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MARKETS
by Kathy Fettke
Atlanta Suburbs:
RICH with RENTERS
W
e’ve heard a lot
about millennials
pouring into to
city centers as
they chase after
jobs, social connections, luxury
apartments and condos, and the
benefits of the sharing economy. But
a new report shows that the biggest
U.S. metros are experiencing a renter
“boom” in the suburbs -- and Rent-
Cafe says suburban Atlanta is at the
top of that list.
That’s creating new opportunities
for investors looking for single-fam-
ily rentals with low prices and high
returns, and Atlanta is a great place
to find them. Atlanta was a superhot
market for the single-family investor
just a few years ago, but popular
neighborhoods got a little too popu-
lar and prices rose. Other neighbor-
hoods hadn’t recovered enough to
draw interest. As the wheel turns for
real estate hot spots, neighborhoods
that were shunned before, are look-
ing better now and many of those
great locations are in the suburbs.
What’s Happening
in the Suburbs?
The RentCafe report says it looks at
Census data for a 5-year period, from
2011 through 2015. And, it found
that urban centers have not gained
as many renters as we’ve come to be-
lieve. It says the numbers show that
suburban areas gained substantially
more renter households than their
urban counterparts in 19 out of the
Realty411Guide.com
20 metros it reviewed.
In Atlanta, the data shows a net gain
of 52,300 suburban renter households
during that time frame. That’s a 26%
increase in those households. That’s a
huge number of additional renters in
just a 5-year-period. Atlanta’s urban
area only gained 15,100 renters which
reflects a 10% increase.
Suburban rent growth was so
strong in Atlanta, St. Louis, Riverside
County California, and Boston, it was
“three” times that of their more urban
counterparts. RentCafe says of the
20 metros areas it studied, suburban
areas gained about 700,000 new renter
households in that 5-year period. City
centers in those same areas gained
about 600,000. In Riverside County
the percentage of suburban renter
growth was lower than Atlanta but the
overall number of new renter house-
holds was much higher, at 60,500. Just
18,500 renter households were added
in urban areas. Chicago also saw sub-
stantial suburban renter growth, along
with Miami, and Dallas.
RentCafe says the main reason for
the shift is “cheaper rents”. Renters
are also getting more family-friend-
ly neighborhoods with garden-style
apartment communities. They are also
finding that schools are usually better
in the suburbs, neighborhoods are
quieter, and their living expenses take
a smaller bite out of their paycheck.
RentCafe says that an analysis of the
Yardi Matrix database shows that
renters save about 11% or a month’s
worth of rent if they move to the sub-
urbs, based on average rents in the 20
areas studied.
PAGE 18 • 2017
Kathy Fettke is Co-CEO of Real
Wealth Network and best selling
author of Retire Rich with Rentals.
She is an active real estate inves-
tor, licensed real estate agent, and
former mortgage broker, specializing
in helping people build multi-million
dollar real estate portfolios that
generate passive monthly cash flow
for life. With a passion for research-
ing real estate market cycles, Kathy
is a frequent guest expert on CNN,
CNBC, Fox, Bloomberg, NPR,
CBS MarketWatch and the Wall
Street Journal. She was also named
among the “Top 100 Most Intriguing
Entrepreneurs” by Goldman Sachs
two years in a row. Kathy hosts two
podcasts, The Real Wealth Show and
Real Estate News for Investors —
both top ten podcasts on iTunes with
listeners in 27 different countries.
Her company, Real Wealth Network,
offers free resources and cutting
edge education for beginning and
experienced real estate investors.
Kathy is passionate about teaching
others how to create “real wealth,”
which she defines as having both the
time and the money to live life on
your terms.
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