She's a million-dollar bargain, the Realtor says.

The four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath beauty overlooks the fifth hole on the Atlanta Country Club golf course. It boasts 10-foot ceilings, a banquet-sized dining room, an elegant curved staircase and three fireplaces. Reduced from $1.2 million, it's "an incredible value," says Marsha Sell of Coldwell Banker Realty (www.marsha

Andy Sharp/Staff (ENLARGE)

Marsha Sell shows off the great room of a home she has listed for a cool million. The house overlooking the Atlanta Country Club golf course has four bedrooms, a library and an unfinished basement. aldÕas;dlÕa;ldÕa;sldÕ;ldÕd;aslÕd;lgggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg

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sellsatlanta.com).

There have been eight to 10 sales in that area recently in the $500,000 to $700,000 range that were tear-downs, she said.

Let that sink in: A half-million-dollar tear-down.

A Realtor for more than 30 years, Sell says she had a simple answer for people looking for a million-dollar home early in her career: Head to Buckhead.

These days, however, about 160 homes in Cobb cost $1 million or more, according to recent figures from Smart Numbers Inc., and First Multiple Listing Service Inc. The priciest costs nearly

$4 million.

So what does $1 million buy in Cobb?

"You will expect at least 4,500 square feet, a daylight basement, a two- or three-car garage," Sell said. "Kitchens and baths have to be drop-dead gorgeous. Everyone expects granite and stainless kitchens. Some bathrooms have steam showers."

Buyers in the million-dollar range can expect high-quality cabinetry, crown molding, soaring foyers and upscale building materials.

The houses, though, might sit on an acre or less.

"A lot depends on location," said Sell, who recalls the days when a big sale was around $70,000.

She has a listing priced at just under $1 million with amenities including an elevator, on about 2.6 acres.

Today's upscale buyers aren't necessarily looking for a big patch of land —they just want their slice of heaven

to be as posh as it can be, she

said.

"Media rooms in the basement are popular," said Sell, conjuring images of giant plasma televisions, state-of-the-art sound systems and cushy leather couches.

"But that'll run over a million."