As a post-COVID workforce realized it could work from virtually anywhere, housing prices across the country skyrocketed as a result of the demand. And higher housing prices were certainly the case in Georgia, as shown here by Redfin data. But home sales weren’t the only prices soaring; Atlanta’s renters comprise roughly 50% of the area’s households and have seen rental prices increase in a post-COVID world.

Over the past month or so, we here at 33N have taken a deep dive into the rental housing market in the form of a 3-part “mini-series.” (If this is your first foray to our blog, take a quick detour to read those earlier three posts here, here, and here!) Data sources from these posts include Zillow’s Observed Rental Index and Esri’s Rental Index. Recent research by Rent.com shows that Atlanta’s rental rates for studio and 1-bedroom units have increased year-over-year, while 2- and 3-bedroom units remain stable or even have decreased. And data from our very own eviction tracker illustrates how the affordability issue of rental units is dispersed across the metro area.

So, how does the metro area compare nationally? And how to summarize these findings? We’ve attempted just that in this most recent regional snapshot, with additional data sources including Costar and the American Community Survey. Peruse the slide deck below, or download a PDF copy here.

The main takeaways of our study in the rental housing market include the following:

  1. As of October 2022, Atlanta’s Zillow Observed Rental Index (ZORI) is $2,002, which represents a five-year increase of just over 53%. Among similarly-sized metros around the country, this increase is second-highest behind Miami’s five-year ZORI increase of 59.3%.
  2. The overall ZORI in Atlanta is just below the national average and, of the cities surveyed, is most similar to that of another sunbelt capital: Austin, TX.
  3. Among metro counties, Forsyth features far and away the highest ZORI, with an October 2022 ZORI of just shy of $2,400. The counties with the lowest indices are Rockdale and Clayton, with ZORIs just under $1,800.
  4. Costar multi-family rental rates are shown to have come down slightly in the metro area, from a peak of nearly $1.65 per SF in Q2 2022 to a current rate of about $1.60 per SF. Despite the recent reprieve for renters, these rates remain well above pre-COVID levels.
  5. ACS data from 2014 to 2020 in the 11-county region show a decrease in rental units under $800 and between $800 and $1,250, while units that rent for more than $1,250 saw an overall increase of over 180,000 during the time period from 2014 to 2020.
  6. Metro Atlanta eviction filings have been climbing steadily since April 2022, highlighting the lack of affordability in the metro area over much of 2022. This affordability is undoubtedly tied to increased inflation and soaring gas and grocery prices.
  7. Census tracts around the 11-county region which featured higher percentages of Millennials were also found to, in general, feature higher rental indices, as calculated by Esri.
  8. Metro census tracts featuring the highest Esri rental indices, perhaps unsurprisingly, are clustered near the Atlanta central business district and due north of this area.

Explore the snapshot deck below: