Comments on: Ring of death, please meet the donut hole of life

By: Sherry Hill

Sherry Hill — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 19:57:38 +0000

I have a Decatur address and feel like I have a front row seat in the aforementioned ‘ring’. My county tax assessment which I received a couple weeks ago, devalued my property by 53%. Fortunately, I do not plan on going anywhere or selling any time soon so perhaps recovery will be imminent but what is the deal? Everyone on my street received similar devaluations. Maybe I am crying wolf but after this, how far behind is the sound of bulldozers so a single family residential area can be rezoned for several jillion apartments??

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:21:14 +0000

“Ring of spots” and “cone of recovery” also figure in the linked story. But notice the viewpoint there: what’s not going to recover is developers’ ability to throw up cheap subdivisions in the woods for a quick profit. I have a hard time seeing this as completely bad.

By: Andisheh Nouraee

Andisheh Nouraee — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 12:10:45 +0000

Thank you for catching that, Siv. I had a fourth point, then forgot it after I got up to go do something else. Multitasking and copy-editing do not mix.

By: Cubalibre

Cubalibre — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 02:11:14 +0000

Or a donut cushion.

By: CB

CB — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:55:38 +0000

That will be key.

And, i want to be clear that I’m not bashing the suburbs. If you’re job is in Roswell or Alpharetta by all means you should choose to live there. They are, among others, great areas. But, the days of 45 mile commutes each way are going to slowly (maybe quickly) come to an end.

By: Decatur Metro

Decatur Metro — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:28:34 +0000

Yeah, agreed. We’ll need to improve transportation options/commute times a heck of a lot within the inner-core before the death ring recovers, but it can be done if Atlanta transportation becomes more efficient and the city’s economy keeps growing.

By: J_T

J_T — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:22:45 +0000

I think Davo needs a hug. Or a donut.

By: CB

CB — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:20:43 +0000

I think “never” is a bit too much but it will certainly be a long time. Faceless subdivisions (“PV Farms”) in the ‘burbs combined with high fuel and no transportation options will make selling these properties a tough proposition.

The original thought process that you get a lot of house for the money (cheap house note) is going to be replaced with auto costs (fuel, repair, insurance, etc…) that dwarf their housing costs.