’Our communities are not investment portfolios’: Road to Housing Act gets applause from Adamsville residents

The 21st Century Road to Housing Act was recently passed, and it will have an immediate impact on the housing market in Atlanta, says Georgia Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock, who championed the bill. The bipartisan package was passed on Saturday, July 11, and spans 12 titles and 60 sections. The most important piece has to be a slowing down of private equity and corporations’ purchasing of single-family homes in metro Atlanta.

On Monday morning, Warnock, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, and Atlanta City Councilwoman Andrea Boone gathered outside of a vacant home in Adamsville to discuss the passing of the Road to Housing Act and how it will keep private equity firms and corporations from buying homes in metro Atlanta and then renting them out. 

“This is about fairness. Housing is dignity, housing is hope. This neighborhood, like many across metro Atlanta, has been plagued by corporations buying hundreds of homes in Atlanta,” Warnock said. “What’s happening in metro  Atlanta is happening across the state.” 

Dickens and Boone grew up in Adamsville and went to middle school less than a mile from where they were standing. The communities they live in are dwindling because corporations are making it more expensive and difficult to buy homes by owning more than 70,000 single-family homes throughout the metro area.

Dickens called the passing of the bill “a pivotal moment” for the country’s housing market and for housing affordability going forward. 

“I am grateful that it’s now become law,” Dickens said. “For Atlanta, this couldn’t have come out at a better time.” 

The Mayor said the focus going forward should be on the families and the neighborhoods, and the act gives cities in Georgia additional tools to fight private firms from continuing the practice of buying homes. 

  
“Here in Atlanta, we see the results of unchecked real estate purchases by private equity firms,” Dickens said. “This has suffocated the Atlanta housing market.” 

Boone thanked Warnock for writing the bill and garnering bipartisan support when it was needed. “Georgians are forced to compete with major corporations. Today, I’m happy to tell you we turned that corner,” Boone said. “Our communities are not investment portfolios.” 

Warnock said there was still work to be done. The act doesn’t apply to homes that have already been purchased by corporations. Asked what the act means for the corporations or private equity that might remain involved in the Georgia housing market. Warnock said, “I want to stop the spread. They are picking homes like you, and I pick tomatoes in the grocery store.”

Several Adamsville residents were there to greet Dickens, Boone, and Warnock, and their sentiments were similar to Warnock’s. 

“It’s very important because these companies buy the homes, they rent them to people who have no allegiance to the neighborhood,” Katie Rhodes, an Adamsville resident, said. “It’s important to know the people in your neighborhood.” 

A small-business owner stood by Warnock, Dickens, and Boone, and patiently waited his turn to tell his story. Jacob Parcel, the owner of Soulful Shears barbershop in Smyrna, spoke about the difficulty he and his wife have experienced while trying to buy a home.

“It’s hard out here to find a home, and the homes you find are so expensive,” Parcel, 29, told The Atlanta Voice. After he was done, Parcel grabbed his nine-year-old son’s hand and took his place back on the lawn next door to the home owned by the private equity firm.  

“I believe if you work hard and save, you should be able to buy a home,” Parcel said. 

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