From the inimitable Anthony Bourdain on the late, great Harvey Pekar:

"A few great artists come to "own" their territory.
As Joseph Mitchell once owned New York and Zola owned Paris, Harvey Pekar owned not just Cleveland but all those places in the American Heartland where people wake up every day, go to work, do the best they can--and in spite of the vast and overwhelming forces that conspire to disappoint them--go on, try as best as possible to do right by the people around them, to attain that most difficult of ideals: to be "good" people."

Read the rest here:  http://anthony-bourdain-blog.travelchannel.com/read/the-original-goodbye-splendor?fbid=2fIusqcjiP8 

More details coming soon...  Stay tuned!

COMING SOON!!

Our Newest Model Home -- Canyon Woods In Bainbridge.

Almost two full years in the design phase, we are pleased to announce that we are breaking ground on our finest home to date. Full of surprises, functionality, spectacular architecture, and the build quality and architectural style that Alexandra Fine Homes has built our reputation on. We promise you have never been in a home like this...

Stylistically, this home draws from the same East Coast architecture found in our award-winning "Nantucket" series of homes.  Natural cedar shake and stone exterior with a warm, welcoming feel and fantastic curb-appeal.  We have taken great care to make sure this home looks fabulous from literally any angle.

While the exterior draws you in, the interior is where this home truly shines.  Exposed trusses, numerous high-end finishes, and a "to-die-for" garden/crafts room (you will never want to leave this spot) are just a few of the surprises in this home.  The floorplan has been designed with function, elegance, and comfort as the main criteria.   We are confident that this is by far our best work to date.

Stay tuned for detailed information coming soon, or call Nestor at 216-346-3452 to discuss.  Join our RSS feed and watch our progress!

We have just completed an exciting new design and will be breaking ground on our new model home shortly.  STAY TUNED for details!

Stop by and check out the new furnishings & decorating in our award-winning Nantucket model home, open every Sunday from 2-4 p.m. (excluding holidays). Our model home can also be viewed privately by appointment. Call Nestor at 216-346-3452 or click HERE for directions and further info.

The home is for sale as shown for $659,000, or can be duplicated on our lot or yours.  Our Nantucket series has been incredibly successful, and is available in a number of different pricepoints, sizes, and front elevations.  We have developed a number of very attractive exteriors which are all different, while maintaining the unique and timeless architecture and curb-appeal that we are known for.

Stay tuned for details on our new promotional package in conjunction with the opening of the new Lake & University Hospital projects.  We have put together packages with discounted land pricing, golf memberships, financing, and home construction discounts which will make moving to Concord even more appealing than ever.  Call Nestor at 216-346-3452 for further info.

Our Concord model home will be furnished, fully decorated, and open on either June 28th or July 5th.  Look for more info here, call Nestor at 216-346-3452, or look for our ad in the Sunday Real Estate section of the News Herald for open hours and dates.

Thanks to everyone for making the Bainbridge Homearama model a big success.  We are working on a new and different design which we hope will break groud soon--stay tuned!   

Click here for details and directions to our Concord Nantucket model.

Our already full trophy shelf will need to be expanded...

The 2009 Cleveland Choice Awards were held last night, and we are excited to announce that our "Nantucket 2.0" model home in Bainbridge literally swept the show (this never gets old!). 

The Cleveland Choice Awards has become the benchmark of the homebuilding industry, and is the foremost residential design/construction competition in the Greater Cleveland and surrounding areas. Identifying the best and brightest residential designers and builders in the region, Alexandra Fine Homes is frequently recognized for producing homes that illustrate exemplary architectural design, construction quality, success in the marketplace, and bringing to life the very best in American living.

Alexandra's Homearama model, the "Nantucket 2.0" in Bainbridge took home FIRST PLACE in the following categories:

• Award of Excellence:  "Judges Choice Award, Best Custom Home"
• Homes of the Year:  "Best of Homearama"
• "Product Design of the Year, 3,500 to 4,500 s.f."
• Award of Excellence:  "Best Website"

1)  Concord, OH from $729,900 to $629,000.  This is a $100,000 price cut and is far less than the cost of duplication for this beautiful, ready to move into home.  Take advantage of the lowest possible pricing on the 2008 Custom Home of the Year!

Ready for immediate occupancy.  Click here for details on this spectacular, award-winning home.

2)  Bainbridge, OH from $929,900 to $899,000. 

 Ready for immediate occupancy.  Click here for details on this spectacular, award-winning home.

Price reduction is a limited time offer and is subject to change without notice.

