The analogy has been made that homeownership in most parts of metro Atlanta is less a reckless gamble than a sturdy boat, a reliable means of riding the market’s ebbs and flows.

A new analysis indicates Atlanta’s residential watercraft, so to speak, have been among the most buoyant in the nation in recent years.  

In news that could go down like a crap sandwich for Atlantans struggling to live the American dream through first-time homeownership and equity, real estate marketplace MyEListing finds that metro Atlanta has logged the seventh-highest increase in wealth from owning a home over the past five years.

The fact that average ATL home prices have nearly doubled—from $182,900 five years ago to $350,300 now—is the primary contributing factor, according to MyEListing’s “Cities With the Largest Wealth Gains From Homeownership” report.

In the analysis, metro Atlanta trailed only Western boomtowns from Boise to Phoenix—famous for absorbing California expats during the COVID-19 crisis—and Ocala, Fla., a central Florida city between Gainesville and Tampa.

Wealth gains in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta metro area were found to have ballooned by 109 percent over the past five years.

The top 25 cities were ranked by the percentage increase in housing wealth gains since the pre-pandemic late teens in America. Additional data includes five-year annualized home price growth, the dollar amount of five-year housing wealth gains, and the annualized growth rate.

Data was sourced from a 2022 National Association of Realtors report on wealth gains for typical single-family homes. Here's how metro Atlanta stacked up in the top 10: 

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