The Atlanta Housing Scene: 2019 to Today

A city in transformation

In 2019, Atlanta was already on the rise—an international hub for business, culture, and connection between the U.S. and the rest of the world. But the years since then have seen a confluence of changes: shifting work-patterns (especially remote work), rising global interest in American real estate, and local policies grappling with affordability.

Rent & home-price escalation

When we look at housing in Atlanta:

• 2019: Median home prices in the metro area hovered around the mid-$300,000s. Apartment rents averaged in the low to mid-$1,500 /month for a one‐bedroom in many neighborhoods.

• 2022-2023: The market spiked. Home‐prices surged, sometimes crossing $450,000 or more for the metro median in desirable suburbs. Rents for one‐bedrooms in centrally located places (e.g., Midtown, Buckhead) reached $2,000+ monthly.

• 2024-2025: While some cooling began, prices remain elevated compared to 2019. Inventory is tighter in many suburban/mixed‐use areas, and interest rates remain higher than pre-2020 (which boosts monthly carry even if nominal price stabilises).

Foreign buyers & attracting global capital

Atlanta’s appeal to foreign buyers has grown because:

• The U.S. dollar remains strong (for many foreign investors this means better purchasing power).

• Atlanta offers access to major media, film/TV studios (e.g., “Hollywood of the South”), major corporations relocating HQs, and an international airport that makes global travel easy.

• Compared to coastal cities (San Francisco, NYC, Miami) Atlanta has been seen as more affordable, making it attractive to foreign nationals wanting U.S. real estate exposure.

Foreign purchasing influences include:

• Buying single‐family homes in suburbs like Roswell, Alpharetta, Douglasville, etc.

• Investors acquiring multi‐unit properties (condos/apartments) in downtown or up‐and‐coming corridors (West End, West Midtown).

• Some foreign buyers owning homes simply as secondary residences or investment assets rather than primary homes.

How the city has changed socially & physically

• Gentrification & redevelopment: Neighborhoods such as Old Fourth Ward, Kirkwood, Mechanicsville have revitalised quickly, often pricing out older residents.

• Suburban sprawl & infill: With remote work more accepted, many workers moved further out, creating strong demand in outer suburbs of the metro.

• Affordability strain: Longtime renters and modest‐income households are squeezed. Even middle-income earners are finding home ownership harder unless they accept smaller homes or further suburbs.

• Policy & regulation responses: Atlanta and the surrounding counties have introduced incentives for affordable housing, zoning reforms for multifamily housing, and discussions around tax credits for lower‐income households.

A fictional vignette: Two families, one city

In 2019, Ana and Roberto from Bogotá bought a small townhouse in a quiet Buckhead side‐street for $320,000. They loved being near Piedmont Park and the cultural vibrancy of Atlanta.
By 2024, the same property now lists for $450,000; rents in that area of three‐bedrooms run $3,000+ per month.
Meanwhile, longtime Atlantan Ms. Johnson, raised in Mechanicsville, saw the house next‐door sell to an overseas buyer relocating from London—changing the tenor of the neighborhood.
Changes are visible: cafés and boutiques replacing cherished local shops, new construction on every vacant lot, commuters streaming from farther out suburbs.
For Ana and Roberto they count themselves luckier than many: they purchased pre-spike. For Ms. Johnson’s generation of renters, many were forced to move further out or share houses to keep pace.

The outlook

• Short term (2025-2027): Price growth may decelerate as interest rates and supply shift. But the floor is much higher than pre‐2019.

• Mid to long term: The influence of foreign real estate capital, remote work flexibility, and population growth (domestic migration) will keep Atlanta a “hot” metro for housing investment.

• Affordability remains a challenge: If the city doesn’t expand affordable housing stock, we’ll continue to see displacement of lower‐income residents and growing commuter burdens.

• Opportunity for policy innovation: Infill, transit‐oriented development, and mixed‐income housing strategies will be key to keeping diverse communities intact.