If you have been watching the Sandy Springs real estate market lately, you may have noticed something interesting. Depending on where you look, the numbers can tell very different stories.
One real estate site may show prices declining. Another may show a considerably different median. And once you start comparing different parts of Sandy Springs, the picture changes again.
That is why I always tell buyers that Sandy Springs is not a market I would evaluate by a citywide median alone.
Right now, there is another piece of the puzzle that buyers should understand: where a home sits in relation to some of the major road and redevelopment projects happening throughout the city.
One Sandy Springs Market, Very Different Numbers
Depending on the source and the time period being measured, recent Sandy Springs median prices have ranged considerably.
That does not necessarily mean one source is right and another is wrong. Zillow, Redfin and other real estate sites may be measuring different things, including closed sales, list prices, estimated home values and different geographic boundaries.
More importantly, Sandy Springs itself contains very different pockets of real estate.
Homes inside the perimeter can behave differently from those farther north. A condominium near City Springs is a completely different market from an established single-family neighborhood. Even two homes a few streets apart can be affected differently by traffic, redevelopment and upcoming infrastructure projects.
That is where local knowledge becomes particularly important.
Construction Is Changing Some Sandy Springs Corridors
Anyone who regularly drives through Sandy Springs knows the city has been investing heavily in roads and infrastructure.
The Mount Vernon Highway and Johnson Ferry Road area has experienced significant construction and traffic disruption over the past couple of years. As that work winds down, buyers looking in the surrounding neighborhoods may be seeing homes after one of the more disruptive periods for that corridor.
Hammond Drive is a different story.
The planned widening between Boylston Drive and Glenridge Drive is a major Sandy Springs infrastructure project. The city has already acquired residential properties needed for the project, and construction is expected to take several years once underway.
For a buyer considering a home nearby, that is something I would absolutely want them to understand before making an offer.
It does not automatically make the home a bad investment. But it may affect traffic patterns, noise, accessibility and potentially buyer perception while construction is underway.
And those things matter when determining what you are willing to pay.
Sandy Springs Is Growing for a Reason
The construction is also part of a much bigger story.
Sandy Springs continues to add housing, restaurants, retail and development around City Springs and its MARTA stations. Projects planned around the city will bring hundreds of additional residences over the next several years.
That growth is one of the reasons infrastructure improvements are necessary in the first place.
For homeowners, there can be a tradeoff. You may live through a period of construction while ultimately benefiting from improved roads, sidewalks, connectivity and nearby amenities.
The important thing is knowing where a particular neighborhood sits in that cycle when you buy.
What I Would Ask Before Buying Near One of These Projects
If I were helping a buyer evaluate a home near one of these corridors, I would want answers to three questions:
- What exactly is planned nearby?
Not simply "there's road construction," but what is being built, where it begins and ends, and how close the property is to the actual work. - When is it expected to happen?
There is a big difference between buying near a project that is nearly complete and one that may be under construction for the next three years. - Has the home's price already accounted for it?
This is where comparable sales matter. I would want to look closely at homes on similar streets and determine whether buyers are already discounting properties affected by construction.
The Bottom Line
I would not avoid Sandy Springs because of construction. Quite the opposite. There are some wonderful neighborhoods here, excellent access to Atlanta, strong schools, shopping, restaurants and continued investment throughout the city.
But I also would not buy a home here based solely on a Zestimate or a citywide median sale price.
In Sandy Springs, the street can matter just as much as the ZIP code.
A home near a recently completed improvement may present a very different opportunity from one entering a multi-year construction period.
That is the kind of detail that doesn't always show up when you're searching for homes online, but it can make a meaningful difference when deciding what a property is worth and whether it is the right home for you.
If you are considering a move to Sandy Springs, I would be happy to help you look beyond the listing and understand the neighborhood, surrounding development and market activity before you make an offer.
