In Depth: Essential Stats on the 12 Most Expensive Homes Sold in 2011

Below, a closer look at each of the 12 most expensive homes sold in Pulaski County in 2011, including the buyer, the seller, the size and much more.

Plus: Click to view a slideshow of all 12 homes, and here to watch a video on the state of the upscale home market in central Arkansas.

1. $3.06 Million
 
Date: Nov. 15                
Buyer: Andrea Rockefeller
Sellers: Wayne and Paulette Richie
Address: 100 Yellow Brick Road
Date Built: 2002 
SF: 14,000
 
Andrea Rockefeller bought this log manor that features seven bathrooms and sits on 75.5 acres in west Pulaski County. In December, she left her job at the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, where she was a deputy. She has worked for the agency on and off since 1995. Her father was the late Arkansas Lt. Gov. Winthrop Paul Rockefeller. Forbes estimated his net worth at $1.2 billion in 2005. Her great-great grandfather was John D. Rockefeller Sr.
 
2. $2.15 Million
 
Date: March 31
Buyers: Ayman and Bana Alshami
Seller: First Security Bank of Searcy
Address: 10 Valley Crest Court
Date Built: 2006    
SF: 14,156
 
Bana and Dr. Ayman Alshami acquired this mansion from First Security Bank of Searcy. The bank recovered the property in October 2008 from Brenda and Joe Blankenship as part of a $5 million foreclosure sale. The Blankenships built the three-story home with an elevator, wine cellar, seven full baths and four half-baths in 2006, but they never moved into it. Dr. Alshami is a cardiologist who practices in Pine Bluff.
 
3. $1.85 Million
 
Date: Aug. 11
Buyer: Ten East Palisades Realty LLC, led by Dr. Lowry and Tanya Barnes
Seller: Redith Kahn Revocable Trust, led by Alfred Kahn Jr.
Address: 10 East Palisades Drive
Date Built: 1957
SF: 4,504
 
This home sits on 1.8 acres in Little Rock’s East Palisades neighborhood and features five full bathrooms. Dr. C. Lowry Barnes practices hip and knee surgeries at Arkansas Specialty Orthopaedics. He lectures nationally and internationally on total joint replacement surgery and conducts research on hips and knees. In 2000, he was named the Arthritis Foundation Person of the Year.
 
4. $1.6 Million
 
Date: June 30
Buyer: 46 Overlook Drive LLC, led by Vicki and Raymond “Jackie” Lackie Jr.
Sellers: William and Patricia Carlton
Address: 46 Overlook Drive
Date Built: 1986
SF: 8,543
 
The Lackies bought this home in Little Rock’s Overlook Park neighborhood. Jackie Lackie is the owner of American Material Handling Co. of North Little Rock. Founded in 1979, the company sells used pallet racks, industrial dock equipment and warehouse equipment out of its 250,000-SF warehouse. It handles installations, teardowns and relocations throughout the United States and Mexico.
 
5. $1.5 Million
 
Date: Aug. 5
Buyer: Standard Properties LLC, led by David Gulley
Sellers: Chris and Elizabeth Maris
Address: 17 Valley Crest Court
Date Built: 2006    
SF: 7,100
 
David Gulley acquired this mansion in west Little Rock’s Valley Falls Estates neighborhood. Gulley is the president and co-owner of Standard Business Systems of Little Rock, which offers services such as network management and custom-built computer servers and computers. The company’s clients include Baptist Health, the state of Arkansas and Falcon Jet, according to the company’s website. Standard Business Systems was incorporated in 1989.
 
6. $1.42 Million
 
Date: March 7
Buyers: Mary and Kent Vestal Jr.
Seller: Hodges Family Revocable Trust, led by Lee and Carol Hodges
Address: 46 Chenal Circle
Date Built: 2003   
SF: 6,653
 
Kent Vestal Jr., a lawyer since 1987, said he and his wife started looking for a house after she “became pregnant with twin boys, and we needed a bigger place to live.” They found a two-level home with five bedrooms, five full bathrooms and two half-baths. One of the features that attracted him to the home was the view of the 17th hole of the Founders Course at Chenal Country Club.
 
