Real Estate

Atlanta sometimes is called “the city in the trees,” and certainly as you fly into Hartsfield-Jackson this time of year, a green canopy appears to cover the city. But deplane and explore at ground level and you’ll soon realize things aren’t quite so verdant. For the third year in a row we have earned a low score on a national assessment of city parks. But—in large part due to the Atlanta BeltLine—Atlanta’s gaining green space and serving more residents.

Some people flip through Architectural Digest or Dwell with dreams of classic mansions or custom homes filled with designer furnishings. My domestic fantasies run smaller: a daily scroll through Tiny House Blog and obsessive scrutiny of every small space featured on Apartment Therapy. Some people take pilgrimages to furniture showrooms in North Carolina. I like to wander through Ikea displays: “Living in 273 square feet!”

I've read a lot of stories over the past year pointing out that, in several U.S. cities, it is now cheaper to buy a home than it is rent one. Because these sort of statistics are usually generated using city-wide averages, I assumed the "buying is cheaper than renting" condition was true only if you have good enough credit to obtain a mortgage at the lowest rates.