Communities
Buford
The homeowners: Buford, which once was Gwinnett's largest city, was known in the late 1800s and early 1900s for its leather tanning industry (called Leather City) and manufacturing of goods such as harnesses, saddles, collars and shoes. The town was founded in 1872, along the railroad tracks that still flank restaurants, art galleries and shops in its revitalized downtown. Changes have included the creation of Buford Dam on nearby Lake Lanier and a surge of commercial development along Ga. 20, which includes the Mall of Georgia. New buyers in Buford, which now has about 43,000 residents, include 30-year-olds and entrepreneurs Yong Lee and Sumi Kim, who own Hansel & Gretel Bakery Cafe in neighboring Suwanee. The couple purchased a new six-bedroom, four-bath home this spring in Lennar Homes' Trey Vista neighborhood, attracted by its access to I-85 and I-985 as well as other Gwinnett thoroughfares such as Satellite Boulevard and Buford Drive. While the area has major restaurants and retailers like Chili's, Olive Garden, LongHorn, Walmart, Sam's Club and Costco, there are a variety of international restaurants with ethnic fare ranging from Chinese to Cuban to Japanese, they said. Trey Vista, which has homes from the $189,900s-$270,000s, joins other neighborhoods -- including Shadow Stone, Hedgerows and Hidden Falls -- with recently built single-family homes priced in the $300,000s-$400,000s.
About the community
Buford
County: Gwinnett
Price range: $40,000-$1.79 million
Taxes: About 1.2 percent of the sale price
Styles: Traditional, European, ranch
Schools: Gwinnett County Schools: Patrick Elementary, Harmony Elementary, Ivy Creek Elementary, Glenn C. Jones Middle, Mill Creek High; Buford City Schools: Buford Elementary, Buford Middle, Buford High
More on schools: schools.ajchomefinder.com
Getting there
Take I-85 north to Exit 115 (Ga. 20) toward Buford.
Recently on the market
$570,000: 2462 Walkers Glen Lane, Buford 30519. A five-bedroom, five-and-a-half bath home built in 2006 in the Hedgerows neighborhood with a finished terrace level and a screened porch.
$199,900: 3462 Fallen Oak Drive, Buford 30519. A new four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home in the Trey Vista neighborhood with a full basement.
Housing trends in ZIP code 30519
Sales of new homes: 158, down 9 percent
Sales of existing homes: 453, up 7 percent
Median price of new homes: $201,747, down 7 percent
Median price of existing homes: $153,000, down 3 percent
Source: AJC's Metro Home Sales Report, 2010 data
