Woodland Hills
Convenience with a Laid-Back Residential Feel
Woodland Hills Real Estate | Atlanta, GA
About Woodland Hills
Intown Convenience Near Emory and Buckhead
Woodland Hills is a predominantly mid-century residential neighborhood tucked between LaVista Road, Briarcliff Road and the Cheshire Bridge area, convenient to Emory University, the CDC, Buckhead and Midtown. Its winding streets and modest single-family homes create a residential pocket in a part of northeast Atlanta otherwise surrounded by major roads, employment centers and increasingly dense development.
Most of Woodland Hills was built during the post-World War II housing expansion of the 1950s. Rather than the bungalows and Craftsman homes associated with Atlanta’s earlier streetcar neighborhoods, Woodland Hills is characterized primarily by brick ranches, cottages and other mid-century homes built for the growing middle-class families of the period. The Woodland Hills Neighborhood Association’s historical research identifies W.H. Smith as beginning development in 1950 and Shepard Construction Company as the neighborhood’s builder.
That history remains readily visible today. Homes tend to be relatively modest in scale, lots are established and wooded, and redevelopment has occurred without completely changing the original character of the neighborhood.
For buyers, Woodland Hills can provide an increasingly uncommon combination: a single-family home in a central location without the pricing typically associated with Morningside, Druid Hills or many of Atlanta’s better-known Intown neighborhoods.
Homes for Sale in Woodland Hills
From Farmland to a Postwar Atlanta Neighborhood
Woodland Hills tells a different chapter of Atlanta’s development story.
The land remained largely rural well after neighborhoods closer to Downtown had begun developing. Local historical research describes the area as farmland through the first half of the 20th century, reflecting the still-rural character of much of DeKalb County beyond Atlanta’s earlier streetcar suburbs.
The street pattern actually predates most of the houses. Research into the original plats found a Woodland Hills development on the Fulton County side dating to approximately 1920, with streets laid out well before the principal period of home construction. Much of that earlier housing was subsequently lost to apartment and condominium development along Woodland Avenue.
The Woodland Hills most recognizable today arrived after World War II.
Beginning around 1950, the neighborhood was developed primarily for the expanding population of young families and returning veterans buying homes during America’s postwar housing boom. Neighborhood historical records describe typical new homes selling for approximately $10,000.
There is also a less comfortable piece of that history worth acknowledging. The original subdivision plats included racial restrictions limiting purchasers to white buyers. Those provisions became legally unenforceable, but their appearance in the Woodland Hills plats is evidence of how racial segregation was incorporated into residential development in mid-century Atlanta and DeKalb County.
Woodland Hills therefore represents a different era from nearby Druid Hills or Virginia-Highland. It wasn’t created as an elaborate landscaped suburb or a streetcar community. It is largely a product of postwar Atlanta—when automobiles, expanding employment centers and inexpensive single-family construction were pushing residential development farther into northeast Atlanta.
The neighborhood also has an unusual geographic identity. The original platted Woodland Hills crosses LaVista Road and extends toward Cheshire Bridge, while today’s civic associations overlap jurisdictional boundaries. The Woodland Hills Neighborhood Association notes that portions of the platted neighborhood are also represented by LaVista Park and Lindridge-Martin Manor organizations for local governmental matters.
Buying a Home in Woodland Hills
Woodland Hills is worth considering for buyers who prioritize location and a single-family home over having the architectural pedigree or commercial walkability of some of Atlanta’s more expensive Intown neighborhoods.
The typical house is relatively straightforward: a 1950s ranch, brick cottage or similarly scaled mid-century home. But decades of ownership and renovation mean that two houses originally built from similar plans can now be very different properties.
Some remain relatively original. Others have undergone substantial interior renovations, additions or complete transformations. There is also newer infill construction where older homes have been replaced.
That creates opportunity, but it makes condition and renovation quality particularly important.
