Monthly Archives: November 2010
Less is More + Smarter Conversations
The world of social media and networking is much too consumed with numbers , and it seems at times, we are making sacrifices of our time and energy wading through piles of noise and indirect relationships in an effort to obtain the rare connections of serendipity that bring us value. … When Facebook launched their new messaging platform two weeks ago, putting an emphasis on the friends in the site having access to your in box, I started to have second thoughts about all these random people I’d blindly said yes to in the last couple years. For every great person who I would meet in the future and learn from, there were others trying to invite me to events and groups that were a waste of time, or whose updates were never catching my eye.
…You don’t do that because your accountant told you to, you do thatbecause that’s who you are. Continue reading
Charlottesville is the 3rd Most Walkable City in Virginia
50% of Charlottesville residents have a Walk Score of 70 or above.
Charlottesville’s most walkable neighborhoods are Downtown, 10th And Page, Main-Starr Hill. Charlottesville’s least walkable neighborhoods are Charlottesville High, North East, Longwood Dr. 77% have a Walk Score of at least 50—and 23% live in Car-Dependent neighborhoods.
Search for the most walkable homes for sale in Charlottesville . Continue reading
Holiday Things to do in Charlottesville
We saw Elf at the Paramount last week; it’s great experience to see a movie here. (parents can get beer, too!)
… 5 December – Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Year Without Santa Claus – at the Paramount
… Today through 2 January – The Twelve Dates of Christmas, The Santaland Diaries, A Christmas Carol – at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton Cut your own Christmas Tree ; ( try this site too ) sadly, the farm where I cut down trees when I was a kid is now a subdivision in Earlysville . Find out more Christmas/Hanukkah/Holiday events at Albemarle Family , Suzy Said , And finally – the rumors swirl each year –
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Insight into the Home Buying and Selling Process
In my business I have found that, on average, many of my buyer clients search for between 12 and 24 months – they are searching data, market trends, growth patterns, identifying where they want to live and then focusing on the homes themselves. … But a far lesser percentage than I expected. 
Length of search for buyers who used an agent, first-time and repeat buyers: – I presume that the repeat buyers may be those repeat buyer buying within the region they already inhabit; they know where they want to live, so the investigative process is much shorter. 
Information sources used in home search, by first-time and repeat buyers, and buyers of new and previously owned homes: – Same as last year, Internet, Real Estate Agent, Yard Sign are the top three sources. … I’m not completely discounting print’s effectiveness; for branding , print is hard to beat, for selling a house , it’s not even in the conversation. 
A qualifier to the below chart: Good real estate agents are useful. … As I said four years ago, Zillow Cannot Adapt ; until they develop effective Artificial Intelligence , people will be the best options. 
No surprises here – the internet is the most frequently used information source; this is one reason that I coach my buyer clients (and any reader, really) in how to effectively search for homes in the Charlottesville area . 
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The Present and Future of Real Estate
… be better, be different or be cheaper. And the last is no fun. Continue reading
Northtown Bike Trail – From Downtown to 29 North – Looks Great
The Northtown Trail is a smart, functional, bold and audacious plan that would likely help shape non-auto-dependent growth, reduce congestion on 29 and maybe help folks using it get more fit .
…The Northtown Trail is tied to several significant roadway projects in the area, including the Route 250 Interchange at McIntire Road , McIntire Road Extended , the Meadow Creek Parkway and Berkmar Drive Extended . The portions of the trail in Albemarle County correspond directly to planned facilities for the Places29 Master Plan, which aims to improve congestion and land use issues along the US 29 north corridor in Albemarle County. … The City’s portion of the conceptual trail corresponds to planned bike and pedestrian facilities along the future McIntire Road Extended and the Route 250 interchange at McIntire Road.
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UVA is Growing. A Lot
More students are coming . What will the impacts be on Charlottesville and Albemarle? Will the University take plans to reduce the number of vehicles these 1500 students bring to the area? Continue reading
Is This The New Normal in the Charlottesville Real Estate Market?
I’ve been wondering for a long time what the new normal in the Charlottesville* real estate market is going to look like over the next few years. Today’s is a post posing a question rather than positing an answer.
Prices aside, is this volume the “new normal” for the Charlottesville market?
What are the impacts on the market, the number of agents (answer: very little – the Charlottesville Area Realtor Association is poised to lose but a handful of Realtors next year, out of about 1,000, a relatively small percentage of whom are productive ), the number of productive Realtors, … Continue reading…
