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While some parts of Atlanta are quickly regaining strength in price, some areas still have real estate bargains available for the deal-hungry buyer. Don’t believe it? Real estate data firm RealtyTrac data on year-over-year home sales activity paints a picture that indicates that metro Atlanta is still a soft market with lots of price discounting going on. In fact, many of the small suburban cities that comprise the Atlanta metro area have seen double-digit sale declines. As a breakdown:

Decatur: 38.3% decline

Riverdale: 50% decline

Thinking of moving to Atlanta? Picking one of these areas might make your dollar go further when it comes to buying a home of your own. Sales activity has grown in some areas, such as Norcross, Jonesboro, and Fairburn. Even though Fairburn can boast a 24.6% increase in sales activity, home prices are still down almost 1% since 2013, so demand is not exactly equating to higher prices.

Depending on your specific needs, and what type of lifestyle you and your family lead, you’ll want to do a little research into the vast Atlanta metro and see what areas are a good fit for you. Best of luck on your upcoming move!

When it comes to choosing where to move, the decision becomes instantly harder when children are factored into the equation. Concerns like safety, amenities, and school systems become important requisites for finding the right place to call home. Recently, Forbes compiled a list of the 10 metros with the highest populations under the age of 14, mapping out the areas where families with young children are choosing to call home.

The city with the highest under 14 population. Salt Lake City. SLC is followed by Houston, Dallas, San Bernardino. San Antonio, Raleigh, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Memphis, and Phoenix. As you can see, the cities are spread pretty wide throughout the country, with a large chunk of the locations all within Texas.

Within Atlanta:

Northside – Jackson and Smith school districts, Garden Hills, Collier Hills and Chastain Park are great places

Eastside and Midtown – some of the best family neighborhoods in any metro city in the country – Ansley Park, Midtown North of Ponce De Leon, Virginia Highland, Inman Park … of course, Morningside and their desirable elementary school

Decatur – good school districts and great amenities thanks to Emory University

If you are moving to Atlanta with kids, check out these areas and see if any homes are a good fit for you and your family.

Atlanta real estate is about to get a little more star-studded. A new club is opening in Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, according to reports. The project has been in discussion since 2011 and the finalized project is ready to open up to the public this month. Jay-Z, formally known as Shawn Carter, has teamed up with Juan Perez and the Delaware North Company to create an upscale sports bar that will feature favorites from the NY club of the same name, the 40/40 Club. Menu hits include 40/40 nachos, red velvet cake, empanadas, and sliders. The Atlanta branch will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, making it an ideal spot for travelers with layovers or time to spare to head over to Concourse D.

According to airport officials, the club will be opening in phases. The club will first open up a bar area in the concourse, and the full club, which features runway views and is located upstairs, will be open later on this year. Will you be stopping by the 40/40 Club in hopes of seeing someone famous en route to their next destination?

Few things are more frustrating in a big city than dealing with the traffic. Thankfully, if you are open to trying out a new metro, checking out a city with a good Transit Score could save you stress, time, and money – think no car payments, gas, or car insurance! Living close to work in a city that offers ample transportation choices can save money, improve home values and save time and stress by decreasing commute times. So where are the best places in the US for utilizing public transportation?

The overall top five cities (which only ranked cities with over 500,000 residents) are: New York (81.2), San Francisco (80.5), Boston (74.8), Washington D.C. (70.4), and Philadelphia (67).

The top three Northeast cities are all from the top 5 overall, and feature long-established transportation systems: New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. Southern cities with high transit scores are: Washington D.C. (70), Miami (58), and Atlanta (43). Out West, the cities with the three highest scores are: San Francisco (80), Seattle (57), and Oakland, Calif. (54).

Living in Atlanta can be a less-stress experience if you take advantage of the MARTA system. Keep in mind, convenience to public transportation can also result in a higher price for a home. Home prices increase an average of 42 percent for homes located close to a transportation hub, according to national statistics.

There is exciting news in the air for Atlanta new construction, according to reports. More than 100 homes will soon hit the market near Cobb County’s historic Marietta Square. The 108 homes, which will include both single-family and townhomes, will go on sale later this month, and it is in the place of a former government housing site off of Roswell Street. Townhomes will range in price from the $300,000s to the $600,000s, while the single-family homes will range from the $400,000s to the $700,000s. If you are looking to move to Atlanta, or specifically to a great suburb of Atlanta, these Marietta homes are right up your alley.

