The Urban Land Institute’s Atlanta District Council today released a housing study examining affordability in Atlanta’s five core counties: Clayton, Cobb, Dekalb, Fulton and Gwinnett. The study, an update to the 2018 Affordable Atlanta report, revealed these counties have grown by 9%, but the number of affordable cost-burdened households outpaced household growth by 15% since 2018. The cost to subsidize the need in these counties is $270 million per month. According to ULI, there is currently no ZIP code in the core counties where someone earning 80% or less than the area median income (AMI) can purchase a home at the median income price. View the 2023 study HERE.
“The results from our latest housing study are distressing,” said Daphne Bond-Godfrey, Executive Director of ULI Atlanta. “The City of Atlanta has made great strides with public and private leadership through the creation of HouseATL, the passage of the City’s housing opportunity bond, and unprecedented investments from philanthropy. However, the need for continued action strategies and regional champions for the issue remains. Housing affordability is an issue that affects all communities.”
The study, conducted by KB Advisory Group, defines the current problems in the affordability crisis as rents and home prices growing faster than incomes, cost burden persisting across the five counties, transportation remaining a significant cost and inequity inhibiting housing choices. According to ULI, to tackle these issues, stakeholders across public, nonprofit, philanthropic and private sectors need to work together to take necessary actions for progress. These actions include increasing the housing supply, subsidizing affordable demand and investing in regional leadership and resources.
“The five core counties span 55 municipalities, meaning there are many different officials making zoning and land use decisions,” said Geoff Koski, President of KB Advisory Group. “This leads to the…
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