County’s average home price is $411,629
Hundreds of new homes will soon be built in Gilmer County, according to the Planning and Zoning Office.
In 2025, the office gave out 355 residential home permits to people hoping to make new homes.
The county has seven phases of subdivision projects planned too. These subdivisions include 215 lots. Still more subdivision phases are in stages of review before final approval.
“It’s the almighty dollar that drives everything,” Planning and Zoning Director Jim Smith said of Gilmer’s land and housing markets.
Rising home prices have been a concern for many Gilmer residents for some time. According to Zillow, the average home in the county costs $411,629. The U.S. Census states that in 2024, the average Gilmer resident made $35,067 yearly.
For that, there is a project underway in East Ellijay to build a 50-unit apartment complex.
Smith said Planning and Zoning is meeting with engineers to plan another 50-unit apartment complex on Mountain View Drive.
But even if Gilmer’s supply of homes is growing, that doesn’t necessarily mean housing costs will decrease.
However, it’s unlikely that the new homes built will be in an affordable price range.
“It is very much more expensive since COVID,” Assistant Director Karen Henson said.
There are several reasons for this change.
Many retirees buying homes in Gilmer can afford to pay huge sums of cash to buy homes now, she said.
Economic factors have an impact, too.
“The price of housing has gone up exponentially because of cost of materials, cost of labor and all those things that we have no control of” Smith said.
The natural beauty of Gilmer County also makes land expensive. One empty lot sold for $385,000, he said.
“Everyone is looking to get a higher return on the land,” he said.
For local farmers and other landowners who aren’t using their land for highly profitable real estate development, this increased land value can lead to higher taxes unless they take action.
Smith recommended that farmers concerned about rising land taxes apply for a Georgia Agricultural Tax Exemption.
This exemption allows someone who has an agricultural business that makes more than $5,000 yearly to get a tax exemption on agricultural production inputs and equipment.
This program can make some expenses easier for farmers.
“We’ve seen agricultural land diminish,” Smith said. “People who are owners of that land see a better return by selling it or trying to develop it themselves.”
If someone wants to keep their land but not build on it, it’s possible to apply for a conservation covenant.
In this covenant, people agree to keep land fallow for ten years, and the land is taxed at 10 percent of its market value.
“There are incentives out there to keep land open,” Smith said.