Housing prices? Yes, we’re still thinking about them. Thanks to a new dataset, we are able to continue our project of building home sale pricing dashboards for the 11-county metro area.

The trend of rising housing costs, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been well established. Prices for both new and older homes have been steadily increasing in many parts of the country. In the metro Atlanta area, these home price increases have not been uniform, although the general trend bears similarities across the 11 counties.

Last summer, we embarked on a journey to build interactive web applications visualizing historic housing prices by county in the metro area. You can find the collection of blog posts (and links to the web apps) here:

• Forsyth County
• Fulton County
• Cobb County
• Henry County
• Rockdale County
• Douglas County
• Fayette County
• Gwinnett County
• DeKalb County
• Clayton County

This new dashboard for Cherokee County, the final dashboard in our series, leverages a statewide dataset from ATTOM Data Solutions. This rich dataset contains record-level home sales which we have aggregated to the Census tract level, with transactions dating back to January 2020.

The dashboard (built for desktop, not mobile screens) can be accessed here, and we have included a screenshot of the dashboard below. It features an expandable left-hand side panel with a toggle for the dashboard variable: total sales, median price per square foot, and median overall price. Sidebar sliders allow filtering for transaction time frame, construction vintage of the home, and city/region toggle. Outliers are excluded from the data using the modified z-score method.

Findings

Here are a few pertinent findings highlighted by the dashboard:

• From 2020 to March of 2024:
  • 21,048 homes sold countywide;
  • the overall median sales price countywide during this time period was $369,900, while the median price per square foot was roughly $165;
  • the median sale price per square foot rose nearly 44% over this four-year period.
• Countywide median prices are on the rise recently, with a peak median price observed in March 2024 of $452,500.
  • Unlike many other metro counties, home sale prices in Cherokee County have remained high and continued to climb in the post-Covid era.
• Since just 2022:
  • Just over 8,000 homes have sold countywide;
  • the overall median sales price was $416,666;
  • the median sale price per square foot was roughly $194 but has fallen by 0.2%.
• The sub-region with the most market activity since 2020 is Canton/Central Cherokee, where:
  • nearly 5,000 homes have sold;
  • the median year built of homes sold was 2005;
  • the median size of homes sold was 2,240 square feet;
  • the median overall price was $360,000, and roughly $158 per square foot;
  • home price increase has slowed very little in the post-Covid era. March 2024 median home sale price per square foot was over $200, only the second time since 2020 that the sub-region featured median sales prices to be over that mark.
• The Woodstock/South Cherokee sub-region has seen the sharpest rise in home prices per square foot, with an increase in over 53% since 2020.

Happy data exploring, and we hope you are enjoying this series of local housing dashboards around metro Atlanta!

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Deemique Baugh-Pearson was looking for more than just a job but a career. At his mother’s suggestion, he went to the Stockbridge Career Center seeking assistance with his career goal. He met Employment Specialist Rickey Delamar there, who helped him create a résumé through Career Connector, Goodwill of North Georgia’s virtual career platform. During the coaching session, Mr. Delamar realized that Deemique needed training to develop employment skills and manage his cognitive barriers. Deemique and his mother met with Stockbridge Case Manager Jyteris ‘JT’ Horne, who enrolled him into the Work Adjustment program with funding from the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA).

The Work Adjustment program played a pivotal role in Deemique’s journey, refining his job skills and preparing him for the Floor Tech/Custodial skills training program at Goodwill’s South Dekalb Career Center. Under the guidance of Floor Tech skills trainers, Zina Frame-Leonard and Philip Serebrenick, Deemique successfully graduated from the program in December 2023. Equipped with his newly earned occupational skills credential, Deemique was now ready to embark on his job search.

The next step in Deemique’s journey was to meet with Mr. Delamar and devise a job search plan, a tool designed to assist job seekers in identifying job opportunities and submitting applications. It didn’t take long for Deemique to secure an interview with a Goodwill Facility Services manager. During the interview, he showcased his enthusiasm and knowledge of custodial tasks, which led to a full-time job offer on Goodwill’s Facility Services team at the National Archives.

Deemique was thrilled with his new job, which gave him a starting wage of $17.20 an hour and an accommodating work schedule. This was a major step towards building his independence and gaining his sought-after career, earning a living wage. Deemique’s success was a result of his driven personality and the Stockbridge and South Dekalb teams’ help keeping him accountable to his goals. Inspiring stories like Deemique’s are why we love helping the community and assisting them with employment success at Goodwill.

This is sponsored content.

