The Atlanta region's housing crunch has a number: 24,015 residential building permits issued in 2025, down 18.5% from the year before and well below the long-run average of 33,150 permits per year.
That's the headline finding from the Atlanta Regional Commission's annual population estimates, released Wednesday, Aug. 12. The 11-county region added 53,690 residents between April 2025 and April 2026, bringing the total to 5,339,164, but the growth rate slowed to 1.0%, down from 1.2% the prior year.
The culprit? Too few homes being built. Low housing supply keeps prices elevated and puts a brake on population growth, especially domestic migration, according to the ARC.
For Dunwoody and Brookhaven, both in DeKalb County, the regional slowdown frames a local reality. The ARC report does not break out permit counts by county, but the Perimeter corridor's active pipeline tells its own story.
A handful of projects in the pipeline
High Street, the billion-dollar mixed-use development at Perimeter Center Parkway and Hammond Drive, remains the corridor's largest bet on new housing. Developer GID has Phase 2 on pace to break ground in the fourth quarter of 2026, adding 300 apartments, 40,000 square feet of loft offices and 80,000 square feet of retail. Phase 1 delivered 598 apartments and 150,000 square feet of retail beginning in 2024.
GID president of residential partners Sean Caldwell described the project as the firm's key Atlanta investment. "High Street Phase 2 in Dunwoody is expected to begin this year," he told Multifamily Executive in May.
On Ashwood Parkway, Alpharetta-based Ashton Woods is seeking to rezone 11.64 acres to build 122 for-sale townhomes, replacing a five-story office building Dunwoody city staff called a "zombie" office space. The planning commission unanimously recommended approval in July, and a public hearing was scheduled for the Monday, Aug. 10 Dunwoody City Council meeting. The outcome of that vote has not been confirmed.
Separately, national homebuilder Lennar plans to convert a medical office building along Ashford Dunwoody Road into 33 townhomes, according to an Atlanta Business Chronicle report published Aug. 6. And Georgetown Company's Campus 244 near MARTA's Dunwoody station is pursuing a zoning change to add 350 apartments, 150 hotel rooms and 200,000 square feet of offices by 2030.
Brookhaven adds units near MARTA
In Brookhaven, High Street Residential's 350-unit Residences at Perimeter Summit, at 1251 Perimeter Summit Parkway, broke ground in early 2025 and is scheduled to deliver by late 2026. Near Buford Highway, Valemont Brookhaven is building 43 townhomes at 2798 Drew Valley Road NE, priced from the $600,000s.
Regional picture
ARC chief research and innovation officer Ann Carpenter said the annual estimates give local leaders a clear picture of growth and the foundation they need to plan for infrastructure, housing and services.
The same day, the ARC Board approved "Growing Together for 2050," a regional development plan projecting the metro area will grow to nearly 7.9 million residents by 2050. That plan includes a Regional Housing Strategy aimed at expanding housing opportunities.
The region's growth trajectory has been slowing for decades: 3.3% annually in the 1990s, 2.0% in the 2000s, 1.5% in the 2010s and 1.2% between 2020 and 2026.
The next test for Dunwoody's pipeline comes when the city council acts on the Ashwood Parkway and Campus 244 rezonings, both of which require converting aging office space to residential use.
