The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, but are the houses a better bargain on the other side of the country? The national median list price is $289,000, according to Trulia. And while that's higher than Georgia's median list price of $265,000, you can get lots of house and plenty of amenities at the $289,000 price point in the Atlanta area.
Here's proof: 2606 Crestdale Circle SE is listed at the precise national median price of $289,000, and it has all sorts of selling points. The favorable aspects range from its serene Gresham Park neighborhood to its two-double decks and a full basement.
Here's how that national average listing looks in Atlanta:
Credit: Photos courtesy Nikkia Holmes, listing agent and homeowner
Credit: Photos courtesy Nikkia Holmes, listing agent and homeowner
Atlanta
$289,000
3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 1,712 square feet on a 0.03 acre lot
Built in 1964, this Gresham Park redesigned Craftsman is quite close to East Atlanta Village, and Grant and Inman Parks. It has lots of windows, hardwood floors throughout and gas heat. The home's design offers many extra spaces, such as an office, a pantry, walk-in closet and laundry and dining rooms. Many amenities are new, like the plumbing, HVAC and eat-in kitchen with all-new appliances. The outdoor space is geared to relaxing, with two double decks overlooking a wooded area and a newly constructed wood privacy fence.
It's listings like this one that make Atlanta one of the best big cities for first-time buyers as per WalletHub, which ranked the ATL 10th in terms of its real estate market.
There is a big squeeze on affordable options in Atlanta's rental market. That is increasingly making house-buying a more appealing choice for anyone who has the option. SmartAsset recently ranked the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area as a top 20 place where residents should probably opt to buy, not rent.
Anyone who shops in ATL for a national price average should have some nice amenities to choose from. But to compare apples to oranges, how does a home listed at the national average price in Atlanta stack up to those in other cities? Here's the contrast between $289,000 properties in Atlanta versus Seattle and Columbus, Ohio.
The national median list price looks like this in Seattle:
No denying Seattle home ownership have gone off the rails. Even with home prices there now lower than they were last year, Seattle still ranked second among the toughest housing markets for first time buyers in a recent Zillow study. A Seattle home at the national list price of $289,000 is modest indeed compared to Atlanta. While a $289,000 list price in Atlanta yields three baths and three bedrooms, this is a comparably priced place in Seattle:
13651 Des Moines Memorial Drive S, Boulevard Park
Burien, Washington
$290,000
2 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1,050 square feet on 0.39 acres
Built in 1937, even at more than a quarter million, the property is considered ideal for major rehabbing or possibly being torn down. Like most of Seattle, though, it is close to public transit options. And there's a fireplace in addition to forced air heating.
The difference in what the national average price brings in Atlanta and in Seattle can be quickly explained with a glance at BestPlace's 2019 Cost of Living Calculator. It describes Atlanta as having a housing cost index of 126.6, on a scale where anything below 100 represents a market with cheaper housing than the national average. That 26.6 above is not a huge deal in the national real estate market, though, compared to Seattle. It has a 407.4 index, which translates to housing there costing 221.8% more than it does in Atlanta.
The national median list price looks like this in Columbus, Ohio:
According to Trulia's assessment of the most affordable neighborhoods in the U.S., Columbus, Ohio's Beechwood neighborhood is No. 1. That makes it tough for even Atlanta to compete with its national average listing. Seems $289,000 is enough to buy not one, but two homes there. You could pay $224,800 total and still have $64,200 more dollars before you reach $289,000.
Here what that two-home package in Columbus, Ohio would look like:
Beechwood, Columbus, Ohio
$94,900
3 bedrooms, 1 bath, 988 square feet
This "cute ranch" was built in 1956 and sits on a 6,534 square-foot lot atop a finished basement. It's got a rec room, central air and gas heat and the neighborhood has sidewalks.
Beechwood, Columbus, Ohio
$129,900
3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1,725 square feet
Built in 1970, this place has eight rooms, a big yard, two decks and the Ohio necessity of a finished basement.
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