These are some very powerful statistics about Atlanta. The source is the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. This is without a doubt one of the best places nationally to be right now in terms of jobs, real estate stability, and quality of life. The Metro Atlanta economy has been strong, despite a slow national period:

* Atlanta is 9th largest MSA in the nation with 5,138,200 population

* The metro adds aprox. 150,000 people per year

* Population growth is largest in nation with 20% growth from 2000-2006

* Income growth continues to be higher than the national average

* Metro home to 43 colleges / universities and 9 technical colleges

* Nearly 140,000 businesses operate in the area

* Job growth of 60,000 jobs in 2006 (no # yet for 2007)

* #4 best place in the nation to invest in Real Estate (CNN Money 2007)

* #1 in the Nation as top City for Young Professionals (Forbes 2007)

* #1 in the Nation as Best Place to LIve for Retirees (AARP 2007)

* #1 Busiest Airport in Nation for 3rd year in a row

* #1 Best Cities for Married with Kids (Kiplinger 2007)

* #3rd Top Cities with Most Fortune 500 Headquarters (Fortune 2007)

* #1 Least Costly large City for Business in U.S. (KPMG 2006)

* #4 in Top Ten North American Cities of the Future (FDI 2007)

* #3rd America’s 50 Hottest Cities (Expansion Management 2006)

If you’re like most first-time home buyers, you’ve probably listened to friends’, family’s and coworkers’ advice, many of whom are encouraging you to buy a home. However, you may still wonder if buying a home is the right thing to do. Relax. Having reservations is normal. The more you know about why you should buy a home, the less scary the entire process will appear to you. Here are eight good reasons why you should buy a home.

Pride of Ownership

Pride of ownership is the number one reason why people yearn to own their home. It means you can paint the walls any color you desire, turn up the volume on your CD player, attach permanent fixtures and decorate your home according to your own taste. Home ownership gives you and your family a sense of stability and security. It’s making an investment in your future.

Appreciation

Although real estate moves in cycles, sometimes up, sometimes down, over the years, real estate has consistently appreciated. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight tracks the movements of single-family home values across the country. Its House Price Index breaks down the changes by region and metropolitan area. Many people view their home investment as a hedge against inflation.

Mortgage Interest Deductions

Home ownership is a superb tax shelter and our tax rates favor homeowners. As long as your mortgage balance is smaller than the price of your home, mortgage interest is fully deductible on your tax return. Interest is the largest component of your mortgage payment.

Property Tax Deductions

IRS Publication 530 contains tax information for first-time homebuyers. Real estate property taxes paid for a first home and a vacation home are fully deductible for income tax purposes. In California, the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978 established the amount of assessed value after property changes hands and limited property tax increases to 2% per year or the rate of inflation, whichever is less.

Capital Gain Exclusion

As long as you have lived in your home for two of the past five years, you can exclude up to $250,000 for an individual or $500,000 for a married couple of profit from capital gains. You do not have to buy a replacement home or move up. There is no age restriction, and the “over-55″ rule does not apply. You can exclude the above thresholds from taxes every 24 months, which means you could sell every two years and pocket your profit–subject to limitation–free from taxation.

Preferential Tax Treatment

If you receive more profit than the allowable exclusion upon sale of your home, that profit will be considered a capital asset as long as you owned your home for more than one year. Capital assets receive preferential tax treatment.

Mortgage Reduction Builds Equity

Each month, part of your monthly payment is applied to the principal balance of your loan, which reduces your obligation. The way amortization works, the principal portion of your principal and interest payment increases slightly every month. It is lowest on your first payment and highest on your last payment. On average, each $100,000 of a mortgage will reduce in balance the first year by about $500 in principal, bringing that balance at the end of your first 12 months to $99,500.

Equity Loans

Consumers who carry credit card balances cannot deduct the interest paid, which can cost as much as 18% to 22%. Equity loan interest is often much less and it is deductible. For many home owners, it makes sense to pay off this kind of debt with a home equity loan. Consumers can borrow against a home’s equity for a variety of reasons such as home improvement, college, medical or starting a new business. Some state laws restrict home equity loans.

The Federal Reserve cut the federal funds rate by a quarter-percentage point recently to the lowest level in nearly two years. The move is designed to stimulate the economy and prevent a credit crunch from hurting consumer and business lending. Real estate sales should benefit from this.

Banks typically base their prime interest rate on this federal funds rate plus 3 percent, bringing the prime down to 7.25 percent. Lowering the prime rate tends to lower overall borrowing costs and encourage consumer and business spending.
 