The post Goodwill of North Georgia success story: Deemique Baugh-Pearson appeared first on SaportaReport.

At the June 13 MARTA Board of Directors meeting, approval of the 2025 $1.6 billion operating and capital budget took a backseat to ongoing conflict surrounding the scheduled Five Points Station renovation plan.

The board celebrated the budget approval with  $654.5 million in net operating funds and $902.2 million for capital programming. It marks the 13th straight year without any fare increases. Of that budget, about $76 million is set aside for the multi-year rehabilitation program for all MARTA stations — including the Five Points Station.

The four-year renovation project for the city’s busiest MARTA station will kick off when the hub closes in July. Trains will run through the station, but it will be closed to street access for the next 18 months while crews transform the space with a new canopy and updated public space.

Since the ambitious project was announced, several community members, organizations and city representatives have spoken out against the planned closure and project. On June 6, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens urged the transit organization to halt the project in the wake of an ongoing audit of the More Marta sales tax, which is partially funding the construction.

Dickens said calculation errors found in the audit could force MARTA to repay tens of millions of dollars from expansion programs, although the full audit isn’t expected until July.

Some groups, like Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Downtown Development Improvement District, urged MARTA to focus on a “refresh” instead of an overhaul so that the station can stay open on the street level.

But MARTA officials said they have no plan to stop construction. The first phase of the project will relocate eight bus routes starting July 6. The change will affect the thousands of people who pass through the station on a daily basis.

At the June 13 meeting, several residents shared their concerns about the plan.

“You’re going to hurt the state, you’re going to hurt the city, and you’re going to hurt the patrons,” resident Miss Chapman said.

Propel ATL Executive Director Rebecca Serna gave remarks on behalf of the cycling and pedestrian advocacy group, asking the board to consider people with disabilities and mobility challenges.

“The current plans for ADA access are insufficient, and they need to be revised,” Serna said. “We strongly encourage you to prioritize that access and to maintain safe access for pedestrians to the station during construction.”

Carden Wyckoff, a disability advocate and transit user said the current disability plan is inequitable for wheelchair users like her. Wyckoff said in March, she asked about the disability access plan and was told there was not one. It was not until June that she heard about the proposed plans that would take five to ten minutes to reroute.

Wyckoff said she “challenged” it and tested the rerouted shuttles — it took her 30 minutes to commute. The egress option lacked an elevator, too, leaving Wyckoff to ask how her wheelchair could navigate stairs.

“This plan takes away my freedom, our freedom and the disability community’s freedom,” Wyckoff said. “It’s going to be a very long time until we get this result, and we depend on you to get around to get to jobs, to get to school, to get to work, to get home, and so I ask you to please find an equitable way in order to create safe transfers and equitable transfers with the Five Points transformation.”

MARTA board member Sagirah Jones said she wants to communicate with people on the street and “get a feel” for how people need to move about.

“We want people to continue to use the system and find it viable even as we are working through improving the system,” Jones said. “Right now, people don’t want to have to wait to use it in a way that works for them.”

While Jones pushed to take the input into consideration, other board members posed the inconvenience as a necessity. Some said they felt “encouraged” by the progress of the project already.

“It’s very difficult for us as we go about trying to do [the project] to have people ebbing and flowing in the space; it’s a safety issue,” board member Roderick Frierson said.

Frierson said it is going to be inconvenient, but the complete shutdown will only last 18 months.

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Recently, goBeyondProfit and Georgia CEO released the 2024 Business Generosity Report exploring the mindset of both employed adults and executives here in Georgia. With 96% of Georgians believing it is important their employer be generous; the report delineates what exactly generosity means to them and how employers can best prioritize investments when it comes to employee care.

When asked to choose the single most important demonstration of generosity to them, employees pointed to flexible work (34%) and mental health support (18%). These aspects have been top-of-mind for employees for the past two years. 78% of executives say they currently offer their employees flexible work schedules, representing a 10-point increase from last year.  55% of executives offer their people mental health support, which is a 14-point increase over last year.

However, employees shared other aspects of employee care that they find very important, pointing out potential disconnects between executive priorities and employee current needs.

For instance, only 21% of executives offer expanded maternal health services. When asked, 85% of employees said this aspect is important, and 58% said it is very important. 

Childcare support represented a similar place of misalignment with only 15% of executives currently offering childcare support though 83% of people (men and women) said this is important and 53% said it is very important. 

Explore the full report for additional data around missed opportunities as well as practical solutions aligning investments with what employees truly value here.