Renting in metro Atlanta has gotten more expensive in 2017 with renters paying about $30 more than in the previous year. Although rents are still lower than the national average of $1,359/month, they are continuing to grow. A recent study published by apartment search website RENTCafé found that at the end of 2017, rents in metro Atlanta reached $1,182, having gone up by 2.6%. In comparison, the national average rent went up by 2.5% over the course of 2017.
It's not all bad news though. While it's true that rents increased in most cities, those living in Buford, Johns Creek, Peachtree City and McDonough witnessed their rents decreasing. In Buford, the average monthly rent has dropped by 2.1% year-over-year, which means that renters paid $1,090/month at the end of 2017. Check out below how rents have changed in metro Atlanta in only one year.
Those renting Atlanta apartments paid an average of $1,340/month at the end of 2017, witnessing one of the smallest increases in the metro area in their average rent, 2.4% compared to the previous year's $1,308. However, the average rent in five cities surrounding Atlanta went up considerably in 2017, by more than 8%. The highest increase was of 16.1% in Fayetteville, with renters paying an average of $1,074/month in December, followed by the 9.5% increase in Stone Mountain where the average monthly rent has reached $863. Lithonia's next, with rents going up by 9.2% at the end of 2017 and reaching an average rent of $954/month. In both Forest Park and Conyers, renters saw an increase of 8.2% in their monthly rents, paying about $700/month in Forest Park and $950 in Conyers.
Some of the cities seeing a decrease in rents included Buford (-2.1%), Peachtree City (-1.5%), McDonough (-0.3%), Johns Creek (-0.2%) and Clarkston (-0.2%). Despite this, Peachtree City, McDonough and Johns Creek have some of the highest rents in the metro area, over $1,300.
The most affordable cities to rent in were Forest Park, with an average monthly rent of $700, Riverdale, $757/month and College Park, $803/month.
When it comes to renting in the city of Atlanta, the highest price jump was witnessed by renters in zip 30315 (Lakewood Heights neighborhood) where the prices reached $815 in 2017, 7.8% more than what it cost the previous year. It was followed by zip 30314 in Battle Hill Haven (rents up by 6.5%) where renters were paying about $824/month at the end of 2017.
It's interesting to point out that in more affluent zip codes, rents have either decreased, stagnated or barely increased year over year. For example, both 30326 (Lenox/Buckhead Heights) and 30310 (Southwest Atlanta suburbs) saw rents decreasing by almost than 1.1%. Zip code 30305 (Buckhead/Peachtree Hills) is where apartment rent prices decreased the most in 2017, down by 2.3%.
