Housing prices are ridiculous (Atlanta, Sandy Springs: real estate, daycare, student loans)

[aroundtheglobe]

Originally Posted by Esteban5

Pricing moves today remind me of the steady upward home pricing in the 2005-2006 time period. We all know how that ended….

I was down there looking in 06. Looked at a place in white columns that was $750,000 which for what it was I thought was fair at the time. But due to many things we didn’t make the move. I’m assuming the market plummeted after that? Guess it’s a good thing I didn’t buy then.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by lorilove

If your goal is to have a house that appreciates above average or holds its own - then schools need to be a concern. I live in Smyrna where homes have appreciated but if we had schools like East Cobb then our homes would have appreciated faster. It is our "good but not great" schools that hold us back from being on many A lists of places to recommend.

The schools in Smyrna seem to be of good quality, it’s just that Smyrna has a socioeconomic demographic makeup that weighs much more heavily on the academic ratings of the schools in the area than the socioeconomic demographic makeup may weigh on the schools in the Walton, Lassiter and Pope clusters in East Cobb.

In Smyrna the schools have a significantly higher percentage of students from low-income households than the schools in the Walton, Lassiter and Pope school clusters of East Cobb.

In Smyrna:

21% of students qualify for free and reduced lunch at King Springs Elementary School

33% of students qualify for free and reduced lunch at Nickajack Elementary School

49% of students qualify for free and reduced lunch at Campbell High School

52% of students qualify for free and reduced lunch at Griffin Middle School

54% of students qualify for free and reduced lunch at at Smyrna Elementary School

91% of students qualify for free and reduced lunch at Green Acres Elementary School.



By comparison, in the Walton/Lassiter/Pope area of East Cobb:

Only about 9% of students qualify for free and reduced lunch at Lassiter High School

Only about 6% of students qualify for free and reduced lunch at Pope High School

Only about 5% of students qualify for free and reduced lunch at Dickerson Middle School

Only about an estimated 3% of students qualify for free and reduced lunch at Walton High School

Only about an estimated 2% of students qualify for free and reduced lunch at Mount Bethel Elementary School.


Needless to say, schools that have fewer than 10% or even 5% of their student populations qualifying for free and reduced lunch are going to have better academic scores than schools that have more than 30, 40, 50%, etc. of their student populations qualifying for free and reduced lunch.

[mom2twinboyz]

Originally Posted by aroundtheglobe

I was down there looking in 06. Looked at a place in white columns that was $750,000 which for what it was I thought was fair at the time. But due to many things we didn’t make the move. I’m assuming the market plummeted after that? Guess it’s a good thing I didn’t buy then.

It's not likely to be like '06 at all. For one things are already starting to level out and prices aren't really that inflated anymore, they are actually leveling off to where they would be had the market not crashed in '06 with natural appreciation. You also have homeowners who have built up so much equity over the last couple years, there's no way they'd be underwater and have to foreclose or sell for a loss Lenders also still have more stringent requirement than they did on '06 so they aren't just giving loans to anyone.

[Citykid3785]

Your post has a couple different questions to it.

Firstly, yes, Alpharetta is now considered the premium suburb, simply because it has a huge high paying job base. That said, comparatively over the last decade, house prices are expensive everywhere, it's not an Alpharetta problem.

As another mentioned, plenty of good suburbs you can afford with a $600K budget, namely East Cobb, Roswell, Cumming, Woodstock, Duluth, Suwanee, etc.

If you don't care about schools, why seek out areas that have a "good school premium" built into their price tag like Alpharetta does?

Lastly, where is the next up and coming suburb? Tough to say. Certainly Alpharetta is breeding it's own suburbs, like Cumming, Dawnsonville, and even Dahlonega.

I think Kennesaw is a value given proximity to jobs, highways, mountains, and good schools with a prominent university. Portions of East Cobb are still a value as well.

[testa50]

Originally Posted by mom2twinboyz

It's not likely to be like '06 at all. For one things are already starting to level out and prices aren't really that inflated anymore, they are actually leveling off to where they would be had the market not crashed in '06 with natural appreciation. You also have homeowners who have built up so much equity over the last couple years, there's no way they'd be underwater and have to foreclose or sell for a loss Lenders also still have more stringent requirement than they did on '06 so they aren't just giving loans to anyone.

This is right. We've been hearing for years that asset prices are inflated, even back before COVID blew everything up.

Since then we've heard don't buy a house, the prices will come down (horrible advice that turned out to be--house prices haven't come down and interest rates have doubled.) Don't buy a car, they will be more available when the chip shortage ends. We're on the cusp of a recession so stocks are about to tank. Etc etc.

[ShenardL]

There won't be another Alpharetta and prices have increased all across the metro. They're leveling out now though with high-interest rates, there are mostly cash buyers. If you want something cheaper that may appreciate, I would look into the southern metro area like Riverdale. For the northern metro, maybe Hall county or out towards Chateau Elan and Braselton.

[aroundtheglobe]

We're hoping to cash out of our house in NY which we can get a pretty penny for. I just don't want or need a huge house anymore. Been there, done that.
I have a relative up near Rome but that's too far up for me.
I'm going to head down in a couple of weeks and check out other areas mentioned. Thank you all for suggestions.

[Esteban5]

Check out Brookhaven

[rickms55]

Originally Posted by lorilove

If your goal is to have a house that appreciates above average or holds its own - then schools need to be a concern. I live in Smyrna where homes have appreciated but if we had schools like East Cobb then our homes would have appreciated faster. It is our "good but not great" schools that hold us back from being on many A lists of places to recommend.

It's the perception of the schools based on meaningless (or disingenuous) school ratings which are based on test scores. It's all code for demographics essentially. E Cobb is wealthier and less diverse. It's not an indication that one school is better or worse, but naturally it's a one step removed way saying a school is better or worse for reasons that are said privately.

[Prickly Pear]

Originally Posted by aroundtheglobe

Been wanting to relocate for a long time now and finally able to do it. I have been looking at homes in the Alpharetta area and geez how the prices have shot up. A couple of years ago you could get a nice house for say $600K. Now that same house is a million.
What’s the next up and coming area around there where maybe it would be a smart purchase that in 10 years will be another Alpharetta?
Schools are not a concern.

Most people make less than $50k a year. You are trying to buy into one of if not the second richest suburb in Atlanta. You still have options. You're competing with millionaires. Are you really that surprised?