There’s a new name in the Cobb real estate market, but the face behind the name is very familiar.
Sotheby’s International Realty has come to Cobb, and longtime Realtor Jim Glover is the agent representing them in the Marietta and west Cobb areas.
Residents may be familiar with the Sotheby’s name thanks to their famous 200-year-old New York auction house. But it was more than the name that lured Glover away from Harry Norman Realtors, where he had been an agent in its Marietta office for nine years, and reigned as the No. 1 transaction agent from 2005 to 2008.
“Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s is a family business, owned by Jenny Pruitt and her son-in-law (David Boehmig),” Glover said. “I liked it because of the personal service it provides, the international outreach and the state-of-the-art marketing. These were all big factors in changing jobs. I was not unhappy where I was.”
While he was the No. 1 sales agent each of his nine years at Harry Norman, he admits his new position has rekindled the real estate flame. “There are professionals at Sotheby’s who are challenging me to increase my business,” said Glover, whose office is in Buckhead on Northside Parkway.
Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty was formed by Jenny Pruitt after selling her company to investor Warren Buffett, Glover said. Pruitt had led her own firm in the Atlanta area since 1988, growing it to more than $1.5 billion in annual sales and 450 agents. After fulfilling her no-compete clause, Pruitt ventured back into the real estate market with the Sotheby’s name, getting the exclusive affiliation for the Atlanta region.
The Sotheby’s realty network has more than 25,700 properties listed in the U.S., with 40 percent above $1 million and five percent over $5 million. Internationally, the company represents over 3,800 properties in countries like Germany, Slovakia, Vietnam, Greece, Cyprus and Italy.
In June 2007, it opened offices in Atanta, with 20 agents serving the metro area. That year, Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty had the most expensive single-family home sale ever recorded ($16,500,000) and the most expensive condo in recent history (the penthouse at The Mansion on Peachtree sold for $9,500,000). Last year, the firm sold the most expensive home in Atlanta, listed at $13,900,000.
While Cobb may not boast those home prices, Glover said he is happy to be working in “my sphere of influence.” A Cobb resident, Glover is the great-great-great-grandson of Marietta’s first mayor – John Heyward Glover, Jr. He knows about Cobb, its history and the historical homes which still dot the county.
“I live in an old house, and about 25 percent of my business is in historical properties,” said Glover, who moved his 1855 house from Marietta to west Cobb near Kennesaw Mountain in 1989. “I know the old houses and the old house language that goes with it,” he said, adding he lists homes at any price range.
Carol Moson, president of the Cobb Association of Realtors and an agent for Re/Max Greater Atlanta Realtors, said she is glad to see Sotheby’s enter the Cobb market. “It’s good for everyone, and they especially deal with high-end homes,” said Moson. “Hopefully, they’ll get more of them sold.” She added that the current housing market has seen a glut of inventory on the market due to foreclosures, but a change is coming. “Cobb has the beginnings of stabilization of the market,” she said. “Inventory is down, so we just need to take baby steps and it will all be good.”
Glover worked for 20 years at his family-owned Glover Machine Works steel business in Marietta before going into real estate. He said it’s a “natural fit” for him because he enjoys meeting people and building relationships through business. Although he sees a lot of foreclosure homes these days and a sluggish homebuying market, Glover said he wouldn’t choose any other occupation. “There is nothing more enjoyable than helping first-time homebuyers purchase their first home,” said Glover.
Glover, 54 and single, also spends time giving back to the Cobb community. He serves on the boards of the Cobb Landmarks and Historical Society, the Marietta Welcome Center, the Marietta Museum of History and the Cobb Preservation Foundation, Inc. He is also a member of the Friends of the Cobb Symphony. In his spare time, he loves to cook – especially seafood dishes given to him by relatives living in Charleston, S.C. He is also writing his second book on the history of the Glover family and said he hopes to publish it this spring.
What’s his take on the current housing market? “I believe things are going to start coming around this spring,” Glover said. “It has been a long, bleak winter, but we’re already seeing some improvement over the fourth quarter of last year.”
From Marietta Daily Journal