AARP The Magazine has ranked Atlanta among the top five places in which to retire. Completing the top five are Beacon Hill in Boston; Chandler, Ariz.; Milwaukee, Wis.; and Portland, Ore. AARP The Magazine said its selections focus on livable community characteristics in each location including mass-transit systems so residents can drive less, expanded sidewalks to encourage walking, better health care, and a wide range of mixed use housing.

These qualities attract members of the 50-plus age group, a segment that spends more than $2.2 trillion on goods and services each year and is expected to grow in size by 32 percent in the next 15 years.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA
Lifestyle vibe: Sophisticated metropolis with Southern charm
Fitness fix: Full-service health clubs in downtown condos
Retirees love: Abundant volunteer and cultural opportunities
Retirees hate: Sticky southern summers
Median housing price: $171,800

Average temperature: 43°F (January) and 80°F (July)Donna Miller, 61, just loves urban life. “Cities are good for me,” says the retired librarian, who moved here from Old Greenwich, Connecticut, three years ago. “And Atlanta seemed perfect. It’s green, it’s pretty, and because it’s smaller than some cities, I thought I’d find it easier to insert myself into the community.” Best of all, Donna, a widow, has family here; a daughter and three grandchildren live in nearby Smyrna. So far, Atlanta has met all of Donna’s criteria for being a great place to live (and retire): she has made new friends, lives within easy walking distance of the High Museum of Art, where she is a docent, and is close to Emory University, where she also volunteers.

Such relocation success stories are the norm in Atlanta. In recent years it has been the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the country, adding more than 890,000 new residents between 2000 and 2006. Its rapid growth—kicked off by the 1996 Olympics—has transformed the city. “I like to tell people that I grew up in a small railroad town but that since the Olympics, I’ve been living in an international city,” says Wicke Chambers, an Atlantan and author of Celebrate Retirement (Winslow Press, 2005).

Atlanta is also an increasingly older city. The Atlanta Regional Commission says that from 2000 to 2005 the older-adult population grew by 30.6 percent, more than double the growth rate of the total population (13.7 percent), and that by 2030 one in five residents will be 60 or older.

Atlanta has worked hard to manage this growth. Since 64 percent of those 55-plus say they’d like to stay in their homes as long as possible, the city has invested considerable resources in its Easy Living Home program

In addition, Atlanta’s Livable Centers Initiative has invested more than $500 million to date to encourage the development of diverse housing types and pedestrian-friendly walkways. And the massive Atlantic Station project transformed 130 acres on the edge of downtown into a vibrant center with retail shops, restaurants, and housing for 10,000.

All of which makes the city increasingly attractive, not only to newcomers but to longtime residents as well. Greg Riggs, 59, former general counsel for Delta Airlines, and his wife, Kaye, 52, wondered if they should relocate after he retired—after all, their two girls were already in college. “We took about a year to think about it,” Greg recalls, “and we decided our lives were so rich here, it just didn’t make sense to go anywhere else.”

To see the entire article, go to http://www.aarpmagazine.org/lifestyle/best_places_2007.html

What’s new in the Smyrna Vinings home market. In the table above, we have shown by zip code for both single family homes and condos the amount of homes currently active and resulting months of inventory.

Months of inventory indicates the number of months it is estimated to take to sell all active homes currently listed based upon the amount of homes sold in the past year in their respective zip codes and price points. More than 6 months of inventory typically points to it being a buyer’s market.

I know for all those trying to sell their home or thinking about selling, this is the last thing you’ll want to hear, but the market continues to worsen in both single family homes and townhomes and condos in the Smyrna Vinings market.

This past month in the Smyrna Vinings home market we’ve seen a minimal 1% increase in active listings compared to last month which now brings the months of inventory to 10.36 months. We now have 758 active homes in Smyrna Vinings compared to 747 in June.

As noted previously, some areas are still heavily weighted due to so much new construction that has entered the market at a price point that was not common in the Smyrna Vinings home market. New construction in this price point include Woodbridge Crossing, Medlin Place, Vinings Estates, Stonehaven at Vinings, Stonecrest Manor, Ellis Wade, Kensington Green, West Village, Spring Street Village, Rileys Walk, Walker Street Cottages, Collier Place, Concord Lake Village, Parkview Village, Barnes Mill, Collins Lake Estate and Wakefield Estates.

After another big increase in condo listings last month, there was no . The Smyrna Vinings condo and townhome market increased by only one unit over last month, with a total of 435 units now on the market compared to 434 in June. This now puts the condo and townhome months of inventory up to 13.63 months. You may be wondering how the months of inventory jumped so much from last month with only one more active condo on the market. Well, it’s because fewer homes have sold in the last 12 month period, which causes the months of inventory to increase.

What to look for? The market, while overall doesn’t look that healthy, does have numerous patches of very healthy and vibrant segments. However, Now more than ever, it’s imperative that your home is positioned properly in the marketplace. If you have any questions on how best to do that, don’t hesistate to contact us.

The H2 Realty Group is exclusively partnered with Keller Williams Realty, the fourth largest and fastest growing real estate company in North America (according to the August 2005 issue of REALTOR Magazine). The H2 Realty Group provides services to home buyers and home sellers in the north metro Atlanta area including Smyrna, Vinings, Buckhead, Midtown, Brookhaven, Marietta, Mableton, Kennesaw, Sandy Springs, Roswell, Alpharetta, Duluth and Norcross. All tools and resources can be accessed at www.H2realty.com.

Atlanta Business Chronicle - 3:10 PM EDT Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Georgia’s annual sales tax holiday will be from Aug. 2 to midnight Aug. 5, according to the Georgia Department of Revenue.

During the tax-free period, Georgia consumers can buy certain clothing items, schools supplies, computers and computer accessories without paying state and local sales.

Clothing and footwear up to $100 per item are exempt, but there is no limit on how many pairs of shoes and clothing items an individual can buy. If the price of an article of clothing or pair of shoes exceeds $100, then the item will be taxed at its full retail price.

Clothing accessories, jewelry, handbags, umbrellas, eyewear, watches, watchbands and similar items are not exempt from sales tax during the tax-free period.

School supplies bought for classroom use or classroom related activities are exempt if they cost $20 or less per item. Included are pens, pencils, notebooks, paper, book bags, calculators, dictionaries, thesauruses, children’s books and books listed on approved school reading lists for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Sales tax will be due on the purchase of any single school supply item that exceeds $20.

Purchases of personal computers and accessories are exempt up to $1,500 per transaction. These items include monitors, personal computer base units, keyboards, handheld computers, monitors, printers, modems, non-recreational software and other peripheral devices.

Personal digital assistants are exempt unless they allow voice communication. Other items that are not exempt include regular cell phones, digital cameras, furniture and any systems, devices, software or peripherals designed or intended primarily for recreational use.

To see original article, go to http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2007/07/16/daily31.html?f=et50&ana=e_du