7. $1.37 Million
 
Date: Sept. 21
Buyer: Riverside Bank of Sparkman (Dallas County)
Sellers: Jennifer and Lane Kidd
Address: 2115 N. Beechwood
Date Built: 2007    
SF: 5,100
 
Riverside Bank of Sparkman (Dallas County) recovered this spec home in the Heights from Jennifer and Lane Kidd. The bank sued the couple in 2010 for defaulting on loans that totaled $1.5 million, plus interest of nearly $60,000. The bank dismissed its complaint in December 2010. In 2011, the bank reported $58.6 million in assets, up 2.34 percent from 2010. It also had a net income of $1.5 million in 2011, up 3.62 percent from 2010.
 
8. $1.35 Million
 
Date: Oct. 31
Buyers: Jared and Amy Seale
Sellers: Jon and Sandra Marbaise
Address: 4 Armistead Road
Date Built: 1928
SF: 4,539
 
Amy and Dr. J. Justin Seale looked for a year before finding this home in the Edgehill neighborhood. “We wanted a home with a large, flat yard and plenty of outdoor space for our children to play,” Amy Seale told Arkansas Business. “The Armistead home has a beautiful, well-designed outdoor living area that was unique compared to the other properties we toured.” Dr. Seale practices at Arkansas Specialty Orthopaedics in Little Rock.
 
9. $1.27 Million
 
Date: April 13
Buyers: Kimberly and Russ McDonough III
Sellers: Josephine and James Osborne
Address: 35 Beverly Place
Date Built: 1940   
SF: 5,800
 
Kimberly and Russ McDonough III bought this home near the Country Club of Little Rock. Russ McDonough is the former president and CEO of real estate developer Winrock Enterprises. McDonough also owned the At Home magazines until he sold them for an undisclosed sum in 2005 to Network Communications Inc. of Lawrenceville, Ga. McDonough also helped bring the magazine The Oxford American from Mississippi to Little Rock in 2002.
 
10. $1.25 Million
 
Date: Oct. 31
Buyers: Michael and Leslie Hui
Sellers: J.B. and Brittany Huffman
Address: 79 Sologne Circle
Date Built: 2008    
SF: 6,846
 
Michael and Leslie Hui acquired this mansion in Chenal Valley’s Sologne Circle. Michael Hui is a co-owner of Transportation Insight LLC of Hickory, N.C. Transportation Insight, founded in 1999, uses its transportation management system to analyze the shipping needs of its customers, who include manufacturers and retailers. Inc. magazine reported the company had $277.1 million in revenue in 2010, up 43 percent from 2007. The firm has 118 employees.
 
11. $1.25 Million
 
Date: Aug. 5
Buyers: Phillip and Cheryl Duncan
Seller: Robert R. Adkins Revocable Trust
Address: 1 Adkins Court
Date Built: 2000   
SF: 7,297
 
The Duncans bought this manor in the Adkins Estates neighborhood. Phillip Duncan is an attorney and owner of the Duncan Firm, which he started in 2006 in Little Rock. Duncan, who became an attorney in 1974, represents “injured Arkansans and their families,” according to the firm’s website. “Phillip Duncan has handled cases and class action suits involving serious injury and death not only in Arkansas, but nationwide,” the firm’s website said.
 
12. $1.25 Million
 
Date: March 11
Buyers: Katherine Riley and Adam Hall
Sellers: Timothy Daters and Gretchen Gray
Address: 22 Armistead Road
Date Built: 1926  
SF: 4,299
 
A. Davidson Hall and his wife, Katherine Riley, bought this mansion in the Edgehill neighborhood. Hall is a managing director at Stephens Inc.’s Little Rock office. He joined Stephens in 2008 and leads the firm’s leveraged finance practice. He had worked at Banc of America’s Securities in the Leverage Finance Group and completed more than $20 billion in financing for clients in North America, Europe and the Middle East.