The single best return I've produced for a client didn't come from Johns Creek or Suwanee. It came from a late-1980s three-bedroom in Marietta bought in the low $310Ks.
Bought in autumn 2022, sold exactly twelve months later just under $400K. Up 28.7% in one year.
I've closed 17 in Marietta. That one is the outlier — but it's an outlier that tells you something true about this market.
Why Marietta is different
Marietta has something almost nowhere else in metro Atlanta still has: real inventory under $300K inside a county people actually want to live in.
My Marietta closings start just under $230K — a three-bedroom cottage. I've closed two units in that community. I've also closed two separate homes on the same street in Turtle Rock, roughly $110K apart in price, five years apart in time.
When you can buy twice in the same subdivision, you stop guessing about that subdivision.
The sub-$320K tier
Scripps Cottages, Hollydale, The Village, The Bluffs at Milford Woods, Turtle Rock, Oaks on Piedmont.
Small homes, 1971–1990, two to three bedrooms, often 1,100–1,600 square feet. These are not glamorous. They are the most efficient rental dollar in the north metro, and they're what I put first-time investors in when they ask me where to start.
The $350K–$450K tier
Arbor Forest, Cedar Forks, Highpointe North, the Townes at Marietta, Glens at Powers Ferry.
Three to four bedrooms, 1977–2022, including townhome product. This is where a buyer who wants to live in it rather than rent it usually lands.
Above $500K
Shaw Ridge, Fairview Farm, Highland Park. I've closed at $512K, $620K and $670K here. Different market, different buyer, and frankly not where Marietta's edge is.
What made the 28.7% deal work — and why I won't promise you another one
Three things lined up, and I want to be precise about them because two of the three are gone:
- The house was priced on its condition, not its location. It needed work that scared retail buyers — and we were able to see past that because I'd already closed in the neighborhood and knew what the finished product resells for.
- It sold into the 2023 market, when Cobb's sub-$400K tier still had competitive bidding.
- The client was willing to hold twelve months and do the work.
Item 1 still happens in Marietta. Item 3 is up to you. Item 2 is not available in 2026. Anyone showing you a 28% return from 2022–2023 and implying you can repeat it right now is selling you something.
What I'd expect today from a well-bought Marietta property in the $250K–$320K band: it cash-flows from month one, and appreciation is a bonus you don't underwrite.
The Cobb caveat nobody mentions
Marietta addresses span wildly different school assignments and wildly different street-by-street conditions. Two houses six blocks apart can have completely different tenant pools. This is not a city you buy off a spreadsheet from another state.
I walk these. If you're buying remotely, that's the part you're paying an agent for — and if your agent won't go stand on the street, get a different agent.
FAQ
What is the cheapest entry point into Cobb County investment property?
Marietta. My closings there start just under $230K for a three-bedroom cottage. The sub-$320K tier includes Scripps Cottages, Hollydale, The Village, The Bluffs at Milford Woods, Turtle Rock and Oaks on Piedmont — mostly 1971–1990 homes of 1,100–1,600 square feet.
What kind of return is realistic on a Marietta investment property?
One client property bought in the low $310Ks in 2022 sold just under $400K in 2023 — up 28.7% in twelve months. That result depended on 2023 market conditions that no longer exist. For a 2026 purchase at $250K–$320K, a realistic expectation is positive cash flow from month one, with appreciation treated as upside rather than underwritten.
Tina Jingru Sui · Associate Broker, TJS Team · Keller Williams Atlanta Partners · English & Mandarin · (404) 375-2120 · [email protected]
