"One factor that's been a plus for us is our supply of sites, both existing or available sites," Ed Milton told Expansion Management. Milton is the recently-installed president of the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors (ACBR, http://www.atlcbr.com/), as well as the senior managing director of regional corporate services for CB Richard Ellis Inc. in Atlanta.

Milton added: "We always have so many sites, because we have such an active development community, and that creates competition and lowers costs. In the Atlanta area, we have a staggering supply of alternatives."