As we move into February, the Real Estate market seems to be stabilizing along with rates. I am seeing buyers and sellers with renewed interest as spring approaches.
As we stabilize and look to the year ahead, I wanted to share with you some developments, neighborhoods, and ideas to help you find good long-term value and investments in our Atlanta market.
Below are four opportunities to keep an eye on and potentially explore as your next real estate move.
Welcome to Blandtown
Are you looking for the next up-and-coming neighborhood in Atlanta? If so, put Blandtown on your radar.
Blandtown is anything but bland; the name comes from the original owner of the land, the Bland family. Blandtown is located on the Upper Westside off Huff Road between Marietta and Howell Mill.
I’ve written many times about the evolution of the Westside, and I believe Blandtown will follow the path of many other pocket neighborhoods in Atlanta that have become household names like Cabbagetown and Kirkwood.
Some new housing developments are sprouting up in the neighborhood and I will be on the lookout for unique buying opportunities for this year.
New mixed-use developments
Centennial Yards is the $5 billion urban revitalization project near Mercedes-Benz stadium. It’s expected to feature 8 million square feet of commercial and residential space.
Recently, they broke ground on the first development phase, a boutique hotel and apartment tower.
The Junction Krog District brings Old Fourth Ward and Inman Park together on the Beltline’s Eastside Trail. The development will house office space, shared outdoor space, and restaurants.
I believe this development will be a spectacular urban living boost and one more reason to love beltline living.
The neighborhoods surrounding these developments will be excellent long-term investment choices if you are in the market for a new home. Now is the time to start looking.
Downtown
As you read above, with the development of Centennial yards, downtown development is booming. There’s a planned $4.5 Billion in new investment going into downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. I’ve been bullish on downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods, and it appears to all be coming together as a place to live and work in the future of Atlanta.
Here are some of the notable projects underway:
Five Points MARTA transformation. $150 million will be invested in the MARTA hub to make it more accessible.
Underground Atlanta. Plans are underway to develop and improve this destination to make it more accessible and modernized.
South Downtown. $100 million has been invested in the buildings along Peachtree to be part of a large revitalization project that will include new retail, office, and residential spaces.
This is the year to get ahead of the curve and take a serious look at home-buying opportunities Downtown.
Market Timing
If you have followed my blog and newsletter for any length, you know that I don’t see us having any meaningful slowdown in home prices. Yes, we have seen some short-term fluctuations and pullbacks due to increased rates, but these fluctuations have been minimal in the Atlanta market, and the overall trend is still up.
We have solid population and economic growth but insufficient residential inventory to meet long-term demand. Therefore, I don’t see a significant crash in the Atlanta residential real estate market short of a black swan event.
For this reason, people trying to time the market is on my list of things to watch. I suspect many are doing this right now hoping for the best change in rate and price.
I hold a contrarian point of view, which is not to time this market because once people realize that this interest rate environment is the new norm, they will come back in full force and push prices up quickly.
Conclusion
Overall I couldn’t be more excited about Atlanta this year. So many big new urban developments are taking place that I believe will present a lot of new opportunities for buyers and sellers.
Likewise, I believe that if you do plan to make a move this year then now is the right time to start looking and potentially buy. I believe home prices will continue their upward trend this year given everything the city has going for it and which I’ve been discussing for the last several months.
If you’re looking for a home and are ready to see what the market has to offer in some of the up-and-coming areas and unique opportunities of urban Atlanta then please don’t hesitate to contact me.