On May 6, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff announced his intention to investigate “large, out-of-state companies buying up Georgia homes and driving up home prices.”
This has become a common target when discussing housing affordability – and not just in the halls of Congress or under the Gold Dome. Rarely does my organization, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, participate in an event on housing around the state without at least one attendee citing their personal experience and asking to rein them in.
These out-of-state companies, typically classified as “institutional investors,” but just as commonly referred to as “Wall Street,” “hedge fund investors” or “big banks” among the public at large, have drawn the ire of policymakers and the public primarily by purchasing existing single-family homes and then renting them out. Some of these companies also build homes and develop entire subdivisions with the sole intention of renting, another contentious concept known as Build-to-Rent, or BTR.
Financial institutions have a long history as a favorite target of populism, and in an era of escalating home prices and faceless landlords, they are unsurprisingly in the crosshairs. After all, it was the “man down at the bank” that took the love interest – and not the Corvette – George Jones once sang about.
This is not a blanket defense of “out-of-state companies” acquiring single-family homes with the purpose of renting them; we can offer no counterpoint or consolation to the frustration of being outbid by an all-cash offer from a multibillion-dollar corporation. Rather, it is an appeal that when this issue is raised and discussed, the data are framed appropriately.
In this week’s commentary, my colleague Chris Denson looks at the underlying issues and true causes of rising home prices in metro Atlanta and the state of Georgia. We also have the latest news and analysis from the last week, including:
- Mercedes-Benz moving jobs to metro Atlanta headquarters
- Georgia Power to freeze rates for three years
- New law will fairly compensate wrongfully convicted Georgians
- Buford High School unveils new $62 million football stadium
Have a great weekend,
– Kyle Wingfield
Friday’s Freshest
The college selection process highlights what’s missing in K-12
The range of college choices might bewilder some people trying to sort through them – don’t worry, there’s an app for that – but hardly any of it should come as a surprise. The very first part of a student’s college experience is spending time sorting through the options to find the perfect fit. But the oddest part is that most Georgians don’t get to have these conversations about their child’s education – their K-12 education, that is. They are simply assigned to a school according to their home address, and that’s that. It is illogical to have hardly any say in the matter from kindergarten through high school, when upon graduation students have virtually unlimited choices.
‘Obscene Increase’: Savannah schools’ spending priorities seem lopsided
The Savannah-Chatham County Public School System is Georgia’s 10th largest, and over time its yearly budgets have increased … and so have the number of school administrators. As for the number of teachers and students, well, those numbers have actually decreased. Are you confused?
With Kemp out, Georgia’s 2026 election could be wildest yet
With Brian Kemp opting not to run for the U.S. Senate, Georgia Republicans face a wide-open and unpredictable primary season for both governor and senator in 2026, triggering a flurry of political maneuvering. As prominent Republicans have begun to step forward, many others are expected to follow, creating a domino effect of down-ballot races and reshuffling. Past election years with open gubernatorial seats have brought historic turnover — and 2026 could surpass them all in political upheaval.
Why are so many data centers popping up in Georgia?
Some of the most significant innovations in technology have become common to the point of monotony in only a few decades. It’s easy to take daily actions like texting, streaming movies and shows and using apps on our smartphones for granted, but almost all online activity taps into a vast infrastructure of data in order to operate the way consumers have come to expect. While this infrastructure is invisible, it does have a physical home.
Despite bureaucracy and NIMBYs, Georgia’s infrastructure wins one
Between red tape piled to the sky and NIMBYs hunting down every proposal to build anything, anywhere, you’d be forgiven for thinking we simply can’t build things anymore. So, it’s worth noting successes when they happen — and Georgia has a very substantial success to celebrate.
The Latest
Economy
State implications of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill
As Congress hashes out its “One, Big, Beautiful Bill,” statehouse lawmakers are watching closely, given the impact of both its tax and spending provisions on state budgets. At least one newly proposed deduction — for car loan interest — would flow through to most states’ tax systems absent a decoupling from federal law, and some states could see multiple new tax provisions hit their income tax bases. How would the new provisions impact Georgia?
John Deere addresses farm labor shortages with autonomous tractors
John Deere is turning to artificial intelligence to help farmers address labor shortages and enable them to handle other tasks associated with their business. Through the creation of autonomous machines, Deere hopes to address customer challenges like job quality, access to skilled labor and the quality of work.
