In other news for the week, there were huge numbers both in retail sales and housing starts. Retail sales surged 2.3 percent in January, nearly triple the expected increase and the largest gain since May 2004. Construction starts were at a level of 2.276 million (annualized), up 15 percent from December's revised 1.988 million and the most since March 1973. This data is spurring a debate between economists as to whether the housing bubble - which has been reported for nearly 4 years now - is real or just a media myth. Some economists attribute this record housing start number to the warmest January in recorded history. Others dismiss that belief.

Regardless of what the economists say, no one can deny that the media has been playing up the "housing bubble" since early in 2002. Yet, if you had listened to these reports, you would have missed out on some of the highest annual gains in the history of real estate. When will the bubble pop? The first question that needs to be answered is this: Is there a bubble at all? We believe that there are pockets where a bubble does exist. Areas of coastal California, coastal Florida, the Phoenix and Washington DC metro areas come to mind. However, for Atlanta and all of Georgia, there is no bubble. We continue to see appreciation in the 3% to 8% range annually. Slow, but steady gains.