Could it be that, along with the increasingly popular trend of living "intown," now sprawl in Atlanta has ended? That's the conclusion of a report from the School of Business at George Washington University. Report author Christopher Leinberger, a professor of urban real estate and chair of the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis at George Washington University told USA Today, "Atlanta has reached peak sprawl. This is the end of that trend."
Walkable intown communities are preferred by young professionals and by high-tech businesses over automobile-dependent suburban neighborhoods. As we've mentioned previously, neighborhoods near downtown Atlanta have seen a 61 percent surge in young professional residents who have at least a four-year degree since 2000. These kind of communities, which comprise less than 1% of the Atlanta region's land area, accounted for 60% of the growth in income-generating real estate (offices, retail spaces, rental apartments and hotels) over the past four years, Leinberger said. This trend has steadily and rapidly increased in each of the last three real estate market cycles. Further, real estate products in established walkable intown communities command rents that are 112% higher than those in drivable suburban areas.
Of course, this doesn't mean that all of the sprawl that has occurred over the last several decades will somehow magically vanish. A drive from Lake Lanier to the airport during a Friday-500 rush-hour will remain an experience you'll want to avoid at all costs, if you wish to retain your sanity. So that...
We've received a number of complements on our recent website makeover, and we're flattered to hear that it's been so well received. A number of you have asked about the stylized skyline outline in the website header, and whether it really represents Atlanta. It does, in fact, and it was inspired by the photo below. This spawned questions about this building and that, which got us thinking - maybe we should put together a guide to the buildings of the Atlanta skyline. So here goes!
There are more festivals in Intown Atlanta this weekend. Today and tomorrow is the Sweet Auburn Springfest celebrating this historic district in Downtown Atlanta. In the 1940s, '50s and '60s, successful African-American-owned businesses and entertainment venues thrived on Auburn Avenue.
The festival is produced to support the business development, branding and marketing of the district. Major projects are envisioned, including transforming the Auburn Avenue viaduct into an outdoor international music café and arts and craft market, and establishing Auburn Avenue as the Beale Street / Bourbon Street / Church Street Station of Atlanta.
Festival attendees can enjoy several attractions including an Artist Market, Business and Technology Expo, a Health and Fitness Fair, an Active Senior's Pavilion, Sports Carnival, a Literary Marketplace, Just For Women’s EXPO and the Kids Fantastic Fun Zone. Live music performances will be held on eight different stages.
Another celebration of a different historic district is the Atlanta West Fest, in the West End. Attractions include a benefit concert at the Wren's Nest, a festival in Gordon-White park, and West Fest's first annual dog parade. For those of us with real estate on our minds, there is a tour of 10 historic homes, many of which are over 100 years old.
Tonight and tomorrow night are the last nights to catch Georgia Shakespeare's popular "Shake at the Lake". "A Midsummer Night's Dream" will be presented overlooking Lake Clara Meer in Piedmont Park in Midtown.
The performance is free, but you'll need tickets (well, actually wristbands)....
Well, what seemed like Atlanta's worst winter in over 20 years is over, and spring has finally sprung. That means, among other things, that spring festivals are just around the corner in many Intown Atlanta neighborhoods. The first four major events kick off this weekend.
The biggest event this weekend is the popular Atlanta Dogwood Festival. Held at Piedmont Park in Midtown Atlanta, this annual celebration of the blooming of the Dogwood trees has been a perennial favorite in Atlanta for over 70 years. In the 1970s an art show was introduced to the festival, and the juried Fine Art Market has played a big part in the festival ever since. The 1980s saw the tradition of live music begin at the Dogwood Festival, and this year is no exception with well over a dozen acts playing this weekend.
Another fun even this weekend is the 6th annual Sweetwater 420 Festival, a two-day music and arts festival. It's free to attend and enjoy live music and activities, and $5 gets you a wrist band that allows you to buy all the wine and Sweetwater beer you can "responsibly enjoy." A portion of the proceeds go to back to the Candler Park neighborhood which hosts the event. A big part of the event is "Planet 420", which sponsors local, regional and national non-profits and environmental organizations. Exhibits and forums will be presented including diesel to grease demonstrations, ...
House hunting can be fun and exciting, but it can also be frustrating at times, especially if you're in a strange new city. We love Atlanta, but if you're new to town, you'll have some special annoyances to get used to as you drive around the various Intown Atlanta neighborhoods shopping for homes.
Getting to know Atlanta can be difficult to the newcomer for a number of reasons. One of the first things you'll notice is that it's very common for the street that you're driving on to change names without notice. There are examples of this all over Atlanta; Monroe becomes Boulevard, Briarcliff becomes Moreland and E. Rock Springs becomes N. Decatur.
It can get even more confusing. In Midtown, Spring Street is one-way southbound, but in Downtown, Spring Street is one-way northbound! Don't worry, you don't have people crashing into each other, because Spring Street in Midtown isn't even the same street as Spring Street in Downtown. The southbound Spring Street in Midtown becomes Centennial Olympic Park Drive in Downtown. The northbound Spring Street in Downtown turns into West Peachtree in Midtown.
That segues nicely into our next pet-peeve: multiple roads with variations of the same name. And "Peachtree" is the most common example. According to Wikipedia, there are 71 streets in Atlanta with some version of "Peachtree" in their name. There's Peachtree Street, West Peachtree Street, Peachtree Road, Peachtree Drive, Peachtree Park Drive, Peachtree Circle, Peachtree Lane, Peachtree Walk, Peachtree-Dunwoody Road, and ... we'll, you get the idea. Peachtree is...
Hi there, and welcome to our first blog post! I want to start off on an issue that has been on the forefront of my mind for a while now. Seems like you can't turn on the news or read a paper these days without reading a headline implying that the sky is falling in regards to residential real estate. One must always remember the expression, "All real estate is local." There is a huge difference between the "bubble" markets of Florida, California, Las Vegas, etc., and Atlanta ... especially Intown Atlanta!
Image: Atlanta is in hunter green, near the bottom. Click for larger view.
First of all, Atlanta is not a "bubble" market. We did not have the "irrational exuberance" indicated by a huge run-up in prices over a short period of time. Since we didn't have a bubble, there's no bubble to burst! Sure, sales have slowed down, but we are not seeing the decline in values that the bubble markets are seeing. Now, this is not to say that we can't have a decline in prices at some point in the future if, for example, the economy as a whole slips into recession. But if we do, it's not likely to be as bad as the aforementioned bubble markets.
Intown Atlanta is even more different! The suburban Atlanta real estate market is struggling a bit. It's all about supply and demand. Let's say you have a home to sell in your suburban neighborhood. Next door, a developer starts a new subdivision of 250 homes. There's 250 more homes on the market, adding...
