Buckhead
{ Thursday, May 10th, 2012 }
2012 Decorators Show House & Gardens: Knollwood Estate
Just recently I checked out Knollwood, the 2012 Decorators Show House. The 1929 English Georgian-style home designed by Atlanta’s famed architect Phillip Trammel Shutze is ridiculously fantastic. Location is as Buckhead-y as it gets, the home itself is Shutze-tastic, and the chorus of Atlanta decorators and designers involved in the project have absolutely outdone themselves. Snapshots of some of my personal favorites:
The Gentlemen's Dressing and Bathroom, Fit For A Baller.
Knollwood's Kitchen. Not Too shabby.
Ticket proceeds from the Show House support the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and its education and community engagement programs, which help nurture the talent of emerging young musicians and bring music into the lives of the people of our community.
Enjoy a beautiful home and support critically imporant music education programs at the same time. Purchase your tickets to the 2012 Decators Show House & Gardens.
Photo Credit: Jeff Roffman
{ Wednesday, April 25th, 2012 }
Wisconsin Badgers Atlanta Real Estate NFL Draft Mashup
I am passionate about Atlanta real estate…I am also passionate about Wisconsin Badgers football. The NFL Draft is Thursday night. I smell a blogortunity!
So here’s the deal- I’m going to profile three Wisconsin Badgers, all of whom could potentially be drafted by the hometown Atlanta Falcons. Below is a snapshot of who they are, why the Falcons should draft them, and my unsolicited Atlanta real estate advice for them.
Who is he? He’s the Quarterback, the field general, the All-Big Ten Quarterback who led the Badgers to their second straight Rose Bowl in 2012. Magentic personality, cannon arm and superior football intelligence.
Why should the Falcons draft him? There’s no doubt that Matt Ryan is the franchise, but he needs a backup. With all due respect to current backup Chris Redman, he’s nearing the end of his career. He’s been in the league since the days when Bill Clinton was President, Gladiator was a box office champ, Napster was the free music hub du jour. The Falcons are a twisted ankle away from Chris Redman putting down the clipboard and running the franchise. It might be time for a new alternative.
Where should he live? Buckhead. More specifically, the Ritz-Carlton Residences. Word on the street is that Matt Ryan purchased a place there last year, so it’s the perfect spot for Russell. He can enjoy the full service amenities that the Ritz-Carlton has to offer, while also learning from a pro’s pro what it means to be a quarterback in the NFL.
Who is he? At 6-5, 315 lbs., Peter Konz is- even by NFL standards- a very, very big man. Konz is a center, the anchor of the offensive line.
Why should the Falcons draft him? The Falcons are in desperate need of more offensive line depth, and their current center, Todd McLure, is about at old as… Chris Redman.
Where should he live? Country Club of the South. The Falcons’ training center is in Flowery Branch, and the ‘Birds obviously play down at the Georgia Dome. Country Club of the South is, geographically speaking, a decent compromise. That, and it offers a ton of great amenities that’ll help the rookie ease his way in to his post collegiate, baller lifestyle.
Who is he? Phillip Welch is a kicker. He kicks. That’s all I know about him. He’s a kicker, after all. Am I supposed to know more than that?
Why should the Falcons draft him? Welch is money. Current Falcons’ kicker Matt Bryant has proved to be serviceable, but Welch could take the position to the next level. While I wouldn’t reach too far for him, Welch would be a smart pick in the later later rounds.
Where should he live? Cabbagetown is wonderfully eclectic, the perfect home for a young NFL kicker searching for an identity in the big city. The kicker is typically the outcast, the nerves-of-steel outsider who spends much of an NFL game inside his own head. Cabbagetown would provide the perfect respite for Welch, a hipster-laden enclave ready to embrace a rising star with a golden boot.
