If you live in Georgia and you're mansion-buying on a budget, you're in luck: The state has one of the highest concentrations of large homes under $1 million, according to data analyzed by Trulia.
Georgia is behind only Utah, and it's tied with Indiana, in its percent concentration of homes larger than 6,000 square feet that are listed for $1 million or less. Trulia, a real estate website, reviewed listings from October 2014 to October 2015 in this analysis. (The average home size nationwide in 2013, for comparison, was 2,598 square feet, according to U.S. Census data.)
• Utah: 1.4 percent
• Indiana (TIE): 0.9 percent
• Georgia (TIE): 0.9 percent
• Maryland: 0.8 percent
Georgia's percentage is nearly triple the national rate of such homes at that price, according to the Wall Street Journal. At the bottom of the list, bogged down by construction and land costs, according to the WSJ, are California, Hawaii and Nevada, each with 0.1 percent.
Another possible factor in the price, unaccounted for in the Trulia analysis, is the foreclosure rate: Georgia, and metro Atlanta, have been leaders in this category, though those numbers have been on the decline locally.
Foreclosures became an epidemic after the burst of the housing bubble in 2006-2007, a collapse followed by plunging prices and a financial crisis that led to a devastating recession – which in further undermined housing.
A flood of foreclosures followed, virtually destroying the market for housing in many areas. Home values in many parts of metro Atlanta have yet to return to pre-recession levels.
But as foreclosures recede, the market can build momentum.
"With three million jobs created during the past year, the improving labor market has helped more borrowers stay current on their mortgage loan," Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic, told the AJC in July.
Want to take a look at some of the metro listings?
Here's a 6,953-square-foot home for $799,000. Here's a 6,103-square-foot home for $650,000. And here's a 8,761-square-foot home for $589,000.
