Media Appearance on Thursday 17 July

I’ll be on WINA’s Charlottesville Right-Now Thursday from five to five thirty - that’s 1070AM.

Last month, we had some great phone calls and questions, and although this time will be much shorter (thirty minutes in radio time flies by) I hope we’ll have an equally or more productive time. If you have any questions or topic suggestions, other than the current market report, please let me know.

Hint: Please feel free to subscribe to this blog by clicking here for RSS updates or here for email updates.

Update 18 July 2008: A few of the topics we discussed:

- The current state of the Charlottesville area real estate market

- Foreclosure rate in Charlottesville and Virginia; some perspective gained looking at RealtyTrac - Albemarle has 1 foreclosure for every 13,356 units; Prince William has 1 foreclosure for every 111 housing units.

- Starbucks are closing; what might the impact be on the housing markets around them?

- The impact that rentals are having on the market and respective market data.

Thanks to Coy and WINA for having me on; I’ll be on again next month as well.

I’m hoping the podcast gets posted before I leave town; Coy’s introduction of me was more than I could have hoped for (and I’d argue it’s all true! :) )


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July 16, 2008 | Filed Under Albemarle, Charlottesville, General Real Estate, Shameless Self Promotion | 1 Comment 

Charlottesville Area Market Report for 1st Half 2008 Released

The market report for the first half of 2008 has been released today, and the full report can be downloaded here.

Two snapshots from the report are telling -

New construction sales in the Charlottesville Virginia region

Median Sales Price of homes in the Charlottesville Region

My analysis will be coming on Monday; while the CAAR market report is quite good and comprehensive, its goal is much more regional than the analysis provided here. For example:

Currently, we have 3,761 homes on the market, just a few more than we had at this time last year (see chart below) and considerably less than the 4050 on the market at the end of May 2008. The median price of these homes for sale is $309,900. The average DOM (days on market) of these homes is 151 days. It is a great time for first-time buyers, because there are 744 homes for sale under $200,000 with an average DOM of 134. There are only 256 homes currently on the market

But when one drills down to Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson, there are 433 active properties under $200,000 - 122 of which are condos, 54 are attached homes and 257 are single-family attached homes.

More on Monday … in the meantime I’m looking forward to Real Cville’s take.

July 11, 2008 | Filed Under Albemarle, Charlottesville, Market statistics | 9 Comments 

Proof that Gas Prices are affecting buyers in Charlottesville area

Getting feedback from Buyer’s Agents is one of the most persistent challenges a listing agent faces, yet good feedback is absolutely crucial to understanding buyers’ mindsets to help best advise sellers. Note this feedback received yesterday on one of my listings:

Shows much better than all the competition. My clients liked it the best of any they saw (here - about 15 minutes/10 miles to the City). They bought in (town) however. He will be at the JAG school and easy commute and gas prices made them choose in close.

The trouble is, when showing forty plus houses a week, it’s that more challenging to elicit feedback from Buyers Agents …

As a recap, If You Don’t Think Gas Price Are Affecting Buyers … You’re not paying attention.

July 11, 2008 | Filed Under Albemarle, Charlottesville, Politics, Regional, Sellers, Transportation | 3 Comments 

Charlottesville (Region) gets High Rankings (Again)

Forbes Magazine recently ranked Albemarle County as the thirteenth best place to raise a family.

Located in the heart of Virginia, Albemarle County is home to the city of Charlottesville and the University of Virginia. The county’s average SAT score of 1,098 is among the best in the nation, but its high school graduation rate of 84% leaves something to be desired. Notable natives range from founding father Thomas Jefferson to musician Dave Matthews, who was born in South Africa but grew up in Albemarle.

Most often, the rankings give the accolades to “Charlottesville” when they in fact mean Charlottesville/Albemarle/Fluvanna/Greene/Nelson. Despite our growing pains which seem to have reached a crescendo in 2004 when we were ranked the #1 Best Place to Live (thanks, Bert Sperling), this area really is a pretty great place to live, particularly if you like outdoor activities.

