The St. Regis Residences Buckhead has planted its feet firmly at the top of the condo market, closing yet another shell in the 53-unit building. Yes, a shell for over $8,000,000 in the Atlanta condo market.

Residences 2410 and 2430 were sold to one buyer for $8,317,650 and have approximately 11,715 square feet of space – which works out to be $710 per square foot before any type of build-out.

Could we be at a turning point in the luxury condo market? The answer is yes on so many levels. You have heard me say it before. Our condo inventory has shrunk to unheard of levels and most of the buildings are near a complete sell-out of their inventory. The Ritz-Carlton Residences Buckhead has sold out of their two- and three-bedroom condos. The Brookwood has nothing left. Astoria has a few left.

There really aren’t many choices for new “shell” construction in Atlanta. Your choices are either the St. Regis Residences Buckhead or The Residences at the Mandarin Oriental. Other than these two condominium projects, you would have to completely gut your unit of choice and start from scratch. That could get very costly.

What’s for sale at the St. Regis Buckhead?

The St. Regis Buckhead steadily closes units at the top of the condo market.

Residence 1510 sold December 21st for $3,659,880 and had approximately 4,357 square feet of space – which works out to be $840 per square foot. This particular unit was completely finished and was sold unfurnished, unlike many of the the untis being purchased. Most buyers in the building are purchasing shells and opting for completely custom spaces.

Suzanne Kessler Interiors designed the stunning space. Check it out the photos by clicking the link to the right. Click Here for More Photos & the Rest of the Feature

The St. Regis Buckhead has another one of its beautiful condominiums under contract in the 53-unit building. Residence 1130 is a completely finished (not furnished) condominium with 4,267 square feet of interior space. The unit is expected to sell for around $3,716,557.

This year, the St. Regis has closed 3 residences for a total of $11,052,230. With this additional sale, the total will almost reach $15 million in sales  ($14,768,787). Did you think the condo market was still weak? Think again.

The photo used above is not of the residence and units do not sell furnished (but you can purchase furnishings separately).

Check out the units for sale!

The St. Regis Buckhead shines brightly at the top of the condo market closing yet another shell in the 53-unit building.

Residence 2530 sold for $4,200,000 and had approximately 5,625 square feet of space – which works out to be $747 per square foot. In March, Residence 1520 sold for $3,670,590 ($735 per square foot) as a shell also. That unit had about 4,994 square feet of space.

Those are big numbers for the condo market, especially considering this is completely raw space – no walls, no nothing. Just bring your wallet, imagination, architect and interior designer. The raw space concept hasn’t done so well in Atlanta previously.  Buyers seem to have a hard time figuring out what to do with the space, which is why you have to have a finished product (complete with furniture) in order to sell Atlanta condos. I happen to be a huge fan of unfinished spaces. I’d rather have the freedom to design the way I want to live, rather than conform to what someone else wants me to fit into. Make sense?

Luxury never left.  New owner Tavistock Group brings a fresh approach to comfortable luxury at the St. Regis Residences Buckhead with four new model homes. This is the pinnacle of condominium living and you will see why from the photos. Each of the 52 residences in the building is either a quarter, half or full floor condominium and that makes for truly spacious units.

Tavistock Group took over the building in February 2011 (for an undisclosed dollar amount) and made numerous changes to the hotel and residences. They felt the property needed to be more approachable and could benefit from an extra sparkle. They poured more money into the property to upgrade the common areas and began working on four new model homes, one of which I previously featured on my blog. The end result was a quiet upgrade of a pretty much brand new property – which I am sure most people wouldn’t think needed any upgrades at all. They set the new standard for quality condo living with five-star service and amenities.

Stan Topol & Associates designed this stunning condominium that takes up one-quarter of the 20th floor. The North-East exposure provides beautiful views of the Buckhead skyline, as well as the Peachtree corridor and West Paces Ferry Road. This particular condo has approximately 4,132 square feet inside with 3 bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms, one-half bath and service entrance. The unit can be purchased with or without the furnishings. Click Here for More Photos & the Rest of the Feature

These are the sales I have compiled over the course of the year noting the 40 highest luxury condo sales for 2011! Sovereign and the Ritz-Carlton appear most often on the list, along with some additional new construction buildings (and some resales too). I kept track of the 40 highest closed luxury property sales, which resulted in $55,344,507 in sales. It’s probably not as high as we would like it, but the market has picked up significantly and this year has started off with a bang!

This is the list, ordered from the highest sale to the lowest: Click Here for More Photos & the Rest of the Feature

If you have been reading my quarterly results posts, you will notice in previous periods the sales in the upper ranges were few and far in between. The new data now shows the train has indeed left the station and more buyers are purchasing condos above the $800,000 price range. This is more than double the transactions from last quarter (on my previous list). The results are encouraging and exciting. As a side note, only two transactions on my list were cash and the rest were all financed (lenders are now starting to get comfortable with giving money to buyers in high-end condos).

I have targeted the highest sales above $800,000. Missing from the fourth quarter is Sovereign which had closings in every quarter up to now. But don’t worry, they have a condo under contract for $2,700,000.

1. St Regis Residences Buckhead Unit 1730 | Closed on 10/20 for $3,300,000 (MLS Available Properties)
2. Ritz-Carlton Residences Buckhead Unit 3402 | Closed on 12/1 for $2,414,394 (MLS Available Properties)
   
3. The Mansion on Peachtree Unit 41B | Closed on 11/18/ for $2,150,005 (MLS Available Properties)
4. The Bellingrath Unit 3 | Closed on 11/29 for $1,350,000 (MLS Available Properties)
5. The Brookwood Unit 1901 | Closed on 10/6 for $1,135,700 (MLS Available Properties)
6. Park Avenue Unit 29S | Closed on 12/15 for $1,165,00 (MLS Available Properties)
7. Ritz-Carlton Residences Buckhead Unit 3107 | Closed on 12/14 for $1,113,500 (MLS Available Properties)
8. Regents Park Unit 9 | Closed on 10/21 for $1,050,000 (MLS Available Properties)
9. West Wesley Townhomes Unit 4 | Closed 12/2 for $1,000,000
10. West Wesley Townhomes Unit 3 | Closed 11/2 for $1,000,000
11. West Wesley Townhomes Unit 5 | Closed 10/28 for $990,000
12. West Wesley Townhomes Unit 1 | Closed 11/7 for $980,000 
    
13. The Brookwood Unit 2001 | Closed on 11/11 for $970,000 (MLS Available Properties)
14. Above the Four Seasons Unit 4310 | Closed 12/19 for $919,900 (MLS Available Properties)
15. 2500 Peachtree Unit 704 |Closed on 10/26 for $895,000 (MLS Available Properties)
16. 2500 Peachtree Unit 606 |Closed on 11/29 for $830,000 (MLS Available Properties)
    
17. Ritz-Carlton Residences Buckhead Unit 2304 | Closed on 10/06 for $805,000 (MLS Available Properties)
    
18. Ritz-Carlton Residences Buckhead Unit 2104 | Closed on 12/13 for $799,500 (MLS Available Properties)

Aside from these results, there are 12 Pending Sales in FMLS (First Multiple Listing Service) ranging from $618,000 to $2,700,000 and 209 Pending Sales ranging from $200,000 to $579,900 as of today. So yes, there is activity in the market. This does not include units under contract that are not listed in the MLS, like from new construction developer units. And, as we learned in the past, we can’t count on pending sale because they may or may not close. What we can count on are solid sales.