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As many people have already noted, location plays a huge role. My guess is that the many steals south of I-20 are what factor largely into this analysis. The problem is that this is a bad location to live commute-wise if you work anywhere north of say, Shallowford Rd or so.
I think that pricing for areas within a ~35 min commute of those areas are probably comparable with other locales.
At what point do we stop calling some of these far-flung areas with lots of cheap buildable "Atlanta", and refer to them as South Chattanooga or Macon North?
At what point do we stop calling some of these far-flung areas with lots of cheap buildable "Atlanta", and refer to them as South Chattanooga or Macon North?
Haha. Seriously!
I do wonder about what another poster said upthread though, in terms of the benefits of sprawl. On one hand it provides a metro area with affordable housing. On the other, it enhances segregation, as you continue to see more and more low income people of color in far out suburbs, and Atlanta doesn't have the public transportation infrastructure to incorporate them in the business activity of the central city.
Lots of European cities are like this (i.e. minorities in the suburbs) but they also have decent bus and rail to transport people to jobs, culture, and the like.
I do wonder about what another poster said upthread though, in terms of the benefits of sprawl. On one hand it provides a metro area with affordable housing. On the other, it enhances segregation, as you continue to see more and more low income people of color in far out suburbs, and Atlanta doesn't have the public transportation infrastructure to incorporate them in the business activity of the central city.
Lots of European cities are like this (i.e. minorities in the suburbs) but they also have decent bus and rail to transport people to jobs, culture, and the like.
What a misleading article title. Atlanta has the most affordable housing of the largest 25 US cities. Kind of hard to say that is the most affordable in the whole country.
My 10yr old townhome in Decatur was $130K brand new and was worth $133K in 2009 and after the housing bust, Dekalb county now thinks it is worth $45K for a almost 1500 sq ft townhome. Meanwhile My coworkers small 20+ yr old town home is worth over 150K simply because it is in Alpharetta.
What the article fails to say is if you want a nice house in Atlanta, in Vinings, Brookhaven, Buckhead, Emory, City of Decatur, Dunwoody and Northward up 400, or pretty much any non black area you are going to pay alot of money for basic houses and very nice houses are $300K-400K+, while those houses in S.Dekalb or S Fulton are 100-200K+ cheaper.
Most of the deals are either in the "undesirable area" aka black neighborhoods or 15-30 minutes outside of 285 and 30min-1hr outside of downtown with a 1hr + commute to work that leads to the traffic mess Atlanta has every morning.
I still don't think a better school system warrants a 100K-200K+ premium on a house.
I still don't think a better school system warrants a 100K-200K+ premium on a house.
It might not in a state with a better school system. In Georgia, the bad school systems are *really* bad (like, lose-your-accreditation-bad).
I can understand parents' willingness to toss an extra hundred or two onto a mortgage if it means their kid ostensibly has a better shot at a future.
Better schools aren't just about better test scores. Just ask the private school crowd.
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