Georgia is adding people faster than it’s adding places for them to live.
Our new study, Short Supply: How Many More Homes Does Georgia Need?, finds that 94 of the state’s 159 counties face measurable housing shortages, with the average undersupplied county missing 3,879 units and the median county shortfall standing at 1,014 homes.
The most acute deficit appears in Fulton County, where demand now outpaces supply by an estimated 75,152 units.
Over the past four decades, Georgia’s population growth has been nothing short of remarkable. Since 1980, each decade has seen a million new residents arrive, drawn by job opportunities, quality of life and the promise of a growing economy.
Yet the state’s housing production tells a very different story. Permitting data show that while Georgia issued 829,119 residential building permits in the 2000s, that number collapsed by 52% in the 2010s, to just 397,752 permits. This dramatic decline unfolded even as the state added more than one million people between 2010 and 2020—an imbalance that now accounts for the shortage of hundreds of thousands of homes.
What does this mean for Georgians and potential homebuyers? We talk about Georgia’s housing shortage in this week’s commentary.
Have a great weekend,
– Kyle Wingfield
Friday’s Freshest 🗞️
Trump was right about Coke. But replacing corn syrup with sugar won’t be cheap — or easy.
Atlanta-based Coca‑Cola recently announced it will launch a new soft drink made with cane sugar in the United States this fall, a quiet confirmation of what former President Trump loudly teased on social media days earlier. This marks a flashpoint in a decades-long battle over U.S. food policy; one that’s left our food supply warped by subsidies, protected markets and artificially cheap corn.
Georgia’s push to zero: Can the state eliminate its income tax?
On July 17, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones announced the creation of the Georgia Senate Committee on Eliminating Georgia’s Income Tax. Their task: figuring out how the state moves from our current income tax rate of 5.19% to zero. While Tennessee and Florida have long been held up as the gold standard in the Southeast for their lack of a state income tax, it’s what our other neighbors have been doing lately that has state legislators considering how to aggressively lower Georgia’s income tax rate.
Why Georgia needs regulatory reform
In this year’s legislative session, Georgia had an opportunity to address its ever-growing regulatory code and reduce regulatory burdens placed on its citizens and businesses. Although the “Red Tape Rollback Act” passed the Senate, it ultimately failed to become law in Georgia. Regulatory reform will have another chance next session, and for good reason.
Look for the migration from New York to only grow
Much has been written about America’s largest city edging closer to electing a socialist mayor. But if Zohran Mamdani is indeed successful in implementing his policy ideas, expect one noticeable trend to continue and likely grow: the number of people leaving New York for greener pastures. While we may criticize bad ideas or bad policy, that’s the beauty of the American federalist system. And for years, Georgia has been on the receiving side of migration from New York.
Georgia’s conservative budgeting pays off, literally
The state government operates under a balanced budget requirement, so there is no deficit spending a la Washington. Still, the state historically has issued bonds to pay for infrastructure projects, from bridges to new college classrooms. Lately, however, it has eschewed even that borrowing – to the benefit of taxpayers. The budget year that begins July 1 will be the third straight with no “bond package,” as that section is typically called. Instead, over the course of three years the state has paid cash for projects totaling $3.45 billion.
Peach Picks 🍑
The first meeting of the Georgia House Study Committee on Gaming raised several questions, but one is already answered. Voters will have to approve any type of legalized gaming in Georgia. The biggest question among committee members was who would benefit from the revenues if voters green-light gaming.
The American Tort Reform Association named the Georgia legislature a “Tort Reform Trailblazer” in its Legislative HeatCheck report, recognizing the state’s sweeping legal reforms and progress during the 2025 legislative session. The report highlights the efforts of Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia lawmakers to address rising litigation costs and strengthen the state’s legal climate.
The US economy bucked nonstop doom-and-gloom by economists — including some at Wall Street’s biggest banks — and reported stronger-than-expected growth in the second quarter, marked by a surge in hiring and wages.
Chicken processor Pilgrim’s is planning to build a $400 million plant in northwest Georgia. The facility in LaFayette will produce fully cooked chicken products and expand production of brands including Just Bare, Pilgrim’s and Gold Kist. The plant will support up to 630 new jobs at full capacity.
Georgia’s four living governors gathered at the University of North Georgia’s Blue Ridge Campus for the dedication of a new educational building named after late House Speaker David Ralston, where they commended Ralston for advancing educational opportunities in rural Georgia.
Off The Vine 🎯
In what will unfortunately be the highlight of the Braves season, Bristol Motor Speedway will host the highest attendance for a single regular-season game in Major League Baseball history. This week, the league announced that more than 85,000 tickets have been sold. The Braves take on the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night.
Quotes Of Note 🌟
“To all my little Hulkamaniacs, say your prayers, take your vitamins and you will never go wrong.” – Hulk Hogan, 1953-2025
“America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination, and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.” – Harry Truman
“I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” – Wayne Gretzky