Why are homes in ATL so "affordable"

[RoslynHolcomb]

Oh, I didn't know I was supposed to be boycotting it. It's much easier to get to than the one on Ashford Dunwoody, but I certainly don't want to be party to any negativity. Must say, the cart escalators are hella cool.

[lastminutemom]

Originally Posted by blackrabbit

That specific Walmart had such local oppostion that they had to backpedal and add some concessions at that specific site to appease local residents and the Chamblee government. It still should not have been allowed though IMHO and apparently Chamblee couldn't afford to carry on the legal costs of fighting Walmart. What with the increased gentrification of that area its a shame that they could bully their way in. Most everyone local boycotts the place. It will be interesting with the changing demographics in that area to see if they are successful most of their core customers are moving out of the area. Apparently already they are stocking more expensive product lines than most Walmarts.

BTW I think right now the going rate is a million an acre for retail zoned land in Chamblee.

I despise shopping at Wal Mart. any Wal Mart. But I have a friend (a foodie) and he says that the Chamblee Wal Mart produce section is awesome. He says it is jeopardizing the farmers market thing across the street. I have another friend who says that the help at the store is much nicer than most Wal Marts. Again, I wouldn't know -- I don't shop there.

In other parts of DeKalb, land is selling for over a million an acre. This isn't such a good thing as it limits who will buy it and what can go on it. (think high density, often rental, housing).

[ellisescara]

Yea, I also think it's a domino effect.

Southern houses (compared to Northern ones) are cheaper to begin with. Now, with the housing crunch, people are still putting houses on the market, but a large number of unsold houses already exists!

Since more houses creates increasing competition in a time of low consumerism, owners are impelled to drive their selling prices lower and lower to get the few existing buyers on the market.

Hmmm at least that's my opinion, anyway.

[mistersocks]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

One might as well ask the reverse question: why are homes in other parts of the country so expensive?

I'm a refugee of the LA housing mania, where speculators and wild-eyed HGTV viewers bid up crappy houses in crappy neighborhoods into the stratosphere. ATL was immune to this run-up, I assume due to the reasons given by the previous posters on this thread. The current weakness in the ATL market seems to be due to the easy credit mortgage fiasco you may have heard of.

I miss the weather, but I sure don't miss seeing a shack in Compton listed for half a mil.

[netdragon]

I have no idea what you're talking about. You could make that argument 10 years ago but not now. Atlanta is probably the second most expensive metro in the South (after Miami) and more expensive than most markets in the country except for some bubble markets in Chicago, Boston NYC, and a handful East Coast and West Coast metros. Homes in my hometown in Connecticut (Glastonbury), which is a wealthy town, are cheaper with the same amount of land as homes in the city I live in now (Smyrna). That means Smyrna has higher land value. Smyrna has many Million $ plus homes, and a huge slew in the $300k-$800k range and isn't even as expensive as Vinings, Buckhead, Brookhaven, midtown and a ton of other places. There's a huge slew of homes in Buckhead that are more expensive than most homes in Greenwich, CT and some homes are even up into the $20 millions. Midtown, central Vinings and Buckhead condos aren't much cheaper than Manhatten. Whatever cheap homes you are seeing probably have a reason behind them. Either they are in a neighborhood of Atlanta or cheaper suburbs being turned with horrible schools, ugly, pollution and/or some remaining crime or way out in an exurb with a horrible commute.

Additionally, houses have skyrocketed in price because of just this thinking. Keep on coming... People moving down here for a "deal" have been driving up home prices, and benefiting me. Woohoo!

Anyway... To dispell a myth, Atlanta isn't cheap. If you want cheap, go to Dallas or Jacksonville. But feel free to buy one of the $600k-$800k "price reductions" down the road.

Originally Posted by Frankie117

The answer is quite simple really, but its really a matter of perspective. To a Southerner, 300K would put the family in bankruptcy; But to a Northerner, its a dream come true!

I pay for our $300k home and a baby with just my salary and my s.o. doesn't even have to work. ???

Believe it or not, I make more here in Atlanta than I probably would in metro Hartford. I think it all depends on your job.

