Will Atlanta continue to be a good investment for Chinese buyers?

[Chad Carrodus]

In short...YES. Here's why:

THE METRO ATLANTA MARKET IS THRIVING:Atlanta home values have already risen by 4.8% in 2018 over the past year and the forecast is that prices will continue to rise by 6.6% within this year, according to Zillow.com. If this price forecast is correct, given the current supply and demand situation, Atlanta home values will be higher in 2021 than they were in 2018. That would put new Chinese homeowners on a path to building equity in the long-term or a home in a stable environment.

DEMAND FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT: With low mortgage rates, low unemployment, and continued wage growth, home buyer activity is expected to remain healthy into the new year. New construction was on the rise in 2019 and is expected to continue into 2020, but many experts note that the country is still not building enough new units to quench the demand. It remains to be seen whether existing homeowners will be enticed to sell by higher home prices, which could finally bring the overall housing market into greater balance.

JOBS: The best places to buy property for equity growth often have three things in common: job growth, population growth and affordability. Atlanta appears to have all three of these factors and more, and Chinese buyers are aware of it. In the last five years, Atlanta’s job growth averaged 2.3% annually, outpacing the national average of 1.6%. Educated workers flock to Atlanta for steady employment and corporations move here to tap the skilled workforce. 

Twenty-six Fortune 1,000 companies are headquartered in metro Atlanta with 16 of these businesses cited on the elite Fortune 500 list, including Home Depot, UPS, Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines and AT&T. Industries that operate here cover the gamut — from healthcare to film to technology – and keep Atlanta’s economy stable and protected in the event of any industry-specific slumps. New technology jobs spreading across the United States is also contributing to an influx of Chinese workers working in that sector. Georgia is attracting a significant number of tech start-ups. The Metro Atlanta Chamber identified fintech (financial technology), mobility and IoT (Internet of Things), health information technology, cybersecurity, B2B software, smart grid technology and film/digital media/entertainment tech as key growth segments. 

Between February 2018 and February 2019, Atlanta had the largest employment gain, up nearly 18,000 or 3.5% compared to 2.6 percent nationwide, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Atlanta is the only city east of the Mississippi to be featured in Forbes magazine’s “5 US Cities Poised to Become Tomorrow's Tech Meccas” list. Job opportunities and growth has made Atlanta one of the hottest residential and labor markets in the country. {Source: Juwai}