Atlanta rents are still too damn high, for now

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the average asking rent in the Atlanta metro area was $1,583, up 6.4% from a year earlier, per economic research firm Moody's Analytics, writes Axios' Sami Sparber.

Why it matters: Affordability concerns are starting to weigh down the booming rental market.

What's happening: Many would-be home buyers chose to rent longer last year, sustaining apartment demand, economists at Moody's Analytics say. But people are hitting their spending limit.

• For the first time in over two decades, households now have to spend 30% of their income on average rents, a new report shares.

Year-over-year rent growth slowed in the second half of the year across the board, "and we expect further deceleration as new supply makes it to market at the same time the labor market softens," senior economist Lu Chen tells Axios.

What we're watching: New apartment construction. The expected surge in supply could help bring down prices.

• Yes, but: Experts say most cities will "remain undersupplied with the kind of affordable units that see the highest demand," per The Wall Street Journal.