Anonymous wrote:I live in Alpharetta (north of atlanta) and we bought a 3 bed 2600sq ft house with nice big fenced yard for 220k. Only catch is my commute in the morning is 1 hour and that is only to the perimeter, not downtown. I have no regrets but do miss the Fairfax and DC area occasionally.

So the ashburn of atlanta seems very affordable.

Anonymous wrote:Comparing Atlanta traffic to DC is like comparing humidity. You don't realize how much easier it is in DC until you suffer in ATL for both.

+1

I live in Alpharetta (north of atlanta) and we bought a 3 bed 2600sq ft house with nice big fenced yard for 220k. Only catch is my commute in the morning is 1 hour and that is only to the perimeter, not downtown. I have no regrets but do miss the Fairfax and DC area occasionally.

Atl sucks. I hate driving there. It is absolute terrifying . And the thing is- you have no choice, you have to drive. And 20 mins from the city is easily like an hour.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am from Atlanta and a home for that size at that price is way out in the sticks. Land and building costs are much lower than here for sure, but anything in that price range is WAY out in the exburbs.

I guess 20 minute commute is out in the sticks in Atlanta.

Not true. Atlanta traffic is terrible. Our friends live "inside the loop" or whatever they call it there, for commuting reasons, and they paid $350 for a tiny 3br bungalow.

I am not familiar with Atlanta and they said 20 minutes.

Depends on what part of atlanta they are commuting to and what time of day. There's not a neatly packed "downtown dc" like area. Business centers are equally distributed many places and one area is not necessarily more prominent than another. Relatively few people actually work in downtown atlanta.

Also areas differ greatly. Within 4 square miles. The same house could differ by 500k depending on location.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am from Atlanta and a home for that size at that price is way out in the sticks. Land and building costs are much lower than here for sure, but anything in that price range is WAY out in the exburbs.

I guess 20 minute commute is out in the sticks in Atlanta.

Not true. Atlanta traffic is terrible. Our friends live "inside the loop" or whatever they call it there, for commuting reasons, and they paid $350 for a tiny 3br bungalow.

I am not familiar with Atlanta and they said 20 minutes.

Comparing Atlanta traffic to DC is like comparing humidity. You don't realize how much easier it is in DC until you suffer in ATL for both.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am from Atlanta and a home for that size at that price is way out in the sticks. Land and building costs are much lower than here for sure, but anything in that price range is WAY out in the exburbs.

I guess 20 minute commute is out in the sticks in Atlanta.

Not true. Atlanta traffic is terrible. Our friends live "inside the loop" or whatever they call it there, for commuting reasons, and they paid $350 for a tiny 3br bungalow.

Anonymous wrote:I am from Atlanta and a home for that size at that price is way out in the sticks. Land and building costs are much lower than here for sure, but anything in that price range is WAY out in the exburbs.

I guess 20 minute commute is out in the sticks in Atlanta.

Anonymous wrote:I am from Atlanta and a home for that size at that price is way out in the sticks. Land and building costs are much lower than here for sure, but anything in that price range is WAY out in the exburbs.

+1

I lived in Atlanta for some time and get back there often. When PP says exburbs, (s)he really means it. It would be like House Hunters showing a search up in Gettysburg, PA here and calling it "DC" that's how far some of these suburbs are.

I am from Atlanta and a home for that size at that price is way out in the sticks. Land and building costs are much lower than here for sure, but anything in that price range is WAY out in the exburbs.

Labor and material costs are also much lower in parts of the country.

The last time I watched HHA, there was a guy with a $40K budget looking for a nicer 3-bedroom townhouse relatively close-in to downtown. And he found it.

Anonymous wrote:Did values actually depreciate below costs or are dc area home builders and contractors ripping everyone off? Subtract land value and you still can't build for that price.

They just showed a brand new custom fully upgraded home 4000sf + basement for 280k.

Did values actually depreciate below costs or are dc area home builders and contractors ripping everyone off? Subtract land value and you still can't build for that price.