Where are the best-selling subdivisions? The top three are all located in different Northside counties: Hall, Cherokee and Paulding, according to Metrostudy, the real estate research company.

No. 1 is Village of Deaton Creek, an age-restricted community 40 miles from Atlanta. No. 2 is Harmony on the Lakes, which touts the natural beauty of its 630 acres.

The third most popular, Seven Hills, offers several different housing types spread over 2,000 acres.

The data cover April 2007 through March.

Subdivision...............County.......Prices*.....Starts...Closings

Village of Deaton Creek...Hall.........$174-$386...266......307

Harmony on the Lakes......Cherokee.....$185-$545...141......190

Seven Hills...............Paulding.....$195-$479...108......187

Princeton Lakes...........South Fulton $166-$384...116......141

Summer Grove..............Coweta.......$131-$630....67......134

James Creek...............Forsyth......$200-$574...123......132

Covered Bridge at

Barnes Mill...............Cobb.........$229-$538.....102....132

Park Avenue...............Cobb.........$235-$459......92....126

Heron Bay.................Henry........$180-$1,050....75....120

Hampton Oak...............South Fulton.$191-$440......79....119

Source: Metrostudy

* in thousands.

LEASING

Atlanta's diversified employment base and healthy business climate are preventing softness in the office market from becoming more serious, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' Korpacz Real Estate Investor Survey released this week.

In the first quarter, the Class A office space vacancy rate in the suburbs remained at 14.6 percent; in the central business district it increased slightly to 25.2 percent, the survey says.

Class A leasing activity increased 5.8 percent from the previous quarter, totaling 2.5 million square feet, the survey says. However, that may be a result of aggressive landlord concessions and urgency among tenants to lock in deals.

The report says office sales have been hampered by disagreements over price and capitalization rates.

TRANSACTIONS

Assembling 47 acres for the Deerfield Place development in Milton cost more than $15.1 million, according to Databank.

The Sembler Co. paid $7.27 million for 25 acres; Target paid $4.6 million for 13.8 acres; and Kohl's paid $3.27 million for 8.58 acres, Databank says.

The land is located at Ga. 9, Cumming Highway and Webb Road.

In the same area, Databank says, Branch Properties paid $6 million for 7.2 acres. That project is called Webb Road Promenade.

TODAY'S BIG NUMBER: $40.3

In millions, the selling price of the former Ford Motor Co. assembly plant in Hapeville. Jacoby Development is the lead developer; other equity partners are Steven D. Bell & Co, a Ted Turner-family entity and D.H. Griffin Cos. The sale closed last week.

Sources: Databank (price) and Jacoby Development

To have an item considered for publication in Skyline, please send it to Kevin Duffy at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, P.O. Box 4689, Atlanta, GA 30030; or to kduffy@ajc.com. Include proper names and positions. Photographs must carry identification and can't be returned. In order for us to contact you, please include a phone number and/or e-mail address.