Category Archives: Charlottesville
There is No “New Normal” in the Real Estate Market
“Normal” is “now”.
- Human settlement patterns (where people are living and working)
- Gas prices
- Expectation of permanence/transience
- Interest rates
- Property tax rates
- Monetary supply
- The internet’s availability and impact
Those are just a few of the ways that 1999 differs from 2011, and makes application of “normal” challenging.
Here’s something that hasn’t changed – people need homes. Buying a house is a choice, and one that comes with greater responsibility than renting – you’re accepting on the maintenance, the permanence, the mortgage, the community, the risk. If you’re not ready for those, don’t buy a house. If you’re ready to buy a home, do your due diligence and consider it.
“New normal” is a shifting term, applicable to virtually every evolving industry.
Heck, I’ve been seeking “new normal” for years.
But I thought I’d look at the data and briefly compare the 1999 Charlottesville area real estate market with the 2011 one … keeping in mind that so many things are different, thus negating in a lot of ways the comparisons.
Determining Broadband Availability in the Charlottesville MSA
For many of my clients, particularly those who work at home, internet is a more important service that water or electricity. The internet is mission- and life- critical for many people
A reader asks –
Hi, Jim: I’m amazed and annoyed that most listings do not mention internet service, nor do RE sites include that information as a search parameter. Knowing the availability – and speed – of internet connection is especially necessary when seeking a home outside Charlottesville. Short of investigating through local ISP’s for particular addresses or neighborhoods, do you have any suggestion? I do not trust sellers or, frankly, seller’s agents, to know or tell the truth.
In the Charlottesville area, the City of Charlottesville and the urban ring definitely* have broadband connectivity, as do many (most?) of the more densely-populated areas of Greene, Louisa, Louisa. * Definitely = 99% sure.
My suggestions and insight to ascertain broadband connectivity in the Charlottesville area:
1a – Ask your buyer broker. A good one is going to know with reasonable accuracy whether an area is likely to have internet service.
1b – If you’re really interested, the only way to ensure there is broadband service is to contact the service provider. In the Charlottesville MSA, we have Comcast, Embarq, Blue Ridge Internetworks, Verizon in some of the outlying areas, and a couple smaller fiber providers. *Nelson County just lost some broadband connectivity.
2 – A note to listing agents: when a buyer asks, “does this house have internet?” they aren’t asking about Wildblue or dial-up.
3 – I’ve asked the fine folks who power the “search for homes” feature of my site to add internet availability as a search option, but here’s the problem: GIGO. Just last year, the Charlottesville MLS added “internet availability” to the list of features listing agents can select, joining the ranks of # of bedrooms, # of bathrooms, acreage, etc.
But … As “internet availability” isn’t a required field in the MLS, it’s liable to be left out. And as we all know – if it’s blank, it’s not searchable. Thus, the search and results will be inaccurate, not useful, frustrating and bad for everyone – buyers searching, sellers trying to sell and agents running real estate blogs. 
4 – To the trust aspect – get a good buyer broker who you can trust. I’ll address this aspect in more detail with clients. As clients said recently about the photos some realtors take to market their properties – “All pictures tell a story, and some aren’t true.”
5 – I wish that the internet service providers would offer maps and overlays to let people determine where service is, but presumably that information is a competitive thing for them. Continue reading
Ashamed For UVA and Their “Honor”
Charlottesville’s New “Whiskey Jar”
Coming soon to the former Escafé space on the Downtown Mall … The Whiskey Jar.
Soul food, fried chicken, collards, jazz bands and more I”m sure … targeting 1 February as the opening date.
I’m hungry already. Continue reading
Song Song’s Zhou & Bing on the Downtown Mall
A friend said today, “if you don’t walk the Downtown Mall for two weeks, you’re toast!”
And it’s true.
We tried Song Song’s Zhou & Bing today (the HooK had a nice story yesterday) – and I’ll say this – it’s inexpensive – my meal was $4.50 for the 10 Grain Sweet Zhou (sorta like porridge) and a Vegi Bing (sorta like a stuffed fried pancake).
Try it. It’s good.
Belmont is One of America’s Best “Secret Neighborhoods”
Now: Converted riverside mills, restored Victorian bungalows, and a central location primed this historic district to be the city’s hottest new hood. Más restaurant’s open-air deck and Spanish tapas like creamy croquetas de jamón first lured crowds from nearby downtown in 2001.
A point of clarification: Belmont’s not new. And I’m not sure who thinks Belmont is a “secret.”
I’ve written about Belmont a few times over the past few years, most recently when I noted the opening of The Farm; it’s a cool neighborhood close to many of things that draw people to … Continue reading…
How to Sell a House in 21 Days
I started to write this post in early November, soon after my clients and I ratified the contract on their house and right about when the story was published on the Newsplex. I almost didn’t do the Newsplex story.* (see the end of this post for the rationale)
A few of my rules for real estate:
“Under Contract” ≠ “Sold”:
- “Under Contract” means: “we need to get through the loan application, loan commitment (including appraisal), home inspection and any other contingencies.
Most importantly – What did we do to get a contract on this house in three weeks? Put simply:
1: My clients worked hard. For a long time; we met last year and discussed strategies for getting their home ready to put on the market, the value of pricing the home right, what they needed to do and what I needed to do to prepare for the marketing of their home.
2: We priced it right; tracking the real estate market, the sold competition and most importantly, the active and under contract competition.
3: We worked the first offer we got. One of the real estate truisms is that the first offer is usually the best offer; you might not get another offer.
4: We got lucky with the buyer’s agent; she’s one of the best in the area and that was one of the factors we evaluated when evaluating the offer. I’m probably going to touch on this aspect in a later, separate post, but the quality and competence of the opposing real estate agent matters. If I can advise my clients that there is a reasonable expectation that the transaction will go relatively smoothly in part because the other agent agent is competent, that’s a serious component we evaluate. (as a contrast, if I don’t know or trust the other agent, that’s a factor as well)
5: My clients worked really, really hard and were realistic about the market and their expectations. I can’t emphasize this one enough. Selling a house is hard work – for the sellers and their representation. Being willing and able to work, be realistic and reasonable is invaluable.
6: Lastly – price absolutely matters, but it’s not always the most important factor. (as an aside, my feelings from the linked post regarding other agents’ competencies have shifted quite dramatically as I have gained much more experience; when I wrote that I had been in the business just over three years; now I’m entering my 11th year)
