro is still being overlooked (prices were mostly the same as last year)

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by k374

ATL used to brand itself as one of the most affordable metros to live in based on cost of living but based on the recent skyrocketing of real estate prices is it still so? I cannot believe how expensive ATL real estate has become. As I had stated when I looked in early 2015 prices were still very reasonable but now things have increased so much prices are rivalling Southern California is some parts of ATL.

In places like Sandy Springs I am seeing prices north of half million which is 75% the prices in LA or San Diego. With the trajectory the way it is perhaps ATL will become as expensive as SoCal, the difference being that LA is one of the world's most iconic cities... whereas ATL is definitely not.

The greatest appeal of ATL was it's COL compared to it's amenities... what is the appeal now?

I would have to disagree that Atlanta is not one of the world's most iconic cities.

Atlanta obviously does not have the stunning physical attributes that Los Angeles does with the mountains (snow-capped mountains north of the city) and the beaches, nor does Atlanta have the established reputation as an international hub of the entertainment industry that LA has.

But outside of the lack of mountains and beaches and the lack of history as a long-established commodity in the entertainment industry, Atlanta has grown into an iconic city in its own right with robust and explosively-growing scenes in the fields of tech and TV/film production (a local TV/film production scene of national/international significance which amazingly has grown in the past decade to directly rival Southern California's long-established and dominating TV/film production scene), a dominant music production scene and the world's busiest airport all undergirded by the city's widely-recognized history as the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement.

With Atlanta being a major (massive) industrial, logistical and cultural hub for the entire Southeastern U.S. it is not surprising that real estate prices in Atlanta have skyrocketed along with most other major metros in the nation during an era of significant housing supply deficits in large major metro areas in the aftermath of the Great Recession of the late 2000's and early 2010's.

Atlanta may not necessarily have the same exact appeal that it had in previous decades as a more affordable lower-cost alternative to the higher-cost metros of the Northeast and the West Coast.

But Atlanta's current appeal is that it has become a massive hub for the technology, entertainment (TV/film and music production) and logistical industries that is home to a nexus of transcontinental Interstate superhighways, the world's busiest airport and an increasingly diverse and pluralistic population in a heavily-wooded/forested setting that is only a stone's throw away from the popular Blue Ridge/Southern Appalachian/Great Smoky Mountains area.

[sedimenjerry]

This is in Compton and is listed at over half a million. Now I'm sure Compton 2017 isn't as bad as its repuration may make it seem but c'mon.
This in Pomona is listed at over 700k. And as far as I know Pomona is decently far to the east and is rather unremarkable as a suburb. It's not near the beach or the "high rent" districts.
Sandy Springs adjacent to a major jobs center, south of decently large job center in Alpharetta and not too far from the "high rent" area of Buckhead. Some of the homes in the northern part of SS are along the river and are very scenic (as scenic as you'll get without an ocean) and it's not too surprising that they're over 1 million in many cases. Some parts of SS are as far to downtown Atlanta as that first house in Compton is to DTLA.

Now there are areas like Alpharetta and Johns Creek that are pretty pricey, even my dad's engineer salary won't comfortably get them into those areas, but there are TONS of areas across the metro with half decent schools or better for a quarter million or less. I knew someone in New Jersey decently far from NYC with a house that easily cost double than it would if placed in Gwinnett County. We're still affordable for a major metro area.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by DaBurgh

I spent some of this weekend looking at listings and was surprised at the jump in prices in the north metro.
Its good news for me - the house I bought in Cumming 4 years ago would sell for almost 50k more than what I paid for it.

The boom in the tech industry along the Georgia 400 North corridor along with the extremely highly-regarded reputation of the schools in North Fulton and Forsyth counties seems to be two of the main factors driving the jump in home prices north of the city.

Other factors driving the jump in home prices on the Northside are the access to numerous retail amenities (like Avalon, The Collection at Forsyth, multiple Trader Joe's and Whole Foods grocery stores, Perimeter Mall, Buckhead, etc, etc) and access to numerous recreational amenities (Lake Lanier, Big Creek Greenway, North Georgia Mountains, etc).

Originally Posted by DaBurgh

I can't tell for sure but the South metro is still being overlooked (prices were mostly the same as last year)

That is a good point that (compared to the Northside), much of the Southside is still being overlooked.

Though, it must be noted that the boom of the Television and Film production industry in South Metro Atlanta has been a boon some parts of the Southside.

The boom of the TV and Film production industry has particularly been a boon to the local economies in real estate markets in Fayette and Coweta counties where there is much more activity as a result of the opening and wildly successful operation of studios like Pinewood Atlanta Studio in Fayetteville where multiple blockbuster film productions have been and continue to be shot.

The Southside likely may never be in total and complete parity with the much more heavily-developed Northside, but the advent of an extremely robust TV/Film production scene of national/international significance has been a MASSIVE shot in the arm for Southside communities like Fayette which struggled mightly during and immediately after the Great Recession economic downturn of the late-2000's and early 2010's.

One cannot overstate the positive impact that the stunning rise of Georgia's TV/Film production industry has had on Southside communities like Fayette and Coweta (where the popular TV series "The Walking Dead" continues to be shot).

[ATLTJL]

I don't know about cost of living being low here. All I know is every time I travel to a place where people warn me how expensive it is, I always can't believe that I end up eating for cheaper than it costs in Atlanta.

Cities where I have eaten great dinners with lower bills than I would have in Atlanta: New York, Rome, Tokyo.

[ronricks]

Real Estate goes up and down. If you think it is too high right now then sit it out save money and wait for market correction or another recession and buy then. History tells us it can't keep going up forever.

[Born 2 Roll]

modcut

The significant rise in the cost-of-living and in the cost of housing in a large major metro area like Atlanta that historically has been widely regarded as an affordable alternative to the more costly major population centers of the Northeast and the West Coast is a legitimate concern.

The rise in housing costs and overall living costs in a large major metro like Atlanta that has historically prided itself on its affordability relative to the large major metros of the Northeast and the West Coast is a significant concern both to existing residents (like past transplants who might have moved to Georgia from other more costly parts of the nation to cut their living costs and native-born residents who grew up in a much more affordable Atlanta metro in past decades) and to those in other parts of the U.S. who may be thinking of moving here for various reasons (like job transfer and/or cost-cutting/cost-saving, etc).

[fieldm]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

I have to disagree that this is a "dumb thread."

The significant rise in the cost-of-living and in the cost of housing in a large major metro area like Atlanta that historically has been widely regarded as an affordable alternative to the more costly major population centers of the Northeast and the West Coast is a legitimate concern.

The rise in housing costs and overall living costs in a large major metro like Atlanta that has historically prided itself on its affordability relative to the large major metros of the Northeast and the West Coast is a significant concern both to existing residents (like past transplants who might have moved to Georgia from other more costly parts of the nation to cut their living costs and native-born residents who grew up in a much more affordable Atlanta metro in past decades) and to those in other parts of the U.S. who may be thinking of moving here for various reasons (like job transfer and/or cost-cutting/cost-saving, etc).

Picking one of the most "upscale" areas of Atlanta and then saying its expensive is considered a dumb thread. Its the same as if I made a thread in the Houston forum asking is Houston still affordable because houses in River Oak are expensive