 Call Nestor at 216-346-3452 for details or a private showing.

With both the Lake East Hospital System's Tripoint Medical Center and University Hospital's Concord Health Center approaching completion in 2009, we are seeing increased interest from medical professionals seeking land or homes in the Concord area. While Alexandra Fine Homes will build in any area a client chooses or help find a specific site, we currently have two options which may be exactly what a professional employed at either hospital is looking for. 

1.  READY TO MOVE IN IMMEDIATELY:  (**SIGNIFICANT PRICE REDUCTION 2/13/09**).   "The Nantucket" (former model home and winner of numerous awards, including "2008 Custom Home of the Year."  This home is absolutely gorgeous and features all the "bells & whistles" associated with a high-end model home. It is fully landscaped and ready to move in immediately.  Located in the beautiful Mountainside Farms development in Concord , your trek to work is less than five minutes!  Great neighborhood, serene rural setting, the Equestrian Center literally in your backyard, yet just five minutes from the freeway & hospitals. Top-rated school system. Shopping just minutes away.  Enjoy fine dining at John Palmers Bistro, a casual summer evening at one of four fantastic outdoor patios at Panini's, Red Hawk, or either of the golf clubs (Little Mountain or Quail Hollow). Golf at one of THREE truly fantastic courses, all just minutes from your door. The Nantucket is situated on one of the largest and most desireable homesites in Mountainside Farms, offering great privacy from both sides, and the Lake Erie Equestrian Center in the rear.  The site has been landscaped to offer privacy and beauty while keeping the yardwork and grass cutting area to a minimum.  This home is temporarily priced well below duplication costs.  Click here for details, or call us at 216-346-3452 for a private showing. 

2.  FABULOUS HOMESITE FOR CUSTOM BUILD:  We currently have one homesite left in the prestigeous "Estates" phase of Little Mountain Country Club, Homesite #18 Pine Valley Circle. This homesite is one of, if not the most desireable lots in the entire LMCC community. Over 2.3 acres, the homesite features complete privacy, woods, ravines, trails, and peekaboo views of the beautiful championship golf course, rated FIVE STARS by Golf Digest. Again, this site is literally a five minute commute to either hospital project! Park your golf cart in your garage and drive to the clubhouse.  Jog the trails or cartpaths on a cool summer evening. Stroll through the beautiful community. And enjoy the amenities listed above, all just minutes from your door. This homesite will accomodate most any size home.  There are also scattered smaller sites available in this community.  Click here or call 216-346-3452 for more details or a private showing.

The editors approached us after hearing that our Nantucket model home swept the Cleveland Choice Awards this year, and after seeing the unique New England feel of the home.  Click here for the full spread!

Our Model homes will re-open on Sunday, January 4th, 2009 from 2-4.  We will be open most Sundays throughout the year (except holiday weekends). Check the Sunday News Herald Real Estate Magazing for open hours or call Nestor at 216-346-3452.

If you are unable to view our homes during open hours, please call Nestor at 216-346-3452 to schedule a private showing at a day/time that is convenient to you.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Our model homes will be closed for two Sundays during the Holiday Season (December 21st and 28th), resuming our usual open hours starting Sunday, January 4th, 2009 from 2 to 4 p.m. 

If you would like to view any of our homes during the holidays or on days/times other than open hours, please call Nestor at 216-346-3452 and we will happily schedule a private showing.

We wish you yours a happy, healthy, and safe Holiday Season and a wonderful New Year!

"The Nantucket" is our original award winning Model Home located in Concord, Ohio in beautiful Mountainside Farms. Winner of four Cleveland Choice awards, including the prestigeous "2008 Custom Home of the Year," this home is spectacular both inside and out. We have currently moved the furniture to our new Model Home in Bainbridge, and have significantly discounted this home to $679,422.00. Fully landscaped on a fabulous site, this home is ready to move into. Click here for more info on this fantastic opportunity.

"The Nantucket 2.0" is an upgraded version of the Nantucket design, and drew rave reviews in this year's HBA Homearama in Bainbridge, Ohio. This amazing home features all of the upgrades in the original Nantucket, and dozens more.  It is now our current model home and is available for sale at $929,900.00.  Click here for more info on this Model Home.

Call Nestor Papageorge at 216-346-3452 or email here for more info, to set up a private showing, or to discuss new design and construction. We also have available lots or can help you find the perfect spot!

