A lot of apartment markets have struggled during the pandemic. Atlanta isn’t in that category.
The Southern migration, propelled by strong job growth in Georgia, has led people to Atlanta. In the process, rental prices have risen.
In May 2021, the average rent for an apartment in Atlanta was $1,559, a 6% increase compared to the previous year, according to RENTCafé. In July, ApartmentList reported Atlanta rents had increased 2.82% month-over-month and 10.79% year-over-year. This robust rent growth strongly outpaces major coastal cities like San Francisco, Washington DC and Seattle.
Atlanta’s growth hasn’t just been a pandemic phenomenon. From March 2018 to May 2021, rents have risen from $1,369 to $1,559. There is a deep market for renting in Atlanta. Overall, 57% (119,205) households are renters, according to RENTCafé.
To capture this rental demand in Atlanta, we are partnering with a family office to buy a two-property, 712-unit multifamily portfolio in the city in an off-market transaction of $144.75 million. Both properties sit in Atlanta’s booming Brookhaven submarket, where Emory University and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta are constructing a new $2.5 billion medical district.
The medical district is just one of the emerging employment hubs in Atlanta. In April, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported that several firms across industries are in hiring surges. For instance, Hire Dynamics sought to fill 1,800 jobs in metro Atlanta and SK Innovation was hiring hundreds of workers for a factory being built in Commerce, according to the paper.
With a history of job growth and a strong rebound in 2021, Atlanta is a good bet to remain a jobs engine for years to come.
