The depressed condo market of the late 1980s has been erased, replaced
by the stellar performance of Midtown in last year's real estate market.
An analysis of the 2002 market by Smart Numbers and the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution showed that the 30309 ZIP code in the heart of
Midtown was not only a hotbed of resale activity, it also posted major
gains in new sales.
While most of the big numbers of new home sales were recorded in the
suburbs, Midtown showed a 35 percent increase in the same category over
the previous year. Existing home sales were up 9 percent.
The news comes as no surprise to real estate experts who can barely
keep up with the demand for properties.
"Midtown is the mecca for young, urban professionals of all types,"
said David Tufts, president of Coldwell Banker/The Condo Store. "It's also
a great place for empty nesters who are moving back intown, so it's an
area that has come full circle. And it's no wonder: The cultural
infrastructure is a place unlike anywhere else in town, with the [High]
museum, the symphony and Piedmont Park."
Briskly-selling units at properties such as Metropolis, the Wilburn
House, Cotting Court and Park Central added to the 2002 sales volume,
which may grow even more with the addition of new residential units at the
Atlantic Station project that started construction this month.
"We have really not even advertised, yet folks have gotten to us from
doing their research, and at last count, we had slightly more than 200
letters of interest for the first 69 units," said Pratt Farmer, director
of operations for CondoLane, a Sandy Springs company that specializes in
marketing new and converted condos. "Our first phase will have condos
priced from $180,000 to the high $200,000s, along with 278 apartments. And
if the sales continue on the track we expect, we'll actually convert the
apartments to condos as well."
Atlantic Station's popularity comes not only from its own 138 acres of
shopping, services and homes, said Farmer. "It's combined with the
incredible location and access that makes it a development that few will
be able to compete with," he said.
Midtown continues to be a strong market for single-family homes as well
as condos. Living within walking distance of the High Museum and the
Atlanta Botanical Garden made the area so attractive to Jeff Juliano that
he and his wife, Leigh, recently bought their second home in Ansley Park.
"When I came here in 1990, Atlanta was more of a commuter city," said
Jeff Juliano, a partner in an architectural firm.
"Now, people are moving intown. Older residents are selling and younger
couples are moving in because of the convenience of living downtown. We
know everyone on our street; people sit on their porch. There's a small
neighborhood feel here, and yet we're in the city."
The vibrancy of the Midtown market is "pretty incredible," said Farmer.
"It has sales numbers that stack up against any other vibrant ZIPs in the
market."
