The City of Atlanta has recently made strides in addressing housing affordability by breaking ground on a new fully affordable apartment complex.
This initiative comes at a time when the metro Atlanta housing market is undergoing significant shifts, reflecting a national trend that leans increasingly toward buyers.
According to Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather, the current market conditions are the best for buyers since 2014, with high mortgage rates and a surplus of available homes leading to a decline in prices across the nation.
Fairweather highlighted, “High mortgage rates combined with the higher-than-usual amounts of supply means that prices just had to come down.”
Data from Redfin indicates that metro Atlanta ranks fourth among major U.S. metropolitan areas for year-over-year price declines as of mid-July, following cities like Oakland, California; West Palm Beach, Florida; and Tampa, Florida.
While sellers are now more willing to provide concessions to help buyers with costs, the affordability crisis remains a pressing issue.
As of April 2025, a household income exceeding $120,000 a year is needed to adequately afford the median home price in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell area, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
In contrast, the regional median income stands at approximately $90,000, leaving households around $30,000 short and at risk of becoming cost-burdened.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defines a family as cost-burdened if it spends more than 30% of its income on housing costs.
For median-priced homes in the Atlanta area, the proportion of income required reached 40% in April, resulting in monthly payments of around $3,000, which includes principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and private mortgage insurance.
Nationally, home prices have surged 60% since 2019, with a current median price for single-family homes hitting $412,500, according to the 2025 The State of the Nation’s Housing report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.
The report notes, “Home price appreciation combined with elevated interest rates drove up homebuyers’ mortgage payments, pricing less affluent households out of the for-sale market.”
As of now, the weekly average for a 30-year fixed mortgage stands at 6.75%.
Fairweather points out that although prices are trending down, mortgage rates remain a considerable hurdle for prospective homeowners.
“Even though prices have come down, mortgage rates are still elevated — much higher than they were during the pandemic,” she stated.
John Ryan, Chief Marketing Officer of the Georgia Multiple Listing Service, corroborated Redfin’s findings with June data from the region’s 12-county core.
The data indicated a 2.8% change year over year, with the median sale price dropping from $430,000 in June 2024 to $418,000 this June.
Ryan mentioned that sellers are more inclined to negotiate prices at a discount rather than receiving offers at or above asking price.
He remarked, “That tells us there’s negotiating power on the buyer’s side.”
As Atlanta moves forward with its affordable housing initiatives, the landscape for home buying remains multifaceted, with challenges and opportunities for prospective homeowners.
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