This year, Outside Magazine has ranked Charlottesville ahead of Crested Butte, Oxford, Michigan, Eureka, California and more as one of the best places to “enjoy outdoor living.” (Thanks, C-Ville)

It’s almost comical looking back a decade when Outside Magazine ranked Charlottesville the Best Place to Get Found:

THE PRICE OF PARADISE: Sweltering summers and increasing sprawl and traffic, especially on Highway 29, just widened (though not enough) to six lanes through town. The cloying marriage of ultrarich and Old South may prompt escapist weekends to Hackensack.

DON’T BE SEEN WITHOUT: At least two of three: a green Barbour coat, a Herb Brown Volvo station wagon, and an insulated coffee mug from Greenberry’s.

Update 10 July 2008: As requested by Larry, here are two related stories -

Should Charlottesville be Like Austin or Aspen? (2008)

Same thing, but from 2007

July 10, 2008 | Filed Under Albemarle, Charlottesville | 1 Comment 

Recapping yesterday’s radio appearance discussing the Charlottesville Real Estate Market

My favorite two answers are “it depends” and “I don’t know” - they’re among the most honest responses I know. Providing a one-size-fits-all response to many if not most of the questions and subjects we discussed would be irresponsible and possibly dishonest. Hopefully the podcast will be up soon so that I can recapture the questions and discussions we had.

In short we spent about forty five minutes rambling about the state of the Charlottesville area real estate market and touched on the following topics (from memory) -

- Have green homes reached a tipping point?

- How are Charlottesville Realtors being affected by the market shift?

- “I overpaid two and a half years ago, and the house had a bunch of problems that were covered by the As-Is clause; do I have any recourse?

- “I’m relocating to the Charlottesville area - how do I do this?” - Candidly, not explicitly asking this person (Jennifer) to contact me was a bit challenging; I wanted to ask for the business but see my time on the radio as providing information and analysis, not selling/shilling my services.

- Inventory levels now versus last year and other years. I don’t like same-year month-to-month (May-June) comparisons, as they reflect current trends but do not provide historical perspective; for that reason, I provide Year-over-Year analyses.

- When is the real estate market going to turn?

- We touched on vacant homes.

- Those who use the assessed value to determine market value are looking at the absolute wrong data and are misguided.

- How do I help my clients assess whether now is the “right” time to buy or sell?

At least one story idea came of the show, and I might try to write a story about it in the next couple of weeks - what percentage of properties are on the market in the respective localities in the Central Virginia region? ie - in June of 2006 x% of homes in the region were on the market in Fluvanna, whereas in June of 2008, x% of homes are on the market there. I’ll try, but I won’t promise.

Also coming up this week, the first half of 2008 market report.

 
icon for podpress  Jim Duncan on WNRN discussing the Charlottesville area real estate mareket [60:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
July 6, 2008 | Filed Under Albemarle, General Real Estate, Shameless Self Promotion | 4 Comments 

Albemarle now has Curbside Recycling

I ran a poll last year asking how much people would be willing to pay for curbside recycling. Aside from those who thought government services are “free,” the predominant response was “Five bucks a week.” Private enterprise has taken the lead where government cannot - courtesy of a Channel 29 story -

For twenty bucks a month, My Recycling Club will

… come pick it up every other week…We leave the bins there for you to clean out and refill for the next time we come…And that’s it,” she said.

Battani got the idea from her concierge business. “Quite a few of those clients have asked us about picking up recycling from their home and office and bringing it in for them…It started to be a pattern,” she recalled.

All it takes to start a club is five or six neighbors who agree to sort their trash. Then for $20 a month, Battani hauls it to the recycling center.

According to Mattson, “Some people have to cartload their recycling to the McIntire Center, which actually discourages some people from recycling at all.” Now thanks to Battani, people don’t have to chose between pitching their time or concern for the planet along with the trash.

In response to an email, Sue Battani said, “The news blurb has created quite a buzz for us and we are very excited about it. Many people have signed on already and we are working diligently to get back to everyone to answer their questions and such.

And that’s a good sign.