The home is really coming together now, and we think it will impress. We have incorporated some spectacular new finishes and trim details to the interior designed to surprise and delight, yet still maintain the very liveable feel and architecture of the poplar Nantucket. We have begun the courtyard/outdoor kitchen area which features a quaint, custom designed brick fireplace and cooking area in a private, beautifully landscaped setting. The fireplace is really a show-stopper, and we know the lucky future owners of this home will spend many nights relaxing in front of it. See our "models" page for more information, sales info, amenities, availablity, etc.  We also have other great sites available for custom builds.  Click here for details.

For a map to Homearama and discount coupons for admission, CLICK HERE.

Watch this space often for updates, information, etc., email us here, or call Nestor at 216-346-3452.

According to NAR statistics, the median home price has fallen from a high of $230,200 in July 2006 to a low in February 2008 at $195,600, a drop of 15%. Since February, however, it has risen steadily every month. By May the index (which will be revised on July 24) had risen to $208,600, up $13,000 and a full 6.6%. Another indicator, the mean home price (otherwise known as the average home price), has also shown strength and has risen from a low of $242,000 also in February of this year to $253,100, a rise of $11,100 or 4.5%. It, too, has risen every month since February of this year.

“I just don’t know where Wall Street’s brains are today,” said David Michonski, CEO of Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy in New York City. “Everyone on the Street is wringing their hands over housing when in fact the average American has been out this spring buying homes and pushing the median price higher. This has got to go down as one of Wall Street and Main Street’s biggest disconnects in history.”

In addition, on an annualized basis the volume of home sales has also risen somewhat from a low of 4,890,000 homes in January to 4,990,000 in May.

“Rising prices on expanding volume should not a crisis make on Wall Street,” says Michonski.

So why the crisis?

“They say that there are bulls and bears on Wall Street but there are also pigs. Pigs try not just to profit from a crisis but create one to profit from. Today there are just so many people who have positioned themselves to profit from a crisis that they refuse to admit the reality of what is happening on Main Street. It might hurt their positions.”

Is this the bottom?

“No one can know for sure, but the hard data is clear. The median price has risen four straight months. The average American is out there taking advantage of bargains in their local real estate market. They are not listening to Wall Street but following their own belief that the best time to buy is when no one else is, and they are out there buying. If this keeps up, February may prove to have been the low in prices.”

“It is possible that it will not be Hank Paulson or Ben Bernanke who will pull this country out of a housing recession, but the good common sense of the average American whose affordability to buy a home is at a five year high and is acting on it.”

Geauga county is one of the many beautiful locations Alexandra Homes has actively built homes in for over fifteen years. Canyon Woods in Bainbridge, the site of the 2008 Homearama is a fantastic upscale Geauga county location.  Featuring the top-rated Kenston school system, minutes from the freeway, and surrounded by golf courses, recreation areas, shopping and more, Canyon Woods has it all.  Call us for details on this or other developments in Geauga and other great counties. We will help you find the perfect spot to raise your family.

The Nantucket model home (2008 Custom Home of the Year) in Concord has been substantially reduced from $729,900.00 to $679,422.00.

The Chesapeake Bay, a slightly smaller version of the Nantucket also in Concord has been substantially reduced from $579,900.00 to $558,216.00.

These are incredible values for these gorgeous homes.  Both include our one-year warranty. Call for details, and let us know if you need assistance with financing--we're happy to help.  Pricing valid through September 15th, 2008.

Our home will be a "pumped-up" version of our award-winning Nantucket model (2008 Custom Home of the Year), and we're tentatively calling it "the 2.0."

Check back in the next few weeks (or join our RSS feed) for details on the home's extensive features, Homearama info, etc. We have some exciting partners we are working with making this home really special. We will share details as soon as they are finalized. We hope to see you there!

Feel free to give us any feedback on the site, or ways to improve it.  See you soon, and happy building!

 ***NOTE***  If you are STILL using Internet Explorer 6.0, upgrade to IE7 already!  (Or better yet, try Firefox--it's free). This site and most others will work properly and look much nicer!

"2008 Custom Home of the Year"

"Best Overall Product Design"

"Best Interior Design/Merchandising"

"Best Exterior Architecture"

We are especially proud of the Custom Home of the Year award, as this is usually bestowed on homes costing over 2 million and up.  It is gratifying to be recognized for the long hours of thought and design that went into this project.

The Cleveland Choice Awards has become the benchmark of the homebuilding industry, and is the foremost residential design/construction competition in the Cleveland area. Identifying the best and brightest residential designers and builders in the region, Alexandra Fine Homes is frequently recognized for producing homes that illustrate exemplary architectural design, construction quality, success in the marketplace, and bringing to life the very best in American living. Our last two model homes have literally “swept” the awards shows…