Can you believe we are already through the second quarter of 2011? Time sure goes by quickly. I pulled the highest sales for the second quarter and the results weren’t too surprising. Sovereign continues to be the dominant building in the luxury market closing units over $1,000,000.

It’s not that there aren’t a good number of units over a million to sell. When I pulled the listings in FMLS (First Multiple Listing Service), there are currently 100 properties available. Remember, that doesn’t include units in buildings where the developer hasn’t listed all of the inventory. Still without a single sale this year are The Mansion on Peachtree, W Downtown Atlanta Residences and the St. Regis Residences in Buckhead.

So what does the top 7 list look like?

1. Sovereign Penthouse B – Unit 4802 | Closed on 5/24 for $5,000,000 (MLS Available Properties)
   
2. Sovereign Unit 4201 | Closed on 5/2 for $1,975,0000 (MLS Available Properties)
3. Sovereign Unit 3901 | Closed on 6/15 for $1,750,000 (MLS Available Properties)
4. Sovereign Unit 3101 | Closed on 4/13 for $1,310,000 (MLS Available Properties)
5. Regents Park Unit 10 | Closed on 5/25 for $1,200,000 (MLS Available Properties)
6. Ritz-Carlton Residences Buckhead Unit 2507 | Closed on 6/15 for $1,073,500 (MLS Available Properties)
7. One Brookhaven Unit 204| Closed on 6/03 for $1,000,000 (MLS Available Properties)

I’ll continue to track closings. If you have specific questions about the market (in any price range), please let me know. You can email me privately or simply make a comment below.

I hope you have a great July 4th weekend! I’m going to be relaxing this year  by the pool with some good friends.

Just in case you want to view one of  the many fireworks displays in Atlanta, here is a brief list. Make it a safe one!

CENTENNIAL OLYMPIC PARK’S FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION – Centennial Olympic Park, 265 Park Ave. West N.W., Atlanta. 404-222-7275, www.centennialpark.com

FOURTH IN THE PARK – 4 Depot St., Marietta. 770-794-5601, www.mariettaga.gov

FOURTH OF JULY ON THE SQUARE – Old Courthouse Square, 101 E. Court Square, Decatur. 404-370-4100, www.decaturga.com

STONE MOUNTAIN PARK’S FANTASTIC FOURTH CELEBRATION – Stone Mountain Park, 1000 Robert E. Lee Drive, Stone Mountain. 770-498-5690,www.stonemountainpark.com

THE ALL AMERICAN FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR – Turner Field, 755 Hank Aaron Drive, Atlanta. 800-745-3000, www.braves.com

LENOX SQUARE® LEGENDARY FOURTH – Lenox Square, 3393 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-233-6767, www.simon.com

Nothing is stopping Regent Partners from making big sales in their luxury Buckhead building. They recently closed their second penthouse – the best one in the building – unit 4802. It’s a two-story unit with a 50th floor optional pool. Penthouses with pools are a dime a dozen in cities like Miami, so this is a very special thing for Atlanta. This is also the highest sale in the building to date.

The $5,000,000 dollar sale took place last week according to the First Multiple Listing Service. The unit is slightly smaller than originally planned for. The buyers of penthouse 4801 carved out a little extra space for their unit. Even still, the approximately 8,900 square feet is space in the unit is among the largest condo spaces in Atlanta. Unit 4802 was sold as raw space and did not include any build-out allowance. The buyers have opted to do that on their own, with some help of course! Any guesses on the build-out number? Id love to hear your thoughts!

Did you know there hasn’t been one sale in the building under $1,100,000? You are probably thinking they don’t have any units priced under a million. Surprise, they have condos starting at $799,000 (with about 1,563 square feet of interior space and a huge 439 square terrace).

Sovereign has closed over $50,000,000 in sales since opening in 2008. In comparison, 10 Terminus Place recently sold out and closed over $67,000,000 in sales.

Can’t get enough of Sovereign? Click here for blog features, click here for building information and here for sales information.

It’s not surprising condo closings above $1,000,000 haven’t been all too great in the past year, but the question is are luxury sales picking up in Atlanta? Slow and steady wins the race? In today’s real estate climate, luxury developers are willing to give incentives to buyers, but would rather keep their pricing where it is – and that means units stay on the market sitting empty for months. Some luxury projects have not seen any new sales this year, and those include The Mansion on Peachtree, W Downtown Atlanta Residences and the St. Regis Residences in Buckhead.

Most of the movement in the condo market has been in the lower and middle end, leaving room for a huge buyers market in the upper end of the spectrum. That being said, what are luxury condo buyers purchasing above $1,000,000? Penthouses! When you look at the sales below, you’ll notice 5 of the 8 closings have been penthouse sales. Two more are in my favorite building – Sovereign. In that building, buyers are purchasing the larger units and nothing under $1,000,000 has closed. The Astoria also closed a larger unit very close to the million dollar mark. Unit size and location do matter!

1. Ritz-Carlton Residences Buckhead Penthouse 3401 | Closed on 3/16 for $2,582,500 (MLS Available Properties)
2. Sovereign Unit 4301 | Closed on 2/7 for $2,100,0000 (MLS Available Properties)
3. Sovereign Unit 4101 | Closed on 2/24 for $1,775,000 (MLS Available Properties)
4. 10 Terminus Place Penthouse 3201 | Closed on 2/15 for $1,700,000 (MLS Available Properties)
5. 10 Terminus Place Penthouse 3101 | Closed on 2/15 for $1,300,000 (MLS Available Properties)
6. Gallery Residences Penthouse 2602 | Closed on 3/31 for $1,000,000 (MLS Available Properties)
7. The Astoria Unit 904 | Closed on 2/11 for $935,000 (MLS Available Properties)
8. 805 Peachtree Penthouse 605 | Closed on 1/31 for $725,000 (MLS Available Properties)

In the second quarter of 2011, Sovereign, the Ritz-Carlton Residences and The Brookwood are set to close condos above $1,000,000.

Sovereign’s activity has been picking up lately and buyers seem to really love the G plan. There are only two available in the building, including the model home I’m showing you here. This spectacular home features two bedrooms, 2 full baths, 1 half bath, a den and a very large terrace with stunning views. The home is tastefully decorated and can easily accommodate additional pieces of furniture. With 3,000 + square feet it’s a very large two bedroom home in the sky. Pictured above is the formal foyer entry with dark hardwood floors and 10 foot high ceilings. Below I’m showing where the you’ll be living in the building. Click Here for More Photos & the Rest of the Feature

The big news of the weekend comes from Sovereign, where the remaining two-story penthouse was reduced from $9,520,000 to $7,495,000. Now that may not sound like much considering the other penthouse sold for $4,200,000, but it shows Regent Partners is pushing hard to move the remaining inventory, including it’s most coveted unit. The MLS now has about 18 of Sovereigns units listed.

Since opening in late 2008, Sovereign has sold just 18 of its 82 luxury condos, totaling over $36,000,000 in sales. Last year, I showed you a Barbara Westbrook model home on the 43rd floor. It’s now under contract with a list price of $2,200,000.

Check out the remaining Sovereign penthouse here.

**** THIS PROPERTY HAS BEEN SOLD