Lowering the prime helps everyone making payments on loans that have an interest rate tied to prime, including many ARMs tied to the one year T-bill, most home equity loans, many business loans, and even some credit cards. In addition, by leaving more money in consumers’ wallets, the central bank hopes to encourage local banks to lend more money.

So how will Georgia real estate owners fare in 2008? There are favorable factors on the horizon for this new year:

> The cost of borrowing is still remarkably low, with 30-year fixed-rate loans for owner-occupants hovering around 6 percent, making this a great time to lock in a long-term loan. Interest rates tend to move up and down in cycles, and this home loan rate is very near the historical lows of 2003. And let’s face it —- the cost of borrowing is one of the prime drivers of real estate sales.

> Georgia has largely dodged the real estate meltdown that has hit Michigan, California, Florida and New Mexico. In fact, the economy here is strong and growing. We are adding jobs daily. And that’s another driver in real estate sales.
Our part of the United States has experienced much more stable growth and less of the speculative frenzy that drove up home prices wildly in some parts of the country. Remember that all real estate is local, and what’s happening in New Mexico is not relevant to what’s happening in your neighborhood. Many of those negative reports miss this point completely.

> Home prices in Georgia have not slipped, and, in fact, are still rising, though modestly. The average home in Georgia is worth more today than it was a year ago. As hard as it is to believe, your real estate is still a good investment and is likely to be worth more in the future.

> People still need a place to live, and they almost always prefer to live indoors.
With an additional 2 million to 3 million new residents projected to arrive in the Atlanta area over the next 20 years, we will need a lot more housing units than are currently available. And that new housing will cost more, not less. I am not suggesting a housing boom during 2008, but I am saying that demand is going to increase, and we will need new housing to meet that demand.

> This current market won’t last. The southeastern United States (even Florida) continues to attract new jobs and new residents. People are moving here to fill jobs, and other people are moving here for a sunny retirement.
In a recent study, the Realtors’ chief economist Lawrence Yun stated that he believes the worst part of the credit crunch has worked its way through the economy, and projected existing home sales in the United States to trend up in 2008.

He projects existing home sales to reach a total of 5.67 million for 2007, making last year the fifth highest on record. He looks for a total of 5.70 million homes sold in 2008, compared with the 6.48 million units sold in 2006. His prediction for new-home sales is slightly gloomier, stating that a recovery for this part of the market is unlikely before 2009. The new-home market traditionally makes up around 16 percent of all home sales annually.

These things tend to go in cycles, and when the current new-home inventory finally dries up, and the glut of foreclosures gets absorbed, demand will force prices higher in the years ahead. How high remains to be seen.

I am willing to go on record as predicting that 2008 will be seen as the year of the real estate turnaround in the Atlanta metro area. Home demand will be strongest in the detached single-family “under $300,000″ range, and sales will begin to pick up in spring, then improve through the remainder of the year

Georgia Power will come to your home and give you an Energy Audit free of charge as long as you are a customer. The in-home audit includes checking the HVAC performance, making sure the windows & doors are sealed, verifying the ventilation is adequate, making sure the insulation is at the right levels in the attic, floors & walls, and that your appliances are up to date and energy efficient. Click Here to find out more about Georgia Power & how to order your own energy audit.

1.  Re-route your commute. o   

2.  Buy used. o    Whether you’ve just moved to a new area or are looking to redecorate, consider a service like craigslist or FreeSharing to track down furniture, appliances, and other items, rather than buying them new. Check out garage sales and thrift stores for clothing and other everyday items. o    Use your creativity in gift giving, including making homemade gifts, donating to a good cause, or even regifting. (And gift green, in general.) o    Your purchasing habits have a real impact, for better or worse. When making new purchases, make sure you know what’s “Good Stuff” and what isn’t.  

3.  Buy local. o    Shop at your local farmers’ market. Though the offerings can be more expensive, you can generally count on a higher quality product—and the entire purchase price goes directly to the farmer. Buying any goods produced locally saves energy by reducing the fossil fuels needed to transport food and other items across the country and around the globe. o    Start a local currency program in your town. This can ensure that money stays in your local economy, valuing local services and supporting local merchants.  

4.  Compost your food scraps. o    Composting helps reduce the amount of waste you send to the landfill, which can save you money if you live in a municipality with a “pay as you throw” system. In the process, you create free, healthy fertilizer for your garden (or your neighbor’s—or lobby for a community garden!) o    If you don’t have a yard or space for a compost pile, try indoor ‘vermiculture,’ or worm composting.  

