Headline Homes: Nashville’s top sales, May 2012

Talk about drop offs.

The top two homes on this month’s list hit five digits on square footage and come in on the north end of $5 million. But after that? Back into our “normal” range of $2 million-ish.

A couple of interesting appearances: After months of not having any condo sales in the top 10, this month features two, both penthouses in relatively new buildings. Also, the Franklin retreat of the late founder of Cracker Barrel has sold, showing exactly what all the chicken, dumplin’s and cornbread we’ve been eating for five decades becomes.

As per usual, a pair of new builds are on the list as well.

As always, what follows is our list of the top 10 single-family home buys in Nashville and surrounding counties for May, ranked by price:

1. 4410 Gerald Place, Belle Meade, 37205
Buyers: John M. and Leslie T. Hooper
Sell price: $5.994 million
Sellers: Gaylon M. and Lisa L. Lawrence
Sellers’ and buyers’ agents: Betty Finucane and Elaine B. Finucane, Fridrich & Clark Realty

Coming in at an even 10,000 square feet, this home in the heart of Belle Meade was built on 2.3 acres in 2001 and includes a “luxurious” pool house in addition to its five bedrooms. It has both a formal and a normal dining room.

John Hooper sold Tennessee Wine and Spirits, the wine distributorship his family started in 1939, and recently started a winemaking venture called BNA Wine Group, but obviously had enough left over to buy a new home.

Gaylon Lawrence is a principal in the Lawrence Group, one of the nation’s largest owners of farmland.

2. 55 Governors Way, Brentwood, 37027
Buyers: George T. and Denise Vogel
Sell price: $5.7 million
Seller: Aaron Cicchelli
Seller’s and buyers’ agent: Bill E. Henson Jr., SilverPointe Properties

If nearly $6 million gets you 10,000 square feet in Belle Meade, $5.7 million gets you nearly twice that in the Governors Club.

This 19,935-square-foot home includes seven bedrooms, a state-of-the-art gym, a pool (with waterfall, naturally), an indoor basketball court, theater, billiards room and golf simulator, plus a private two-bedroom guest quarters with its own kitchen.

George Vogel is the president of Logan’s Roadhouse. Cicchelli topped this list with his buy back in April of 2009 — he’s associated with a website that sells items connected to the video game Diablo. He bought it for $5 million — nearly $3 million off the then-list price. Proving turnabout is fair play, the Vogels paid nearly $1.3 million less than Cicchelli originally asked.

3. 1407 Chickering Road, 37215, Belle Meade
Buyers: George I. and Virginia Lazenby
Sell price: $2.7 million
Sellers: John W. and Jo Ella McClellan
Sellers’ agents: Trudy Byrd and Rita Starling Puryear, Fridrich & Clark Realty
Buyers’ agents: Corinne Barfield and Laura McSpadden, Fridrich & Clark Realty

Emdeon CEO George Lazenby picked up this “international style” home in Belle Meade, described as “impressively understated” by its listing.

It took nearly a year for the McClellans to sell this home, built in 1939. John McClellan is the senior managing director for Global Healthcare Capital.

4. 323 Walnut Drive, 37205, Belle Meade
Buyers: Melanie Balcomb and Amy M. Prichard
Sell price: $1.675 million
Seller: Nancy J. Weaver
Seller’s agents: Betty Finucane and Elaine B. Finucane, Fridrich & Clark Realty
Buyers’ agent: Pamela Davis Needham, Avenue Real Estate Services

One of the rarest beasts: a home in Belle Meade on a dead-end street. The way agents brag about houses, like this 1961 Federal, sitting on the stub of a cul-du-sac, one would think it easily adds a few hundred thousand to the asking price. This home also features “unbelievable” attic storage and a huge basement.

All those amenities worked out well for Weaver, who moved her home in less than two months and came down from her asking price only $100,000. Balcomb is Vanderbilt’s women’s basketball coach.

5. The Adelicia, Unit 1704, Nashville, 37212
Buyer: James C. Gooch, trustee
Sell Price: $1.6 million
Sellers: Kenneth and Barbara Ellenberg
Sellers’ agent: Sydney McCann, Market Realty Advisors LLC
Buyer’s agent: Unknown

The two-story, 11-room penthouse at The Adelicia sells to a trust fronted by Bass Berry & Sims super-lawyer Gooch.

With a well-appointed kitchen and a private media screening room, the Ellenbergs were able to get nearly what they asked for their top-floor condo.

6. 10 Oxmoor Court, Brentwood, 37027
Buyers: Unknown
Sell price: $1.581 million
Sellers: Jack Benny Garonzik, trustee
Seller’s agents: Darin Cunningham and Christina Cunningham, RE/MAX Elite
Buyers’ agent: Christina Cunningham, RE/MAX Elite

A new custom build on the 18th fairway at the exclusive Governors Club, this home promises one of the tony enclave’s best views.

A little note on 10 Oxmoor: It’s one of the rare homes that saw an uptick in price from the original ask — in this case, $1.8 million more — no doubt a result of the new owners asking for a few extra touches.

7. 1290 Hunters Trail Drive, Franklin, 37069
Buyers: John W. and Jo Ella McClellan
Sell price: $1.55 million
Seller: DW Evins
Seller’s agent: Richard F. Bryan, Fridrich & Clark Realty
Buyers’ agents: Trudy Byrd and Rita Starling Puryear, Fridrich & Clark Realty

The “D” in “DW Evins” stands for “Danny,” the late founder of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. His Franklin retreat is anything but the simple country image the restaurant he founded espouses: 23 acres, seven-car garage, three ovens (plus a pizza oven), pond, playground and a wide balcony overlooking the Harpeth River.

The McClellans — who sold their home back at No. 3 on this list — take over The House the Barrel Built.

8. 304 Lynnwood Blvd., Belle Meade, 37205
Buyer: Jamie C. Beckwith
Sell price: $1.375 million
Sellers: James J. and Martha R. Ackerman
Seller’s agent: Melanie Baker, Zeitlin & Co. Realtors
Buyers’ agent: Christy Reed Blackwell, French Christianson Patterson

Built in 1923, but recently renovated, this Belle Meade home (pictured above) has all the formal dress-up features one would expect of a home of its vintage and location: wide entry hall, coffered ceilings, pristine terraced gardens and the ubiquitous Florida room.

James Ackerman is the CEO of the Nashville-based Documentary Channel.

9. 858 Windstone Blvd., Brentwood, 37027
Buyers: Wayne A. and Patricia L. Wolf
Sell price: $1.32 million
Seller: Classic Design Homes Inc.
Seller’s agent: Sherry Erickson, Southern Land Co.
Buyers’ agent: Cindy Easley, SilverPointe Properties

Another new custom build, this time in Windstone, the newest of Brentwood’s gated communities.

Among the features: a large gourmet kitchen that opens on to a “keeping room.”

Wayne Wolf is the CEO of RCFS, a military supplier that recently relocated from Chicago to Nashville.

10. The West End, Unit 1002, Nashville, 37203
Buyers: Sarah Rhyne and Edgar H. Pierce
Sell price: $1.3 million
Seller: Glenda E. Bell
Seller’s agents: Frances McWhirter and Steve G. Fridrich, Fridrich & Clark Realty
Buyers’ agent: Brenda K. Avin, Nashville Homes & More of Tennessee

It was a good month for penthouses, apparently.

The “very private” topper at The West End promises downtown views from its wraparound balcony and oversized rooms.

Edgar Pierce is a pathologist.