Sunlight, water, growth and credible appraisals
Generally I try to do only one “links” story a week, but this week has seen several stories come to light that are of critical importance to … basically everyone.
Growth and Development update with Brian Wheeler - learn more about Bundoran Farm, the Water Supply (and increasing rates), Meadowcreek Parkway and how our infrastructure is catching up with us.
Can Poor Writing Skills Overshadow Good Content? - Yes. Yes. Yes.
Credibility coming back to appraisals? The consequences - intended and unintended of this development - may be enormous.
Virginia’s attempt to (temporarily) forestall foreclosures (for some)
The HooK has an extensive story on the Charlottesville/Albemarle water supply solution. The solution that came about was the result of unprecedented public input and cooperation; but is there room for improvement? Could it be this easy? - (more at Cvillenews)
Every day, a little more sediment seeps into the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir, reducing its capacity to quench the thirst of our growing population. Dredging it, however, will cost millions, mostly for trucking away the dirt.
Meanwhile, just a couple of miles away lies the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport, which wants to expand its runway and plans to spend $15 million of its $50 million budget to… truck in dirt.
Why can’t these two quasi-governmental bodies get together to save each other millions of dollars while solving the local water crisis? A Hook investigation finds they haven’t really tried– that no serious studies have been conducted to discover if dirt-swapping might be a viable solution to both their problems. And dredging supporters allege the company that told the local waterworks to dam its way out of disaster might have a conflict of interest.
Our region has a deserved reputation for studying everything ad nauseum, and I’m tempted to just be grateful that something is going to be done.
Videos of the General Assembly are up at Richmond Sunlight. Yay, accountability and sunlight.
This is a conference being held at my alma mater in April - it should be mighty interesting (albeit a bit expensive). Hopefully someone will blog about it.
Technorati Tags: albemarle, charlalbemarle, charlottesville, politics, real-estate
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Central Virginia real estate market not distressed (yet)
But the markets that are identified by Wells Fargo as being “Distressed” - as opposed to “Soft” (not that bad) and “Severely Distressed” (really bad) - are closer to home than I would like …
Alexandria (City)
Arlington County
Clarke County
Fairfax County
Fairfax (City)
Falls Church (City)
Fauquier County
Fredericksburg (City)
Loudoun County
Manassas (City)
Manassas Park (City)
Prince William County
Spotsylvania County
Stafford County
Warren County
Note that none of the Central Virginia markets are broadly identified as being distressed or declining.
I heard a remark this week that Prince William County had been described as Virginia’s Miami - and not because of the comparable weather patterns.
This news reinforces my opinion that if you are a buyer who is well-qualified and planning to be in the area for at least several years, now could be the best time to buy. If you’re a seller, price your home aggressively and do not do anything to discourage showings of your house.
Moving forward ….
Technorati Tags: mortgages
A little competition is healthy
And the prizes can’t be beat.
Those prizes being a firm handshake, a pat on the back perhaps and the ever-lasting glory that comes from winning a Blog Brawl.
For those of you reading who have 30 seconds to spare, I’d appreciate your submission at the Virginia Association of Realtors’ blog. Just type in realcentralva.com, click submit and then bask in the satisfaction of helping me achieve the afore-mentioned ever-lasting glory.
Candidly, I’m quite proud that our state Realtor Association is reaching out to the next generation of members. So, thanks.
Go here to submit realcentralva.com.
Fiber in Nelson County?
This would expand the market for people looking to live in an area as remarkably beautiful as Nelson, but be able to to telecommute.
Pulled from the comments - national data’s local impact
Thanks to Larry for the comment:
Local buyers are aware of the national trend, and are acting accordingly.
Local sellers are starting to get a clue, too: many have dropped their prices by 15-20%, which translates to 25K to 75K…and the houses STILL aren’t moving.
There’s many months of backlog on the market here in C’ville/Albemarle, which doesn’t include houses pulled OFF the market for the winter. It’s a glut, and will get worse in two months.
BUYERS are waiting for the market to go lower, especially first time buyers, so they don’t make the same mistake that plagues many current homeowners: an inflated property value that will go down 15% in 2008 and 10% more in 2009, if the Merril-Lynch report is accurate.
Agents should inform sellers who really need to move their properties that they need to price accordingly. THIS is what will make the local market move again.
How not to sell your house
2 - Don’t call the Realtor with qualified buyers back for nine hours.
3 - Don’t allow the house to be shown until after 5pm.
The above are two reasons that unrepresented sellers frequently have a harder time selling their properties. The reason is simple - the sellers work during the day. What did we, the Realtor and the buyers do? Moved on to the other seven competing listings … with at least seven more to go. The property is going to have to be mighty special and unique to make us alter our schedules.
In a buyers’ market (which we’re in, if you didn’t know) - I advise my sellers to do (almost) whatever it takes to get buyers through their house. You just never know when the “right” buyer is going to walk through the door.
At some point, one must ask - how much is my time worth?
1 - Overprice it.
If they pass the Tipping Point
It may be over for Realtor.com. Is the Tipping Point 50%? 80%?
I’d love to see this functionality for our local MLS.
Google announces neighborhood refinements:
Fortunately, finding the best places just became a lot easier with the addition of user ratings and neighborhood refinements to Google Maps. … All you have to do is look for the “Refine by” link, click on a neighborhood or user rating, and the new results will appear immediately.
And Drew is trying to stir the creative juices regarding Zillow’s Neighborhood information and API:
While there are certainly some great WordPress plug-ins for real estate sites, I haven’t seen any that address the desire of local buyers, sellers, and owners to learn more about the neighborhoods and cities in their area of interest.
I wish I had more time to put my ideas into action.
Tuesday links 02-26-2008
Planes, trains and automobiles - Infrastructure as asset class
ULI issues one last dire warning: “If driving continues to be the only practical transportation option in many metropolitan areas, no amount of infrastructure investment will be adequate.” Will we head the warning?
UVA, Charlottesville and Albemarle get together to discuss planning issues
Real estate commissions: Where are they now?
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