[chip1980]

Originally Posted by netdragon

I have no idea what you're talking about. You could make that argument 10 years ago but not now. Atlanta is probably the second most expensive metro in the South (after Miami) and more expensive than most markets in the country except for some bubble markets in Chicago, Boston NYC, and a handful East Coast and West Coast metros. Homes in my hometown in Connecticut (Glastonbury), which is a wealthy town, are cheaper with the same amount of land as homes in the city I live in now (Smyrna). That means Smyrna has higher land value. Smyrna has many Million $ plus homes, and a huge slew in the $300k-$800k range and isn't even as expensive as Vinings, Buckhead, Brookhaven, midtown and a ton of other places. There's a huge slew of homes in Buckhead that are more expensive than most homes in Greenwich, CT and some homes are even up into the $20 millions. Midtown, central Vinings and Buckhead condos aren't much cheaper than Manhatten. Whatever cheap homes you are seeing probably have a reason behind them. Either they are in a neighborhood of Atlanta or cheaper suburbs being turned with horrible schools, ugly, pollution and/or some remaining crime or way out in an exurb with a horrible commute.

Additionally, houses have skyrocketed in price because of just this thinking. Keep on coming... People moving down here for a "deal" have been driving up home prices, and benefiting me. Woohoo!

Anyway... To dispell a myth, Atlanta isn't cheap. If you want cheap, go to Dallas or Jacksonville. But feel free to buy one of the $600k-$800k "price reductions" down the road.



I pay for our $300k home and a baby with just my salary and my s.o. doesn't even have to work. ???

Believe it or not, I make more here in Atlanta than I probably would in metro Hartford. I think it all depends on your job.

Atlanta is cheap, I dont know what u are talking about. Buying a brand new 4/5 bedroom house for under 200k is cheap. Try finding the same house anywhere north of va or on the west coast for the same price. You have 200k houses and u also have million dollar homes. Its up to you what u buy but Atlanta is cheap, very cheap

[Love Cobb]

The area you live in will dictate the "affordability" of the housing stock. In metro Atlanta there is a price point for every buyer. You have the McMansions in the millions or you can go to the burbs and get a really large starter in the $200's. I'm looking for a condo to buy in Chicago (Bronzeville area) and I can't find anything under $350k for 3dr/2ba. If I went to Smyrna I could possible find more in that price. So there you have it, it simply depends on the area you are buying.

[j0ja]

I have no idea what you're talking about. You could make that argument 10 years ago but not now. Atlanta is probably the second most expensive metro in the South (after Miami) and more expensive than most markets in the country except for some bubble markets in Chicago, Boston NYC,

I don't agree with this view, I am sure it depends on individual perspective. Netdragon, you are concentrating on more affluent areas: yes, if you look at the higher end areas of Atlanta, it is definitely not cheap. A large part of Atlanta is not affluent. My following statement here is an extremely wild guess and I never did the research: I would venture to say that out of a metro population of over 5 million people: *perhaps* 500K people live in the higher end areas (homes worth more than 250K). That means roughly 1 out of 10 people in Atlanta live in the more affluent areas. Not sure what you define as affluent, but homes worth more than 300K are much pricier than most of the residential real estate in Atlanta.

IIRC, the average priced home in Atlanta is around 170K (noting the recent decline in price of resales)- I might be a bit off with that #, but if someone can kindly provide a link with an updated average, you can see its in that range (less than 200K) - One has the entire gamut here in ATL, from million dollar homes to some condos or even houses for less than 50K. A home priced at under 200K is not always in a bad area or even a bad school district for that matter.

Compared to other MSAs similar its size in North America, Atlanta is still relatively cheap. The other reasons here mentioned in this thread: lower wages, no natural boundaries, building codes much laxer than other areas, lower taxes, etc. are some of the many reasons housing in Atlanta is relatively cheaper than it is in other parts of the country (meaning other larger cities and metro areas).

[mistersocks]

Originally Posted by netdragon

Atlanta is probably the second most expensive metro in the South (after Miami)

I'm guessing Tampa is also more expensive, based on Sarasota FL (where my parents live) where the bubble was in full swing. Also you're not including Northern Virginia (DC suburbs) where it's crazy. But I would argue that Atlanta is affordable and other cities in the South are dirt cheap.

Originally Posted by netdragon

Midtown, central Vinings and Buckhead condos aren't much cheaper than Manhatten.

Is there a Manhattan in Alabama? Surely you're not talking about NYC. My brother had to dump his nearly-new, right-by-Piedmont Park Midtown 2/2 condo for 200K. The average price for an apartment in Manhattan is $1.7 million. Elton John's ATL condo probably cost that much, but nobody else's.

Originally Posted by netdragon

Additionally, houses have skyrocketed in price because of just this thinking. Keep on coming... People moving down here for a "deal" have been driving up home prices, and benefiting me. Woohoo!

Maybe Smyrna has its own bubble (never been there), but prices have increased modestly in Atlanta, and this year they fell around 7%.