With an original or partially renovated 1950s home, buyers should pay close attention to electrical and plumbing systems, sewer lines, foundations and crawlspaces, drainage, roofing, windows, HVAC equipment and previous additions. Cosmetic improvements don’t necessarily indicate that the underlying systems have been modernized.
Lots also deserve attention. The rolling terrain and mature landscape that give parts of the neighborhood their character can create drainage, retaining-wall and water-management issues that aren’t immediately apparent during a showing.
Woodland Hills can be particularly compelling for buyers who would like to remain close to Morningside, Druid Hills or the Emory area but don’t necessarily want—or need—to pay the premium associated with those neighborhoods.
That comparison needs to be made house by house. A substantially renovated Woodland Hills home can occupy a very different part of the market from an original ranch several streets away.
My role is to help buyers evaluate the house itself, the quality of previous improvements, the particular location and the alternatives available at the same price before deciding what a property is actually worth.
Selling a Home in Woodland Hills
Woodland Hills sellers need to understand that buyers are often making a value comparison.
They may like Morningside or Druid Hills but discover that their budget buys considerably more house in Woodland Hills. Others are specifically looking for proximity to Emory, the CDC or northeast Atlanta employment centers. Still others are searching broadly for a single-family home with convenient access to both Midtown and Buckhead.
The marketing strategy should recognize those motivations without trying to portray Woodland Hills as something it isn’t.
For an original or partially updated ranch, preparation can have an outsized effect on buyer perception. Paint, lighting, landscaping, refinished floors and selective improvements can make an older house feel well maintained without undertaking an unnecessary major renovation.
Larger expenditures require more judgment. A seller doesn’t necessarily need to install a new kitchen simply because the existing one is dated. Depending on the property and market, buyers may prefer to renovate themselves rather than pay a premium for improvements they wouldn’t have chosen.
I help sellers determine where preparation is likely to produce a return and where it is better to leave the property alone.
For extensively renovated homes, the strategy changes. The marketing needs to document the improvements and demonstrate why the property deserves a premium over the neighborhood’s more typical housing stock. Floor-plan improvements, additions, major systems, outdoor living areas and construction quality become important parts of the value discussion.
Professional photography, accurate pricing and careful positioning are particularly important in a neighborhood where the housing can range from relatively original 1950s homes to substantially renovated or newly constructed properties.
The goal isn’t simply to establish what homes have recently sold for in Woodland Hills. It is to identify which Woodland Hills properties are actually comparable to yours and price accordingly.
Relocating to Woodland Hills
Woodland Hills makes particular sense for relocation buyers whose work or daily life is centered around Emory University, the CDC, the VA, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Buckhead or Midtown.
The neighborhood sits between several major parts of northeast Atlanta without really belonging to any one of them. Briarcliff Road provides access toward Emory and Druid Hills, while Cheshire Bridge and Piedmont Road connect toward Buckhead and Midtown. I-85 is nearby for commuting farther north or south.
That central location is probably Woodland Hills’ greatest practical advantage.
It is important, however, to understand what the neighborhood doesn’t provide.
Woodland Hills isn’t a traditional walkable Intown neighborhood with restaurants and shops concentrated around a neighborhood commercial district. Most daily errands involve driving, and the surrounding arterial roads can be busy. Buyers who want to walk from home to restaurants and neighborhood businesses may be happier in Virginia-Highland, Morningside or other more pedestrian-oriented communities.
What Woodland Hills offers instead is access.
For someone working at Emory or the CDC, it provides a residential environment relatively close to work while maintaining convenient connections toward Buckhead and Midtown. For buyers with different workplaces within the same household, that central northeast Atlanta location can be particularly useful.
It also sits near a surprisingly broad range of neighborhoods. Morningside is immediately to the west, LaVista Park and Brookhaven are to the north and northeast, while Druid Hills and the Emory area lie to the southeast.
Touring those areas together helps relocating buyers understand an important Atlanta distinction: neighborhoods separated by only a few miles can offer very different housing, taxes, schools, municipal services and lifestyles.
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