Blowing Your Leaves Into the Street is Cool

Blowing your leaves into the street must be cool because so many people are doing it these days. Driving around Buckhead I see it all the time; a homeowner outside, just got the last leaf off his grass and is doing his best to get the leaves to the center of the street. Maybe there is an invisible "not my problem anymore" line along the middle of the road that if you can get your leaves that far out, you can consider them someone else's property. The above statement is NOT cool and has always been something that has frustrated me to no end, but now I am seeing landscaping companies doing it. Today I even saw it happening on a City of Atlanta Public School campus. I wonder if you get a discount from the landscaping company if they don't have to collect and haul away the debris? I really hope so or else they are just doing the property owner and the city a disservice. If you are reading this post and you are guilty of doing this, please consider another option and help us keep our community beautiful. The streets of Buckhead deserve better.

Cheers!

Excellent Christmas Tree Service at Lowe's

Today I took the family to Lowe's on Roswell Road to get a Christmas tree and had a fabulous experience. When we got there I realized I needed a knife to get the string off the trees to check them out. I asked the first guy I saw and while he wouldn't give me his knife, he did spend about 20 minutes with us undoing trees, shaking them out, and pointing out the pros and cons of each. We were able to get a 7 foot tree and wreath for under $40.00 which is a pretty smokin' deal if you ask me. I would definitely recommend checking them out.


Henry of course was climbing the trees

Mom and Ben


Henry took over tree decoration detail.

8 Things I Learned from the Buckhead Reporter This Week

I really enjoy reading the Buckhead Reporter Newspaper that magically appears at the end of my driveway every so often. I thought it would be fun to highlight a few of the nuggets in the latest edition.

• Buckhead homeowners are opposed to sidewalks that will allow children to walk safely to neighborhood schools
• 95% of Georgia's toll funds come from GA 400 ($20,060,677 in fiscal 2009)
• Parts of "Life As We Know It" starring Katherine Heigl were filmed in a home on Club Drive in Historic Brookhaven
• The Atlanta Holiday House is 22,000 square feet www.saveasmilefoundation.org
• Peachtree Battle Shopping Center advertises in the Buckhead Reporter (which is cool because my office is there)
• If you leave your computer or camera in your car (or anything of value), it WILL be stolen
• On Novembe 30th, Pool Drive in Chastain Park was renamed Elliot Galloway Way in recognition of Elliot Galloway's (founder of the Galloway School) contributions to the City of Atlanta
• If you are holding a garage sale in Sandy Springs, Buckhead or Brookhaven, the Buckhead Reporter will advertise it for free. Email garagesale@reporternewspapers.net.
  

You can view the Sandy Springs, Buckhead and Brookhaven Reporters online at www.reporternewspapers.net.

Day Trips to Stone Mountain and Kennesaw Mountain

Living in Atlanta the term "scenic view" might mean something different than if you live in Jackson Hole, WY. In a real estate transaction in Atlanta, when you hear the term "scenic view", it typically means a skyline view of Atlanta's tall buildings, versus a view of Grand Teton in Jackson Hole. However if you climb to the top of one of those tall buildings and look east, you will see the largest collection of granite in the world shaped into a mountain appropriately called Stone Mountain. If you look northwest, you will see Kennesaw Mountain which I had never been even close to.

Last week I took the opportunity to take my son to both of those mountains. On Tuesday he had a teacher work day so we ventured out to Stone Mountain for lunch and a trip to the top of the mountain. We took the Gondola up and when we got off, it was like he landed on the moon! He danced, ran around, jumped on rocks over puddles and had a really great time. We attempted to hike back down the mountain and made it about 5 minutes down before duty called and we had to run back up... Overall an excellent trip to an amazing place just minutes outside the city. On December 26th they will open up "Snow Hill" which will be on the lawn where you may or may not have watched the laser show from. From what I can tell it is a snow tubing hill, and you can rest assured we will be back for that!

