Cabbagetown: A small intown neighborhood that started transitioning before the boom and now offers an affordable historic home market with unique artsy homes, renovated homes with Victorian features, and value-priced fixer-uppers

[caption id="attachment_358" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Row of Historic Homes in Cabbagetown"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_354" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Renovated Historic Home with Victorian Detailing in Cabbagetown"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_360" align="aligncenter" width="449" caption="Artsy Historic Home in Cabbagetown"][/caption]

 

Cabbagetown is located just east of Downtown Atlanta, approximately 1 mile from the city's Central Business District.  The neighborhood is relatively small and bound on the north by Dekalb Avenue/ Decatur Street, the south by Memorial Drive, the West by Boulevard, and the East by Pearl Street.

Cabbagetown is predominately historic, with most of the homes populating the neighborhood built in the early 1900's.  Cabbagetown was one of the hot intown neighborhoods receiving both public and private investment and rehabilitation as the Atlanta real estate market was booming from 2004-2008.  Investors and enterprising first-time home buyers were purchasing and renovating run down shot-gun style homes, small bungalows, and larger Victorian-style homes.  In the meantime, the neighborhood was the benefactor of public revitalization funds and efforts, including the significant improvements completed at Cabbagetown Park which resulted in an asset that is now widely used by its residents.

Evidence of the boom and (lesser) bust in Cabbagetown real estate is provided by the Zillow.com home value change over the past decade for the neighborhood.  According to Zillow.com, the estimated Cabbagetown median home value  in 2001 was $123,500.  Just six years later, the estimated median home value in Cabbagetown peaked at $222,500 representing a total appreciation of 80% and an average annual growth rate of 10% from 2001 to 2007. 

As with most transitional intown markets, prices have since reset.  The estimated median home value from Zillow.com for first quarter 2010 is almost exactly mid-mark of 2001 and 2007 at $178,700.

The current listing price of homes for sale in Cabbagetown varies widely as the housing stock, although similarly aged for the most part, varies dramatically in size and quality. 

For instance, a superiorly renovated 5 bedroom, 4 bathroom home with Victorian features is priced at $600,000.  This would represent, however, the top of the Cabbagetown market.  A similar quality 3 bedroom home would list for between $250,000 and $350,000. 

Some advantageous value plays ripe for the opportunistic buyer can be found in Cabbagetown amidst the current real estate downturn. 

Examples of such deals actually closed are:

• Historic home with 3 bedrooms  and 2 baths sold for $37,000 in October 2009.  The last prior sell of the home was for $178,000 in August 2000 and the county tax assessor appraised the value of the home at $209,000 in 2009. 


• Historic shot-gun style home with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths sold for $82,000 in 2009, the same year it was appraised by the county tax assessor to be worth $130,800.

Examples of current foreclosure properties that present a great return on investment opportunity are:

• Foreclosure property with 2 bedrooms and one bath listed at $89,000.  This property was last appraised by the Fulton County tax assessor for $221,000 (2009 value).


• Foreclosure property with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths listed at $174,000.  This property last sold for $291,000 in 2006 and was appraised at $273,000 in 2009 by the Fulton County tax assessors office.

For a virtual tour of the Cabbagetown neighborhood, please see:

http://atlanta.homespace.com/2010/02/12/cabbagetownvirtualtour