5.  Change the thermostat setting and install energy saving devices. o    Setting your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer can translate to substantial savings on your utility bills. o    Install low-flow showerheads and take shorter showers to save water and the energy used to heat it. Or, consider eventually installing a solar hot water heater on your property. o    Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible and use a drying rack or clothesline. o    When incandescent bulbs burn out, replace them with longer-lasting, low-energy compact fluorescent bulbs. o    With the money you save from making these changes, consider buying wind energy from your local utility or purchasing renewable energy offsets. Renewables offer our best hope for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a host of other pollutants. In some cases, “green energy” options can be cheaper than electricity from conventional sources!  

6.  Skip the bottled water at the grocery or convenience store. o    Filter your tap water for drinking rather than using bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it produces large amounts of container waste. o    Check out this recent update and life cycle analysis for the latest on bottled water trends.  

7.  Make your own cleaning supplies. o    Using simple ingredients such as baking soda, soap, and vinegar, you can make cheap, easy, and non-toxic cleaning products that really work! Save money, time, and your indoor air quality.  

8.  Think twice about new electronics. o    E-waste from discarded cell phones and computers is a growing environmental problem. Mounds of electronic refuse are being shipped abroad illegally for ‘disassembly’ by workers with little protection against the mercury and other toxic substances they contain. o    Keep your electronics as long as possible and dispose of them responsibly when the time comes. o    Buy higher-quality items and don’t give in to ‘psychological obsolescence’ marketing campaigns. o    Recycle your cell phone and support good causes at the same time! o    Ask your local government to set up a responsible recycling and hazardous waste collection event.  

9.  Add one meatless meal per week. o    While strict vegetarianism isn’t for everyone, even the most devout carnivores can cut back on meat consumption without cramping their style—and save money in the process. Industrial meat production requires huge energy inputs and creates noxious waste problems. The proliferation of factory farms is damaging the environment, and the global nature of the industry creates conditions that promote the spread of diseases such as avian flu, potentially costing society billions.  

10.   Use your local library and other public amenities. o    Borrowing from libraries, instead of buying personal books and movies, saves money and printing resources. Consider donating the money saved to your local library. o    Be an active civic participant and ensure that the public spaces and facilities in your town are well maintained. This will promote a healthy, sustainable community.  

Just a friendly reminder to set your clocks back one hour this upcoming Sunday November 4th! 

With Atlanta’s water supply running low, here are some easy ways to help conserve water and avoid a drought:

• Turn off the water while brushing your teeth, shaving, or washing your face
• Fix leaky showerheads, faucets, and toilets
• Keep drinking water in the refrigerator rather than letting the tap run to get a cold glass of water
• Don’t over water your lawn
• Place a brick in your toilet to reduce the water flow when flushing by up to 25%
• Use the garbage disposal sparingly.  Instead, compost–it will save gallons of water
• Try and keep your shower under five minutes
• Last, educate others in your community

Help and save Atlanta from a drought!

With winter coming on, here are five efficiency-enhancing ideas to reduce your home’s energy usage by up to 50 percent

1. Upgrade your equipment

Replacing an entire heating and cooling system is a big, expensive project, but if your system is more than two decades old, in the long term replacing it can save you more money than any other home improvement project.

2. Patch leaky ducts

Even if you have an efficient furnace and air conditioner, if the ducts that funnel hot air or cold air around your house are in bad shape, you’ll still lose way too much energy.

3. Seal the envelope

Small cracks and gaps in your house’s shell can allow about a third of the heat and air conditioning in a 10-year-old house to escape. In the attic, look for gaps around anything that comes through the floor, such as pipes, fan ducts and electrical lines. Use an expanding-foam spray or paint-able caulk to seal cracks.

4. Add insulation

Insulation wasn’t standard for new houses until the mid-70s oil crisis. If your home is older than that, check out your attic floor. None? Add it to the attic and the basement. Even if there’s some insulation there already, you may benefit from adding more.

5. Replace old appliances

Most major appliances more than 15 years old are major energy wasters, likely worth ditching in favor of this year’s models. See for yourself with a gizmo called Watts Up? ($100 for the standard model). Plug any of your existing appliances into it, and it will calculate the machine’s annual electrical consumption. Compare that with usage ratings on new products at energystar.gov and you’ll know whether upgrading is worth the money.