July 5, 2008 | Filed Under Albemarle, Charlottesville, Green | 2 Comments 

Are Green Homes the new “Trophy” Homes?

That’s the question posed by the New York Times a little while ago.

There may be some truth to that presumption (and is that necessarily a “bad thing”?) Peer pressure works. There is truth to the trend and perception that more homebuyers are asking questions about the green bona fides of homes in today’s market. Taking the politics of the debate out of the equation, let’s focus on the diffusion of this new-fangled “green” technology -

- Will Ferrell was driving a concept BMW last year; Honda is nearing the release of a production hydrogen car. Take a look at the search volume for the Prius.

- Three years ago, I would have been hard-pressed to find a LEED or Earthcraft home in the MLS; now there are at least fifty.

- Consumer Reports now has a Green Home Improvement Guide.

I’d argue that when looking at the five classes of technology adopters - Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority and Laggards, we’re probably in or on the cusp of the Early Majority phase. Is it because celebrities have “trophy homes”? Doubtful. There is a significant benefit to “going green” that goes beyond political capital or chest-thumping.

It’s the market, stupid. Innovation is spurred by necessity.

Water is increasing by about 5%, the cost of electricity in the Charlottesville area is going to increase by at least 18%, fuel prices are at record levels (duh), and those buying houses today tend to be planning to stay for at least five to seven years (ancedotally). More buyers are asking to go green.

The Blue Ridge Eco Shop didn’t exist a couple of years ago, neither did Cville Enviro or the Better World Betty site. These places came to existence because the market demanded their services.

The market is moving beyond individual green products and into the realm of green developments - because the market is demanding LEED-certified Neighborhood Developments (although I’d argue that LEED-ND has not yet reached mainstream vernacular)

Courtesy of the National Association of Realtors’ On Common Ground magazine* -

Experts interviewed for this article were unanimous on one point: collecting green-certified houses into a conventional subdivision on a former farm fi eld at the edge of the metro area would not a green neighborhood make. Beyond that, there was little unanimity.

Some argue that the criteria for a green neighborhood are fairly well satisfi ed by building according to the principles of smart growth. That means conserving land, focusing development first in areas that are already developed, providing transportation options other than cars, and creating mixed-use development that makes neighborhoods compact and walkable. Others say that smart growth, as it is typically discussed, does not quite touch all the bases of sustainability.

Others suggest that building green neighborhoods means following the old environmental mantra: Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Reduce the land consumed, the miles traveled by car and the consumption of energy. Reuse the buildings and infrastructure of existing neighborhoods, use waste as a source of energy, and reuse “gray” water to maintain landscaping. Recycle building materials, and even the land itself—the post-industrial brownfi elds and fallow parking-lot “grayfi elds” around defunct shopping centers.

For proof that “Smart” Growth is mainstream, check out this partnership that defies presumptions about Realtors always wanting to build, build, build at all costs -

Those are some of the results of the 2007 Growth and Transportation survey sponsored by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and Smart Growth America.

My prediction - in five years (or sooner) Earthcraft will be the de facto standard for building quality. That, and the Charlottesville/Central Virginia region needs to work on building transit infrastructure now.

Interesting related article - The Green Housing Boom, courtesy of Fast Company

* I requested a few extra copies of this publication because I thought it was such a great issue. If you’re in Charlottesville and would like a copy, please let me know. Otherwise you can download the entire issue here.

Search for homes in Belvedere.

July 2, 2008 | Filed Under Albemarle, Charlottesville, Green, Regional, Transportation | 2 Comments 

Should Charlottesville be like Austin or Aspen?

(Gary) Henry, a Board member of the Charlottesville Business Innovation Council, is continuing his efforts to call attention to a fork in the road that he sees approaching for the area’s future; one branch leading to an economically and culturally diverse city with a healthy middle class (Austin), the other leading to a ritzy retirement and tourism community where only the wealthy can afford to live (Aspen).

My vote is for Austin. Read more and watch his presentation at Charlottesville Tomorrow.

June 28, 2008 | Filed Under Albemarle, Charlottesville, Regional | 3 Comments 

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