ATLANTA — One southeast Atlanta resident rents a four-bedroom home spilt amongst herself and two others, paying a cumulative $2,400 in rent.
This agreement works for Tatiyana Spence, who has a job and is working to get her master's degree at Georgia State University. However, once her lease is up in June, she said she's looking to move out and find another place to live.
"Trying to find a place and somewhere that's suitable and accessible or affordable seems very difficult. It's almost impossible," Spence said. “I know downtown is becoming increasingly gentrified, so the rent goes up when things get built. The rent we’re paying, I think it’s pretty high.”
Spence said her rent is around Atlanta's average of $2,055, according to Rent.com. New data showed the national average is about $118 less at $1,937.
Rent researcher Jon Leckie said prices in Metro Atlanta are down nearly 2.5% from last year and down 2% from a month ago. However, he noted wages have not necessarily kept pace with rising rent prices.
"The changes we're seeing now are a little misleading in that they don't reach far enough back to really take account of that extreme rent growth we saw sort of through the pandemic," Leckie said.
"If you're not getting an 8 or 9% raise in your wages on a yearly basis, you're almost not keeping up with your housing costs. That's essentially a pay cut that you're taking."
According to Rent.com, the biggest rent hikes over the last year happened in Tucker, Douglasville and Marietta. Leckie attributed the spikes to higher demand spurred by people looking for more options and bigger spaces for a cheaper price.
Roswell, Gainesville and Decatur saw the biggest dips in rent prices compared to a year ago. Leckie said the drops are most likely a sign of a once hot rental market now cooling off. While Leckie predicted rent prices could surge and follow seasonal trends, but he urged renters to save costs by asking questions, demanding concessions and researching historical market trends.
"You can always negotiate," Leckie said. "The worst they can do is say no. But I think the biggest thing I tell people is do your research. If you’re looking to save some money and you have the option between a corporate-owned apartment complex and a family-owned single family home, you may have a little more luck pushing for a lower rent price with the family-owned single family home.”
Meantime, Spence is hoping to lock in a lower price just as her lease runs out. She said buying a place is likely out of the question, but she said she was willing to pay as much as $1,600 to stay in the community she's lived in since she was 12 years old.
"I think I could find something or negotiate since my dog and I will be living alone," Spence said. "I'd have to make sacrifices, but I think I'll be okay."