Atlanta real estate pros: intown apartment boom has “peaked”

Consider that, in Midtown and Buckhead alone, almost 13,000 new apartments have delivered since 2012.

But still, from downtown to Lindbergh, and up to Brookhaven, apartment buildings across Atlanta are almost totally full.

So the question becomes ... will this last?

According to an “Intown Multifamily Sentiment Survey” conducted by local real estate consultants Haddow & Company, the answer is ... maybe. Or maybe not.

The company joined other industry experts at a recent Atlanta Apartment Association event to wax prophetic on the city’s explosive multifamily market.

For ATL development dorks, a highlight was the results of Haddow & Company’s study, which surveyed 70 developers, lenders, and investors back in February.

Collectively, they believe:

• Rents will be stagnant for the next one or two years. (Good news for Atlanta’s affordability crunch?)
• “The intown apartment market has peaked, but fundamentals are still positive,” although there will be “short-term pain in certain pockets.”
• In general, the city’s “construction pipeline should shrink due to high costs and tighter financing.” (Bad news for construction-crane junkies?)

Another interesting tidbit is that 58 percent of respondents believe Midtown is the submarket at the greatest risk for overbuilding, while the rest think it’s Buckhead, the survey found.

In any case, about 11,000 more rentals are still in the Midtown and Buckhead pipelines.

Below is a visual, factual smorgasbord for Atlanta development wonks. Bon appétit!

Haddow & Company

• Haddow & Company Real Estate Consultants report