Atlanta rent down 5.4% from last year, but city still 39th most expensive in US, report says

Sam Sachs
·3 min read
7

Mortgage rates are on the rise, hitting their highest level since December 2023, according to new data from the federally-backed mortgage company Freddie Mac.

With mortgage rates remaining an obstacle to some renters moving into their own homes, the Atlanta rental market shows prices have started to fall for one and two-bedroom apartments.

Still, despite a 5.4% drop compared to February 2023, rental costs in the city still has rent in the top 50 highest costs in America.

According to data from ApartmentList.com, a national real estate company, Atlanta is the 39th most expensive market in the U.S.

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The current median rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $1,524, though that is a dollar less than the median cost for a two-bedroom in the same area.

As inflation remains top of mind for Americans, both everyday people and lawmakers, affordability is a concern.

The most recent Consumer Price Index from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national inflation measure, the cost of shelter remains the biggest driver of inflation across the country.

“The index for shelter continued to rise in January, increasing 0.6 percent and contributing over two-thirds of the monthly all items increase,” BLS reported in February.

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The report said that costs for motor vehicle insurance and medical care had also contributed to the current level of inflation, which was up by 0.3% in January.

Food costs also increased 2.6%, but energy prices had fallen by nearly 5% over the year. Still, gas costs remain elevated in the United States, with the price per gallon an average of $3.15 in Georgia and $3.27 nationally, according to AAA’s daily gas price tracker.

It’s not all bad news in Atlanta though.

The ApartmentList report on rent said “Atlanta rents went down 0.6% in the past month, compared to the national rate of -0.3%,” meaning conditions are more quickly decreasing in price for renters in the area.

However, rent growth in Atlanta was still 68th among the largest cities in the U.S. Outside of just the city of Atlanta, ApartmentList said zooming out to show the “wider Atlanta metro area, the median rent is $1,472 meaning that the median price in Atlanta proper ($1,520) is 3.3% greater than the price across the metro as a whole. Metro-wide annual rent growth stands at -4.5%, above the rate of rent growth within just the city.”

Looking at cities in the metro area, rent is as low as $1,101 and as high as $1,619, depending on where you’re looking to move for a one-bedroom apartment.

The most expensive city in the metro right now to rent in is Brookhaven, where median prices show a one-bedroom apartment is going for a reported $1,624 per month, while Suwanee is the most expensive for a two-bedroom apartment with prices at $1,978 per month.

According to the rental data in the report, Lawrenceville is currently the lowest cost for median rent, with a $1,101 cost for a one-bedroom and $1,323 for a two-bedroom apartment. Separately, Dunwoody had the biggest drop in rent in the past year, with a 9% drop since February last year.

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