On Sunday we went with a school friend of Henry's to Kennesaw Mountain. First we ate pizza at the Marietta Pizza Company in Marietta Square which you will undoubtedly recognize if you are familiar with Atlanta pizza. Literally 5 minutes from there we were at the base of the mountain with lots of energy to burn. What an amazing opportunity to get out in the woods for real. It is my understanding that the trail is about 6 miles to the top... but we didn't make it that far and didn't need to. We spent about 2 hours going up and along the way learned why you don't touch a cactus, that leaves are slippery, even though you can climb up a rock, you can also fall back down it, and finally and probably the most fun, there really are caves in the mountains. At the peak of our climb, we found a cave that entertained for a good 30 minutes. Thank goodness Henry was prepared with the tools every kid needs when hiking a mountain. He had a sword, lightsabor, blanket, flashlight and a great friend.

I encourage you to check out the cool places in and around Buckhead and Atlanta. If you are looking for something a little closer, be sure and check out the Blue Heron Nature Preserve across from Pike's Nursery on Roswell Road.

Learn more about Stone Mountain at www.stonemountainpark.org
Learn more about Kennesaw Mountain at www.nps.gov/KEMO/index.htm


Get out there and do something FUN!

2009 Most Expensive Homes For Sale in Buckhead

Today, $74,150,000 can buy you the 5 most expensive homes for sale in Buckhead or the 177 least expensive homes for sale in that same area. The five most expensive homes have an average list price of $14,830,000 while the 177 less expensive homes average out at $391,096.

Each year I like to provide a list of the 5 or so most expensive homes available on the market in Buckhead. Here is how the list looks today:

490 West Paces Ferry Road
Buckhead
9 Bedrooms - 11 Full Baths - 4 Half Baths
2.05 Acres
$25,000,000





3410 Ridgewood Road
Buckhead
7 Bedrooms - 9 Full Baths - 4 Half Baths
4.2 Acres
$14,500,000


421 Blackland Road
Tuxedo Park
7 Bedrooms - 9 Full Baths - 4 Half Baths
1.45 Acres
$12,000,000





2900 Andrews Drive
Buckhead
7 Bedrooms - 8 Full Baths - 1 Half Bath
4.47 Acres
$11,750,000 (reduced from $14,500,000)






3640 Tuxedo Road
Tuxedo Park
5 Bedrooms - 6 Full Baths - 3 Half Baths
7 Acres
$10,900,000






Luxury Condos:

If you are looking for a high end condo, Buckhead has got you covered. The most expensive condo on the market today is at Park Avenue behind Phipps Plaza and is listed for $17,000,000. There are 17 condos actively listed and priced over $3,000,000 in Buckhead. Many of these are new construction and are just a sampling of what's available in places like the St. Regis, The Mansion on Peachtree, Sovereign, The Ritz Carlton Residences, Terminus and Park Avenue.

Click Here to view the available inventory.

Pumpkin Float at the Duck Pond

Tonight we went to the Duck Pond in the Peachtree Heights East neighborhood just off of Peachtree Road. Each Halloween the neighborhood comes together and brings out their fanciest pumpkins to sail across the duck pond. Here are some pics from the night. Most are taken without flash but a couple are with...

September 2009 Buckhead Home Sales Report

Below are the statistics I have compiled for Buckhead home sales in September 2009. These numbers reflect single-family detached homes in area 21.

Closed Sales in Buckhead

Homes Sold in September - 36 (Down from 55 in August)
Average List Price - $ 877,900 (Up from $770,414 in August)
Average Sales Price - $ 808,440(Up from $705,609 in August)
Average Sales Price/List Price Ratio - 92%
Average Days on Market - 98 Days (Down from 129 Days in August)
Months of Current Inventory:
New Homes - 19.5 (August Numbers)
Resale - 21 (August Numbers)

Pending Sales in Buckhead

Number of Homes Currently Pending - 91!!! with another 22 with either contingencies or in the due dilligence period
Average List Price of Pending Homes - $1,027,977
*29 of those pending sales are over $1,000,000 with the highest pending list price at $7,775,000, 31 are priced lower than $1mm and above $500,000, and another 31 below $500,000 with the lowest pending price at $241,000.

I think it's pretty interesting that these numbers are so evenly spread out.