Yardi Matrix: Atlanta’s Historic Growth
Atlanta is basking in some of the fastest rent growth in the metro’s history, buoyed by a growing population and corporate expansions and relocations.
Atlanta is basking in some of the fastest rent growth in the metro’s history, buoyed by a growing population and corporate expansions and relocations. However, the metro is about to be tested by an influx of new supply that will add more than 10,000 units this year, with more to come over the next few years.
Employment is expanding at a higher rate than the nation in a broad range of segments. Growth is led by the professional and business sector, which is adding a large number of administrative and support positions. Over the past few years, state authorities provided tax breaks to secure projects such as Baxter International’s $1 billion plant in Sandy Springs, as well as GM’s new information technology center in Roswell. The results of those measures are finally visible, as the manufacturing sector grew substantially during the past year. Furthermore, these projects, along with a robust apartment development pipeline of more than 60,000 units, have driven construction jobs to historic levels.
Real estate investors are drawn to Atlanta by the favorable business climate and its role as an international trade hub and the largest market in the Southeast. The result is more than $5 billion in transactions during each of the past two years. Development is booming, which is putting downward pressure on rents in the luxury segment, where new supply is concentrated. This has led Yardi Matrix to forecast that rent growth will moderate slightly, to 6.8 percent, in 2016.
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