Is The Atlanta (ITP) Boom Over? (Roswell, Decatur: fit in, wage, to live)

[ShenardL]

Yes, housing prices are increasing everywhere as people migrate to the sunbelt. Maybe the great plains and midwest are where housing prices aren't increasing rapidly. Atlanta is still relatively cheap. I know people from Bergen County, NJ who sold their homes for $1.2 million+ and moving to a northern Atlanta suburb, buying a new construction house for 600K and using some of the leftover money to start a business.

With midtown, beltline, west midtown, and surrounding areas becoming a tech hub with a lot of new high-wage tech jobs, of course, you're going to see huge demand and prices go up. If you look south of Downtown, there are still many bargains to be had and that is the area most ripe for ROI and housing prices increasing in the future.

[testa50]

Originally Posted by MichiganderTexan

"It's not good to have runaway housing costs, especially in relation to peer cities."

But Atlanta does not have runaway costs compared to its peer cities and not even compared to some of the cities that are in the tier below it. Any growing city has the same problem as Atlanta. You specifically mentioned Dallas which has a far superior road network than Atlanta yet prices have increased at a faster rate there than Atlanta. Austin, Dallas, Miami, Nashville, are all seeing increases similar to Atlanta. Dallas and Austin real estate is significantly more pricier than metro Atlanta on average as is Miami of course.

My point is that Atlanta is not exceptional when compared to these cities. They're all in basically the same situation.

[Need4Camaro]

There’s not going to be any adjustments anytime soon if ever. This ‘is’ the new America. Forget everything that happened prior to 2020. That’s gone and over with and will not be relived. Housing will no longer be a commodity but an expensive choice item much like an exotic car. More people will become renters as both domestic and foreign investors continue to overtake the market. New inventory will dramatically slow as building costs surge through the roof, and let me tell you, that’s not over with yet… more is coming. If you managed to buy before the pandemic, consider yourself blessed. It’s not going to get any easier to own a home anywhere in America but especially a major city.

[Atlanta Scientist]

The average occupancy rate was 98%, indicating an extremely healthy market. Leasing agents reported few issues with tenants not paying rent during the pandemic.

The average rent was $2,054 per month, or $2.24 per square foot, an increase of approximately 16% over the past 12 months. Five communities are quoting an average monthly rent greater than $3.00 per square foot.

Demand came roaring back, as the market absorbed 7,800 units over the past 12 months, well above the annual average of 4,150 units over the previous seven-year period.

One simple measure illustrates the market’s maturation: Only four high-rise buildings were constructed in the urban core from 2000 to 2010, while 42 towers have delivered since then, and 12 more are under construction.

I did a long walk around Midtown today and amazed by all the construction. I just bought a place in city and glad I did before things got even pricier.

https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/...Pos=0#cxrecs_s

[testa50]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

There’s not going to be any adjustments anytime soon if ever. This ‘is’ the new America. Forget everything that happened prior to 2020. That’s gone and over with and will not be relived. Housing will no longer be a commodity but an expensive choice item much like an exotic car. More people will become renters as both domestic and foreign investors continue to overtake the market. New inventory will dramatically slow as building costs surge through the roof, and let me tell you, that’s not over with yet… more is coming. If you managed to buy before the pandemic, consider yourself blessed. It’s not going to get any easier to own a home anywhere in America but especially a major city.

Yeah, pretty much.

The role of investors isn't necessarily a bad one though--they put up the money so housing can reliably be built, owned, and rented to people who can't afford to own houses themselves. It's an easy role to demonize (not that your post was doing that), but if we're gonna capitalism, we've gotta capitalism. Restricting the flow of capital into the housing market (by discouraging people from buying investment properties and renting them out, for instance) will simply drive down supply and raise costs in the long term.

[equinox63]

Beltline Development Boom Continues with Three Boulevard Heights Projects - Urbanize Atlanta

[bellhead]

Goldman Sachs is predicting a 16% increase in housing prices next year.


https://www.gspublishing.com/content...a053e06c1.html

[AtlantaRising]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

There’s not going to be any adjustments anytime soon if ever. This ‘is’ the new America. Forget everything that happened prior to 2020. That’s gone and over with and will not be relived. Housing will no longer be a commodity but an expensive choice item much like an exotic car. More people will become renters as both domestic and foreign investors continue to overtake the market. New inventory will dramatically slow as building costs surge through the roof, and let me tell you, that’s not over with yet… more is coming. If you managed to buy before the pandemic, consider yourself blessed. It’s not going to get any easier to own a home anywhere in America but especially a major city.

I would agree with this. While there has always been a decided advantage to owning versus renting, wage growth has not kept pace with real estate values. This is exacerbated in large cities because new home development never recovered fully from the Great Recession. It is true, demand for housing in Atlanta will continue to keep prices high as the local economy soars...and it is. Oracle, Google, Microsoft, AirBnB are all building campuses or HQs. There will thousands of indirect developments from just those I mentioned. In paying probably too much attention to local and national real estate business news, Atlanta is about to take even larger steps into major player status for the U.S. It's reputation of Black Excellence and a highly educated workforce are attracting more than Atlanta's share of attention. Companies are taking measures to address inequity and Atlanta can offer what most cities this big cannot. The signs just don't point to another opportunity for cheap buying at the moment. And despite what the media says, there is no exodus from the coasts. It still costs an arm and a leg to buy in California. That means demand is high. If anyone knows someone selling in L.A. for less than $500k, DM me.

But, nothing is forever. Position yourself if you can and wait to strike. It WILL happen eventually. FOMO is an illusion in real estate. If you buy now, you are buying at the top of the market. Period. You will not be equity rich very fast with said property. This is the time to use to prepare for the dip. If you can keep that in mind, this is not so frustrating.

[AtlantaRising]

Originally Posted by cparker73

I grew up 90 minutes outside of Atlanta in the 80s and 90s and witnessed its growth into a major metro during that time up to the Olympics. Driving into the city for events like Midtown Music Festival when it was held on land where the Fed Reserve is or a show at The Masquerade, I couldn't wait until the static on the radio cleared up so I could hear 99X and get those first peeks of the Oz-like skyline through the trees as you drive north on I-85 past the airport. Atlanta was ascendant, and the mood of the city reflected that optimism as we approached 1996 and 2000.

Knowing how this city has been in growth mode for the past 40 years (except during the Great Recession) and with the nearly weekly announcements of tech companies opening hubs here or existing ones expanding, what makes you think a correction is coming? My Realtor says this is nothing like 2006 because the financial instruments available back then for marginal homeowners don't exist, and a lot of these buyers from out of state are coming with bundles of cash from their home sales in NY, NJ and California.

Probably the one new factor that needs watching are the real estate investment firms like Invitation Homes that are buying up single-family homes by the hundreds and renting them out. There are even firms now building townhome communities that are rental only. These companies are pricing out first-time homeowners and delaying their ability to build up equity and wealth for their families. Something needs to be done about these companies because we're going to have a generation who should be able to own but can't because corporations own a significant amount of housing stock.

I remember that feeling...and I would come from Gwinnett as a teen in the 90's. Just hitting those smooth, massively wide highway lanes was a thrill. There actually IS an Atlanta vibe. It's just understated and constantly under development due to the population growth. I thought I was the sh going out to the clubs, with my windows down, music up, watching the skyscrapers appear or disappear into fog (which is one of the most under appreciated views of the beautiful buildings from Downtown all the way to Buckhead). But there's a new feeling and it's pretty cool too. I like the diversity and the go get em attitude of business here. Atlanta has a bright future. That's a lot to be grateful for.

[JMatl]

^Great post!