Photo Credits: Chicago Tribune (Wilson), Business Insider (Konz), Scout.com (Welch)
{ Monday, March 5th, 2012 }
Collier Hills Cat Crossing
Showing homes in Collier Hills recently and I came across this sign:
It’s the first time that I’ve seen at a cat crossing sign before. I see the “children at play” and “watch for senior citizens” fairly often, which has always made sense. There are, after all children at play and seniors on the road, and Atlanta is notorious for its lack of sidewalks. But do we really have an epidemic of cats darting through streets?
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing against cats. It just got me wondering: Did the City of Atlanta put this sign up? Did a rogue neighbor affix it him/herself? Is this something that’s Collier Hills-centric, or are there other neighborhoods in Atlanta that are become more sensitive to cats as pedestrians?
These are the things that Realtors wonder about as they traverse our city’s great neighborhoods…
The Relevant Linkage
View Janet Jackson’s Black Cat Music Video
Order Your Own “Cat Crossing” Sign
Browse Homes For Sale In Collier Hills
{ Friday, October 28th, 2011 }
Kenny Rogers Bolts From Buckhead
A little over three years ago, Country music icon Kenny Rogers decided it was time to unload his 9,000 square foot Buckhead mansion. This was after having purchased the property in 2006 for $2.8 million and putting $3 million dollars into a complete renovation. “It’s a hobby with me. Once I get finished, owning it doesn’t mean anything to me,” Rogers told the Wall Street Journal.
Timing, unfortunately, trumps just about everything when it comes to real estate. Even though he was nearly $6 million “in,” that didn’t necessarily mean that the property was worth $6 million. Regardless, he listed the property for… you guessed it… $7.9 million.
The home did not sell.
The home was re-listed in April of 2010, for $5.9 million.
The home did not sell.
The home was re-listed in July of 2011, for $3.99 million.
The home “closed” on September 1, for $3.725 million. Cash buyer.
It’s a stunning home and its Valley Road location is in the heart of Buckhead. Take a look at it- I don’t think that there’s any question that the renovation is over-the-top meticulous, the grounds first class. But list price – regardless of neighborhood and price point – has absolutely everything to do with whether or not a home will sell.
Granted, if you had told Kenny Rogers in April of 2008 that his home had no chance of selling for $7.9 million, and without an appropriately aggressive pricing strategy he’d eventually lose over $2 million (a whopping 38%) of his investment, he probably would have punched you in the face. Today’s market puts a higher premium on price than it does on anything else. It doesn’t mean that every home seller should just hand their keys over to a buyer for pennies on the dollar, but it does mean that a careful examination of local market conditions is absolutely imperative before deciding whether or not its time to sell. Anything less is nothing more than an uncalculated gamble.
Source: Atlanta Business Chronicle, Transactions
Photo Credit: Star Media
{ Monday, October 3rd, 2011 }
Arthur Blank’s Buckhead Home Sale
Atlanta visionary Arthur Blank has finally unloaded his 7,352 square foot home, after three plus years of listing the Buckhead beauty.
Originally listed for $10.5 million in April 2008- with subsequent price reductions to $6.9 million and$4.9 million- it closed on September 15 for $3.8 million.
With an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion, it’s safe to say that Mr. Blank has the resources to absorb the the 64% discount off of his original list price. But the point is clear- and Blank himself hit the nail on the head in a statement on the home sale:
“With the economic decline of the last few years, a new competitor came to town. That competitor’s name is ‘price’, and it has displaced ‘location’ for the time being. Like every other homeowner selling a house in this environment, we had to adjust to the realities of the current housing market. The new home owners got a great value, and I hope they enjoy the home and grounds as much as we did.”
In other words, don’t list your home for sale until you are ready to price it competitively. Overpriced listings take longer to sell, and typically sell for less than what they would have if they were priced appropriately to begin with. It’s not that the market doesn’t appreciate the location of your home, your fantastic kitchen cabinets, or your manicured lawn. It just appreciates the price more. A lot more.
Edit Credit: Atlanta Business Chronicle
