Today’s renters are paying higher rates to keep a roof over their heads. Renters in metro Atlanta paid an average $77 more in January than a year earlier. A real estate executive analyzes the local rent-supply market and whether increases will continue to climb or stabilize. Elsewhere, an economist explains his firm’s recent analysis of our region’s home loan data, which showed a lag of black and Hispanic home ownership when compared to whites. The third column deals with the region’s economic downturn.

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Ceudy Gutierrez reads a book to her 2-year-old son, Matias, at their home in Buford, GA, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. Ceudy Gutierrez is struggling to make ends meet for herself and her three young kids following her husband’s ICE arrest earlier this fall. (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez