Study claims to identify oases of affordable housing in metro Atlanta

A new study by real estate data site Trulia claims to have found pockets of “affordable housing” in the 50 largest markets in the U.S.

Metro Atlanta ranked 10th on the list of markets with the highest proportion of ZIP codes where all homes were dubbed affordable for a buyer with the median household income, according to the report.

That means, per Trulia’s data, that just over 10 percent of metro Atlanta ZIP codes have nothing but homes that would be affordable to an Average Joe.

Thankfully for many Atlantans, especially potential buyers, the local real estate market hasn’t caught up to metros such as San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, and San Diego, or even Portland, Miami, and Tampa, per the report.

In those cities, there are no ZIP codes where all homes are deemed affordable to the average buyer.

Then again, metro Atlanta’s market seems to be outperforming Pittsburgh, Columbus, and St. Louis, which had the largest share of ZIP codes where all homes could be considered affordable

Additionally, the study claimed that 50 percent or more of the homes are affordable in nearly 87 percent of metro Atlanta ZIP codes.

But it should come as no surprise that many of the ZIP codes Atlanta claims as entirely—or almost entirely—affordable are outside the Interstate 285 Perimeter.

According to data Trulia shared with Curbed Atlanta, ZIP codes in places like Austell, Riverdale, Forest Park, and Stone Mountain are 100 percent affordable to the typical income earner.

In 30035, a ZIP code just south of the Perimeter, the median home value is $106,442.

The region’s median income, per the report, is $65,200, making that price and those in other areas totally affordable.

There are, of course, a handful of budding intown neighborhoods where the vast majority of homes are still considered affordable.

In 30310, a ZIP code that covers parts of neighborhoods such as West End and Oakland City, the median home value is $65,764, and 99.9 percent of the homes are considered affordable to the median income earner, per the report.

Ditto for ZIP codes covering parts of East Point, Mosely Park, Hapeville, Clarkston, and even greater Decatur.

It shouldn’t shock anyone to learn that ZIP codes in and around Buckhead, Midtown, and downtown didn’t make an appearance on the list.