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Atlanta apartments are filling up
Some experts say rental prices are going up because of a skyrocketing demand is surpassing the ability to build and renovate apartment complexes.
ATLANTA - Renters trying to find places in the metro Atlanta area to rent keep hitting dead ends.
For months, FOX 5 has reported the housing market has been booming and like many other early 2020 changes, it's because of the pandemic. For the most part, the chaos seemed to derive from home sales. But that's changing.
"Prices are up, interest rates are extremely low from a historical standpoint," real wastage agent John Adams said.
As of Wednesday, Avondale Station property management in Decatur said there’s one apartment being renovated there. That’s the first vacancy they’ve had for several months, and housing experts said apartment complexes across the Atlanta metro area experiencing something similar.
One look at the light fixtures and the stucco on the Avondale Station apartments on Twin Oaks drive tells you the property isn't exactly "new."
"It was an old 1940s property," Adams said. "They renovated it, made it a gated community."
"This place never has vacancies. I use them as a reference because they're indicative of the rental community in Atlanta," Adams said.
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Why some renters really should be buying
Real estate experts say in this current market, anyone with a certain amount of money left over at the end of the month should be buying a home, not renting.
He said the ability to work from home and ditch an office has sent people searching for rentals all over the country, but especially here in the metro Atlanta area.
"On a national basis, Atlanta is a real bargain on rentals," he continued.
He said on average, rent is $1,600 for a one-bedroom apartment in Atlanta and the population keeps growing.
A new rental community named after Hank Aaron, for example, touts record-breaking leasing. It coincides with the World Series win, but Adams said that excitement in the city will only draw more people here and drive rent prices up even higher.
"If you come to my office and say, ‘I have $3,000 a month in disposable income.’ I’ll say, ‘It’s time we talk about buying," he said.
"Interest rates are so low," he said. "Lock-in housing payment at a low-interest rate for years to come," he said.
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