More Atlantans are Shacking Up
Decatur Metro | February 18, 2009 | 11:26 amThis story popped yesterday when Forbes ranked the nation’s “emptiest” cities and Atlanta came in third behind housing-hedonist Las Vegas and car-dependent Detroit in terms of vacant rental units and single-family homes. The AJC’s print edition led with the story in this morning’s paper and does a pretty good job at taking apart the data, citing many local experts.
So, why does Atlanta have more available property than almost every other U.S. city? The AJC article states that some of it has to do with the vastness of the metro-area (28 counties) and our particularly potent combination of an overbuilt market with a high rate of foreclosures. From that it sounds to me like Atlanta might just be the victim of its own early 21st century popularity.
But probably the most interesting trend cited is that the census data is also showing that the city’s population is still growing. Sound impossible? Apparently, more people are moving in together instead of buying their own property.
This trend helps the AJC article end on a high hote… “As the economy stabilizes, [Emory Prof. Frank] Alexander said, demand should rebound quickly, unlike in No. 2 Detroit, where population has been steadily declining.”
And when will that be? Unfortunately, people much smarter than myself keep talking more and more about a “lost decade”.
But probably the most interesting trend cited is that the census data is also showing that the city’s population is still growing. Sound impossible?
Completely possible. Anyone who drives more than five miles or twelve minutes away from a starting point will testify to it. ^H^
I would have liked to have seen the AJC cite some sort of confirming evidence that people are moving in together and thus creating more vacancies. Instead, the reporter allows Prof. Alexander’s hypothesis to stand alone seemingly as fact.
It may be that the increase in vacancies during a time of increasing population is due to people moving in together. But I think there is a better chance that the rate of construction of new condos and homes in metro Atlanta has been greater than the increase in population over the last 5 years. And that this has been the primary reason why vacancies have increased even while we are gaining population.
I look at all the newly completed or almost completed high-rise condos on the Atlanta skyline and wonder who is going to buy them all, especially given that only 6 new condos sold from July thru December of 2008.
Good point Fence Sitter. Embarrassed that I didn’t think of that possibility myself!
“Apparently, more people are moving in together instead of buying their own property.”
That’s what happened during the great depression.
Or perhaps the recession is bringing us closer together….
Makes sense to me that more people are moving in together. As I understand it, much of the in-migration here is made up of young people. Didn’t most of us have roommates back then?
The data is a year old, I believe. We have overbuilt condos and foreclosures due to predatory lending and sub-prime loans are ravaging many neighborhoods, particularly south of I-20. That is the story.