Mercedes-Benz moving jobs to metro Atlanta headquarters
Mercedes-Benz is growing its North American corporate headquarters in Sandy Springs, a move that would bring up to 500 new jobs to metro Atlanta, state officials said. The company is also investing in a new research and development facility that will be near the corporate headquarters, according to a news release.
Government Accountability
Georgia Power to freeze rates for three years
The Georgia Public Service Commission announced a potential freeze on electricity rates, halting the possibility for increases that had been anticipated to be discussed this summer. Under a newly proposed agreement between PSC staff and Georgia Power, the utility will not file a 2025 rate case as expected. Instead, base power rates will be frozen at current levels for at least the next three years.
Hearing on Georgia Power plan sparks data center debate
Georgia Power and the Public Service Commission sparred over the utility’s assumptions about future materialization rates for data centers and cryptocurrency operations at a hearing this week. The Public Service Commission is holding hearings on Georgia Power’s Integrated Resource Plan. The company is predicting a risk-adjusted load forecast of 8,200 megawatts from the winter of 2024-25 to the winter of 2030-31, which is 2,200 more than the 2023 projections, according to its plan released in January.
Augusta ‘ghost’ tax preparer guilty of filing false returns
An Augusta woman has pleaded guilty to running a “ghost” tax preparation business out of her home. Kim Brown, 40, faces up to three years in prison on each of two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of false tax returns, a period of supervised release after serving her sentence, and monetary penalties.
New law will fairly compensate wrongfully convicted Georgians
A bill signed into law this month will help Georgians who spent years – sometimes decades – behind bars for crimes they didn’t commit. The Wrongful Conviction and Incarceration Compensation Act took nearly four years to pass the legislature. It offers a structure for compensation to people who were convicted and served time while innocent.
Housing
Georgia home prices up slightly over past year
In April 2025, Georgia’s median home price reached $381,000, marking a 1.4% increase year-over-year, according to Redfin. However, home sales declined by 4.1%, while inventory rose nearly 18%, indicating a shift towards a more balanced market.
American homes are shrinking. Why are they still so unaffordable?
Builders have been focusing more on the starter-home market, particularly over the past few years as high prices and mortgage rates made bigger homes prohibitive for first-time buyers. Since 2017, the median size of new single-family homes has been generally shrinking. But it is harder for builders to make money on smaller homes. Many of the costs don’t necessarily adjust downward just because the home is smaller, such as the price of the lot or the expenses of getting permits
Transportation
Senate pulls plug on California’s gas car ban
The U.S. Senate voted on a resolution that would have overturned the EPA’s approval of California’s Advanced Clean Cars II program. This program includes mandates requiring zero-emission vehicles and bans the sale of new gas- and diesel-powered cars and pickups. Both of Georgia’s Senators joined all Democrats in voting against the resolution.
How governments are using Public-Private Partnerships
Over the past three decades, governments worldwide, including here in Georgia, have increasingly turned to the private sector to design, build, finance, operate and maintain infrastructure, including electric, gas and water utilities; airports, seaports and toll roads; and pipelines and telecommunications facilities. Infrastructure investors financed $77.5 billion worth of public-private partnership infrastructure transactions last year.
Bonus
Buford High School unveils new $62 million football stadium
Over the last eight months, Buford High School’s stadium has undergone a massive transformation. The newly renovated, $62 million Phillip Beard Stadium is set to open to host the Wolves’ home games in the 2025 season. According to a progress video posted to Instagram by Peach State Realty in October, the stadium features more than 10,000 seats, at least 10 covered box sections, a parking structure, a jumbotron that is “nearly as large as SEC standard” and a pedestrian bridge connected to the school.
The Treasury Department is winding down the production of pennies after ordering a last batch of the blanks used to print the coins this month. Pennies, which are made up of 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper plating, cost about 3.69 cents to make, according to Treasury Department statistics, which show the price of production has skyrocketed over the last decade.
Bitcoin analyst says BTC price peak in $220K to $330K range still possible
Bitcoin analyst Sminston With predicts that Bitcoin could peak between $220,000 and $330,000 by the end of 2025, based on a model using a 365-day simple moving average aligned with a power law trendline. This model suggests Bitcoin’s price follows a predictable pattern over time, challenging the belief that its price swings are softening.
Quotes of Note
“Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.” – John Wayne
“Learning how to be still, to really be still and let life happen – that stillness becomes a radiance.” – Morgan Freeman
“I think it’s a joke.” – Georgia Tech baseball coach Danny Hall, in response to a question about being sent to the baseball regional at Ole Miss instead of being selected as a host