Two years ago, when Ray Hull was thinking about moving to a new home, he faced a frustrating dilemma.

Hull, who had escaped the hustle and bustle of Buckhead for slower-moving Fayette County in 1999, said he liked the lifestyle Peachtree City offered, but not the towering three-story homes that characterize many of the city's subdivisions.

W.A. BRIDGES JR./AJC

This $1 million-plus home is on Conservatory Point in the Newhaven subdivision in Fayette County. At present, 20 homes in the $1 million range are for sale in Fayette, a local Realtor says.

W.A. BRIDGES JR./AJC

A home in the Newhaven subdivision at Conservatory Point.

W.A. BRIDGES JR./AJC

This $1 million-plus home is on Brookings Lane in the Peninsula subdivision.

W.A. BRIDGES JR./AJC

The den of a home with the pool on Peninsula Drive. The 5-year-old Peninsula subdivision, developed by Pathway Communities, has 54 lots.

W.A. BRIDGES JR./AJC

The back of a $1 million-plus home on Peninsula Drive in the Peninsula subdivision, on Lake Kedron in Peachtree City.

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"We liked the good living in a small Southern town, but we wanted a really nice, traditional brick ranch house," Hull said. "It was a real coin flip between building here and moving back to Atlanta."

But when he and his partner discovered the Peninsula, Pathway Communities' 5-year-old subdivision on Lake Kedron in Peachtree City, Hull said he realized he wouldn't have to sacrifice either criterion to get what he wanted.

"We built Old Atlanta in the 1950s here," Hull said. "This house feels like it's 40 years old with its detail and classic floor plan."

Beyond a layout that is unique to Peachtree City, the red brick home with black shutters, cream-colored trim and wrought-iron accents features an outdoor living area that includes a walled courtyard, a veranda, an outdoor kitchen and fireplace, and a swimming pool, all of which overlook the lake.

Though it's not the largest home in the 54-lot Peninsula, the detail and amenities inside and out position it within an elite category of million-dollar homes in Fayette County.

"In our county, for a home to be valued at $1 million or more, it would offer a larger parcel of land or unique amenities within the home," said Linda Lelak, a Realtor with Harry Norman's Peachtree City office.

Since July 1, 2005, 11 homes in Fayette County have closed at more than $1 million, Lelak said. Three were newly constructed and eight were resales.

At present, she said, 20 homes in the $1 million range are on the market in Fayette County. Of that total, six are in Peachtree City, and four of those are in the Peninsula.

"Obviously, the Peninsula has a significant bearing on those numbers," Lelak said.

With only four lots remaining, both new homes and resales in the Peninsula are topping $1 million, said Jane Young of the Home Source Realtors.

"Everything is just exquisite and top of the line," she said. "Whereas in more of a regular tract home, someone would spend $15,000 on cabinets, these homeowners are spending $60,000 to $150,000."

One 5-year-old resale in the Peninsula, with six bedrooms and 5 1/2 bathrooms, is listed at $1.55 million.

The palatial white home with tall white columns encompasses approximately 6,000 square feet, including a fully finished basement with an exercise room, full kitchen, guest suite, keeping room, recreational room and golf cart garage, said Kim Daniel of the Home Source Realtors.

Other distinctive features include wood floors made of soft pine that was taken from an old barn, elaborate cabinetry, an office with cherry wood and built-in bookcases, and marble countertops throughout, she said.

Custom communities

Outside Peachtree City, River Oaks, a John Wieland Homes subdivision in Tyrone, and Newhaven, a development of Barnett Land Co. in Fayetteville, are both offering new construction with the kinds of custom features that make up million-dollar homes.

River Oaks, which was featured in Atlanta's Street of Dreams in 2004, is planned for 134 custom estate homes on 2- to 5-acre lots, with Wieland as the exclusive builder. The community, located on Ga. 74, has sold almost all of its 73 lots in Phase 1, and most of the homes cost more than $1 million, said on-site agent Elizabeth Parker.

"At this point, I can squeak a buyer into a market home — one that utilizes one of the builder's floor plans — for $800,000 to $1.3 million, but there are very few homes that we can get under $1 million," she said.

Most of the buyers, who include media, music and medical professionals, utilize one of Wieland's Colonnade floor plans, but modify it to suit their particular desires, she said.

"We try to accommodate them as much as possible."

Parker said customization in River Oaks includes a breakfast bar in the master bedroom, heated floors in the bathroom, extensive trim work, judges' paneling, specialty flooring, and extensive outdoor living areas with kitchens, fireplaces, ball courts, waterfalls and hot tubs.

Uniqueness prized

The main thing is that buyers in this price range don't want to see their homes duplicated elsewhere, said Brad Barnard, one of Newhaven's custom builders.

"The more unique we can make things, the better," Barnard said. "In this price range, you are somewhat unlimited as to what you can do. It's more of an open range."

For example, he said, unique trim work, 10-foot ceilings, custom cabinetry, granite countertops, a bathroom for every bedroom, gourmet kitchens, multiple fireplaces, wet bars, theater rooms, outdoor living packages and extensive landscaping are just some of details and amenities that are pushing home prices to $1 million or more.

However, Scott Barnett, Newhaven's developer, said it's more than just the custom features offered in each individual home. The design and layout of the community itself contribute to the value of the homes.

"In Newhaven, we've set the stage for someone to come in and build a million-dollar home in an Old World-style community," Barnett said.

Newhaven, planned for 56 homes, features sidewalks framed with hedges, two roundabout parks, an Old English pavilion, a nature trail and an elegant 16-foot-tall fountain that was specially commissioned for the community.

"It's a replica of a fountain in Kenilworth, England," Barnett said.

Barnett, who also developed High Grove, a 300-home subdivision characterized by historical Southern architecture, said the demand for million-dollar-home communities in Fayette County is healthy, particularly because of the county's nationally ranked school system.

Some of the resales in 10-year-old High Grove are already topping $1 million, he said.

"The timing has been right for some time," Barnett said. "We are just meeting that niche."