The Associate of the Year award is presented annually to a member of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association in recognition of their accomplishments in the areas of service to the industry and association, professional excellence and community involvement, furthering the mission and goals of the association. The 2012 Associate of the Year is Eugene James.
Born in Washington D.C. and raised in Arlington, Va., James earned a Bachelors of Science Degree in Business Management from the University of the District of Columbia. Following graduation, he relocated to Atlanta where his first job was managing a restaurant. James, however, was destined to a lifelong career in the real estate industry.
A 26-year industry veteran, his experience includes conducting feasibility and highest and best use studies for builders, developers and lenders and has advised state and local governments on multiple housing related issues. He has served in various analytical and managerial capacities in the property tax appraisal industry including the past chief appraiser for DeKalb and Fulton counties.
While in the private sector he conducted the reappraisal of Gwinnett County as well as Long Island, New York. During his career, he has established market values for more than one million properties across the country. James is both a licensed real estate broker and a real estate appraiser.
In 2006, Eugene joined Metrostudy as Director for the Atlanta region. Metrostudy is a national market intelligence company that specializes in monitoring the residential new construction industry. Metrostudy analyzes, interprets and shares their findings with many of the country’s top builders, developers, lenders and investors.
Eugene has led numerous market studies in both the residential and commercial real estate markets, including subdivision valuation, forecasting, feasibility analysis and highest and best use of land. He is relied upon by various companies, from Wall Street to Main Street, as well as his fellow HBA members, on a regular basis. He has been quoted as an expert by The Wall Street Journal, ABC and NBC news. James was named to the 2012 list of 100 Leaders in Residential Real Estate by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Eugene is involved in numerous professional, community and civic organizations. He served as the State of Georgia’s representative for the International Association of Assessment Officers; was an elected board member for the Georgia Association of Assessing Officials, and served on the Education Steering Committee for the Georgia Department of Revenue. James is a member of the HBA Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Most recently, he was elected to serve on the Board of Directors of HomeAid Atlanta. James also volunteers with the Boy Scouts and is a basketball coach.
As a service to the HBA, he provides the quarterly MetroStudy Market Update for the Builder Developer Lender Council to share important market intelligence with fellow members, to which a large segment of the association’s members would not otherwise have access. This valuable member service is just one example of Eugene’s dedication to association.
Eugene has been the featured speaker at dozens, perhaps hundreds, of HBA meetings and has spent countless hours providing guidance and counsel to his fellow members. He generously shares his wealth of knowledge and expertise, motivated simply by the desire to help others succeed.
James has traveled the world on scuba diving expeditions, enjoys playing an occasional round of golf and on Sunday mornings, he can be found in the kitchen whipping up a batch of his famous banana pancakes. At the end of the day, the role that Eugene cherishes most is that of husband and father. Eugene and his wife, Karlene, live in Atlanta and are the proud parents of their son, Eugene II, 8 and daughter Endia, 7.
The HBA is proud to recognize Eugene James as the 2012 Associate of the Year.