If you could predict the future...will Atlanta become a HCOL city? (Nashville: public school, universities)

[K1404]

Originally Posted by bellhead

Plus all of Cincinnati & Pittsburg have huge research Universities located within the city core. This is something which we need more of here in Atlanta. Ga. Tech. & Emory are good but not tier 1 research Universities.

Say what?

[Smocaine]

Originally Posted by bellhead

Tech. & Emory are good but not tier 1 research Universities.

If GT (in particular) and Emory aren't "Tier 1", you're using a metric based on raw size that you're not going to find outside of the massive Midwestern schools with 50,000+ students.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by bellhead

This is something which we need more of here in Atlanta. Ga. Tech. & Emory are good but not tier 1 research Universities.

I want some of that stuff you’re smoking.

[evannole]

I don't know... We have started looking at possible retirement destinations, focusing primarily on metros of around 500k-2M people, and most of them are looking pretty expensive, too, particularly in desirable parts of town with walkable amenities, like where we live now.

Atlanta has plenty of issues - I, for one, am looking forward to eventually moving somewhere with less traffic and a slower pace of life - but the value proposition is still pretty high here, especially for a metro its size.

[bellhead]

Originally Posted by Gulch

I want some of that stuff you’re smoking.

Humbolt counties finest.

I could have worded that better.

[Citykid3785]

Originally Posted by FindingHomeATL

Rents are getting very close to that in North Cobb. It makes no sense. The schools are good, but if you look at comparable suburbs in, say, St. Louis, it's not even close. You can still get an apartment in a place like Ballwin, MO (suburb of St. Louis) for under $1,000.

To be fair, I would never want to move to St. Louis....it's a declining city and I think that's reflected in the price, no?

[Phil P]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

Rents will stay in-line

Housing costs will 'not' be falling anytime soon. There are alot of driving factors that increased them practically overnight.

-- It's much more expensive to build new inventory due to the lumber shortage and we are as much as a DECADE out of resolving that
-- Alot less sellers on the market
-- Less foreclosures on the market
-- There are plenty of potential buyers who could not buy due to the price influx who will in turn re-boost the market in the event that prices drop even slightly.
-- Record low interest rates
-- Desirability of living in the southern metro's has went through the roof amid the pandemic
-- The explosion in real estate did 'not' occur due to faulty lending such as what caused the 08 recession but was prevalant of cash buyers and their homes will likely not hit the market due to foreclosures.

Noting that the HCOL is happening everywhere currently, it is not specific to Atlanta.

I wouldn't be so sure this is the new normal. There's too many wacky things going on: an absurd amount of GDP growth is federal deficit driven, interest rates are lowest ever, a huge bump of people just bought and those people are off the market looking for a house now...

I wouldn't be surprised if prices climb a little higher, but I also wouldn't be surprised if they dipped 10-15% either. Bottom line, now is NOT the time to push the limits on affordability of a new home purchase cause you'd be up the creek if prices drop and you're under water.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by Phil P

I wouldn't be so sure this is the new normal. There's too many wacky things going on: an absurd amount of GDP growth is federal deficit driven, interest rates are lowest ever, a huge bump of people just bought and those people are off the market looking for a house now...

I wouldn't be surprised if prices climb a little higher, but I also wouldn't be surprised if they dipped 10-15% either. Bottom line, now is NOT the time to push the limits on affordability of a new home purchase cause you'd be up the creek if prices drop and you're under water.

We will see, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for prices to drop. I believe new inventory is going to sharply drop in the coming days for multitudes of reasons. The lumber shortage being one of them as we will no longer be capable of building enough homes to meet demand. I hate being the conspiracists but I really believe they are trying to limit the number of people capable of buying homes and turning us into an investors market.

The interest rates are only helping the little man right now and barely at that if they have to contend with bidding wars or inflated down payments. Most of this is being fueled by cash buyers selling more expensive properties which is how and why despite touching one of the highest unemployment ratio's this country has ever seen, Real Estate still flourished.

[Mossberg]

The COL is definitely going up. Here is a $700k per unit new development for the Mechanicsville neighborhood:

The buildings themselves are slated to be 4 stories, and units would be 2,800 – 3,2000 square feet each. Each unit would feature a street-level office with a residential unit above. The units will be listed for an average of $700,000, and will include access to amenities such as a gazebo and a dog park within the development.

https://whatnowatlanta.com/live-work...-review-board/

[MichiganderTexan]

Originally Posted by Smocaine

I really think it'll start trending back downwards soon. I spent half of my K-12 education in Cobb, went to Tech, generally have an affinity for the place...Atlanta has zero national appeal other than being cheap.

This is not accurate saying that Atlanta has zero national appeal other than being cheap. Atlanta is the most popular city for relocating African Americans. All of these people aren't even relocating from cheaper areas. Many are relocating from other areas of the South and Midwest which Atlanta is already more expensive than. I agree that increasing cost makes it less favorable, but low cost of living is not the only reason or even main reason that people relocate here anymore. Why do so many celebrities live here when they can afford to live in those expensive places. I mean if it's not California, a coastal area or city like Miami, or a highly urbanized city with great amenities like New York, Chicago, Dc, Atlanta has a lot or more to offer than most other places that aren't in the super upper tier of cities.