It’s not just about affordability, though that is the main driver, you want nice areas, good schools and the potential for big returns in the next 5-10 years. If you are looking to buy a home in Atlanta but are super worried about affordability well you’ve come to the right place. This is the first in a series of 4 blogs that will explore all of metro Atlanta to show you where the most affordable Atlanta suburbs can be found. Here we will focus on the most affordable Atlanta suburbs in northeast Atlanta.
Today its not just about affordability but much more. Anyone can go buy a home in an area where home values are low. Problem is do you want to live in that area? Are home values in that area ever going to come up or will they just drop even further. What you really want, which is what everyone wants, is not only an affordable home but a home located in an area you love to be in with the potential to gain massive equity in your home.
If you have been eyeballing Northeast Atlanta you are going to have a plethora of great options to choose from when it comes to suburbs. Here are my top 4 most affordable Atlanta suburbs in northeast Atlanta that you may want to take a look at.
Starting us off is Lawrenceville Ga.. In March of last year I did a video of the most undervalued suburb to look at in metro Atlanta which was Lawerenceville. Then 6 months later, in September, realtor.com put out a list of the top 10 cities you should buy in right now in all the US and Lawrenceville Ga sat a number 4.
Well while prices have gone up some since that article came out, Lawrenceville is still one of the most affordable and best suburbs to live in not only in northeast Atlanta but in all metro Atlanta. The average home value there is $383,000. And while this is the highest home values you will see in this blog there is reason for it. First is the beautiful downtown area with a lots of dining options and a few fun shops. The area is buzzing, especially on nice evenings and on the weekends. Also located in the downtown area is the Lawrenceville Arts Center and Aurora Theatre. Here they hose some great comedy nights, plays and musical acts and more. There’s the Lawrenceville lawn which holds festivals, concerts and events. Great place to hand out during the beautiful fall, spring and summer months we have here in Atlanta.
If you venture outside the downtown Lawrenceville area you can go to the Gwinnett Stripers game which is a minor league team for the Atlanta Braves. When Braves players are coming off of injury, you can find them playing here to get back into shape before they start playing for the Braves again.
There are lots of great parks in the area including the Collins Hill Park Aquatic Center. You will have plenty of options to choose from as well when it comes to neighborhoods as well. Lawrenceville Ga. is not only one of the most affordable Atlanta suburbs but one of its best.
Next on the list of most affodable Atlanta suburbs is Tucker Ga. Man this is a hot area right now. This is the area that I think will explode in price over the next 5-10 years if not sooner. If you are looking for a more long term home or investment, this may be the area for you. Though Tucker is behind with city improvements compared to surrounding suburbs like Lilburn or Duluth, it has finally caught on and is starting to do some really wonderful improvements. Both restaurants and stores are starting to set up in this area and the downtown area is starting to improve as well. And Tucker’s location just outside of the perimeter, which for those not familiar I285 is know as the Perimeter. And this is a big deal because traffic here can be a pain so the closer you are to major interstates, the better. The average home value in Tucker is $375,000 which is very reasonable being so close to 285 and Atlanta. One big attraction coming to Tucker is the Tucker Path.
This will eventually be 32 miles of greenway trails, side paths and neighborhood greenways for biking, jogging and walking. 2.3 miles will be completed over the next 5 years and eventually the plan is for these trails to connect to Stone Mountain Trail that goes to and around stone mountain, the Lilburn Greenway and the Future North Fork of the Peachtree Creek Greenway.
A normal neighborhood in Tucker is compromised of mostly 60s and 70s builds so if you are looking in this area, that is what you should expect. Now there is new construction that is happening.
Idelwood Station These new communities are Idelwood Stations which is building detached homes starting in the $600k price range and there will be 58 homes in this community. The other new community being built is a John Weiland Collection neighborhood which is the Enclave on LaVista. The Enclave on LaVista will have 62 homesites with homes starting in the mid $800k range. I bring these up not because this would be considered an affordable neighborhood because they are not, these are luxury homes. But when you have new subdivisions going up in the area, especially luxury homes, home values for existing homes will start to rise.
If Tucker isn’t your vibe then I’ve got two other communities you may want to check out.
Doraville is next on the list of the most affordable Atlanta suburbs. Doraville average home value is $337,816. Doraville is having a lot of movement over that last few years and it is only going to continue. If you take a look at the map, this can be easily explained as to why Doraville may be the best buy on this list today. First, lets look at Brookhaven. This area exploded about 10 years ago and home values in this area average out at $710,000. Ok, so what, that’s not Doraville. Hold on a second, I’m getting there. Next to Brookhaven is Chamblee and this area over the last 3-5 years is really starting to grow with businesses and developers getting into this area and the average value of a home in Chamblee is $477,000. This is up 9% from last year and a lot more over the last 5 years. 5 years ago the average sales price was $265,000. Well guess where builders and developers are starting to buy at now. That’s right, right next to Chamblee you have Doraville. And one big thing that is happening right now is the construction of the 127 acre Assembly Studios. There will be 19 sound stage studios and around the studios will be restaurants, retail and a five acre public park. Atlanta has quickly become one of the number one places to film movies not only in the US but in the world. This will bring in jobs and I am sure lots of tourist as well. This will most definitely raise home values in the surrounding area.
From there that leads me to the last of the most affordable Atlanta suburbs which happens to connect to Doraville and that is Norcross. I have talked about Norcross before and the downtown Norcross area is super attractive, really fun but is really pricey. A home in the Historic Norcross area is going to be around the $600k range. So how does this qualify as one of the most affordable Atlanta suburbs? Well, when you leave the historic Norcross area, homes go down to an average of around $320k. Norcross has easy access to I-285 which will take you around Atlanta and connect up with I-75 and I-85. Besides having a great downtown area with parks, restaurants and the new beautiful library, there are some great parks and shopping in and around the area as well. And of course you are also close to the Doraville, Chamblee and Brookhaven areas.
And I failed to mention this when talking about Doraville, but but being close to Doraville allows you easy access to the Marta train station which will connect you to a lot of the main attractions in downtown Atlanta as well as Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.
Well, I hope this gave you something to think about when it comes to the most affordable Atlanta suburbs. I didn’t want to give you just great prices but I also wanted to show you places where you can expect a rise in the equity of your home. Be on the lookout for the next blog and YouTube video that will give you the most affordable Atlanta suburbs in northwest Atlanta.