A swimming pool, entertaining pavilion, gardens and pocket parks will also be built throughout the development. The location is prime within Marietta and the historic area is a desirable place for young professionals, families, and seniors alike.

Recently, the ABA Banking Journal published an article that names Atlanta as a city that is rising from the depths of the housing crisis and rebuilding. Few metro areas experienced as much stress as Atlanta, where many banks failed during the credit crisis, but the market is finally showing signs of light. This cycle of the rejuvenating Atlanta real estate market has earned the description as a phoenix. So what’s the real estate market like exactly?

Real estate prices seem to have bottomed. In some markets, they actually have new construction, ‘spec’ homes being built, but there is a long way to go before the city is at the stability level it was a few years ago. Residential real estate prices in metro Atlanta actually fell for five straight years from 2008 to 2012, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.  Loaning entities, such as banks, are still trying to regain their footing and allow for new lending applications to be processed and fair. Sales activity has increased for Atlanta, and moving to Atlanta is gaining in momentum as vacancy rates are dropping.

For now, we are all curious to see what the latter half of 2014 will bring to Atlanta.

A financial company called NCR is in discussions to open their new headquarters in Midtown Atlanta, a company move that will bring about 1,200 new jobs to the area while also moving hundreds of jobs from Gwinett County. But Midtown isn’t the only location on the company’s radar—NCR also looked at sites in Gwinnett, Alpharetta and Central Perimeter. The desired Midtown space for the company would be a 225,000 square foot to 275,000 square foot building, with a layout similar to Coca Cola’s Midtown headquarters. Other rumors have suggested that NCR would build its own space in the form of a 10-story office tower.

NCR wants a location with good visibility from the heavily trafficked Interstate 75-85 connector. The company is said to have looked at land on either side of the interstate, including near Technology Square and Northyards Business Park. As the retail real estate in Atlanta continues to tighten in terms to competition and availability, the decision needs to come soon from the company. Midtown is definitely a strong contender in the decision thanks to the strong technology community in the area.

It’s no secret that Atlanta is comprised of many counties and suburbs—but which one is leading the pack in terms of successful real estate for 2014 so far in terms of Atlanta commercial real estate? Let’s break down the top three areas and delve in a little into what is driving their success.

Central Perimeter: net absorption was 600,000+ rentable square feet plus, for 2013. This is once again the biggest submarket in Atlanta. The potential downfall? With such high occupancy rates, the rents are going to rise as demand quickly outpaces the supply.

Buckhead: a new complex, The Buckhead Atlanta Retail Complex, is finally complete. The once perilous overdevelopment of Buckhead is now striking a balance as an influx of consumers and retailers alike return to the area. The bad news about the growth? The already problematic traffic in the area will only intensify.

Midtown: tech-savvy growth is undeniable. The Georgia Tech high-performance computer center builds on this submarket’s clear focus and identity as an innovation district that can battle with San Francisco and Seattle, and the rumors about Google Fiber coming to the area can have a huge impact.

The continuing rise in home prices in metro Atlanta is giving homeowners with underwater mortgages optimism that they’ll be able to sell eventually and break even, or possibly even make a profit. Currently, about 35 percent of homeowners in the area owe more money on their home than it is worth, a number that has dropped from 54 percent one year ago. Owning a home in Atlanta is still a shaky venture for some, as Atlanta Is still among the cities with the highest negative equity, along with Orlando and Las Vegas.

Prices are expected to continue rising but at a slower pace even as more buyers enter the market and inventory remains tight. The pace of the decline in the number of underwater mortgages also will slow locally and nationally. Zillow said the national underwater mortgage rate dropped to around 19 percent in the fourth quarter, the first time it has been below 20 percent in years. The cities with the lowest negative equity rates were San Jose, Austin and Houston.

Atlanta is one of those cities that has seen its fair share of mortgage ups and down in the last few years following the 2008 housing crisis. When it comes to interest rates, home values, and real estate listing prices, the road hasn’t always been smooth for Atlanta in recent years. However, the Atlanta metro area might be seeing a big turnaround in 2014, which could include more construction, more home inventory, and fewer foreclosures for new homeowners. If you’re thinking of moving to Atlanta and buying a home, now might be the prime time to take advantage of a still strengthening market.

According to real estate website Trulia.com, the median home sale price in Atlanta is $235,000 — from November 2013 to last month an increase of $30,000. Zillow.com predicts an additional 8.1 percent growth through 2014. Atlanta’s home market, looks to be finding balance in light of its rocky ups and downs of recent years.