Category Archives: Fluvanna
Higher Loan Limits for the Charlottesville MSA
The national loan limits for Freddie and Fannie remain at $417,000, but because we are in a “high cost” area, our limits have been expanded to $437,000. … Now, the very good news is that FHA has raised their limits to $417,000 nationwide and $437,000 locally ( Charlottesville, Albemarle, Greene, Fluvanna, Nelson (excel file). Continue reading
The Toy Lift in Charlottesville
If you would like to donate a toy to the lift before Dec. 5th the early drop off locations are: Anytime Fitness – Crozet , CVaMP , Creative Press, Gold’s Gym , The Running Company, Seminole Total Health , Wilson School of Dance or you may email me for pick up service.
…– Kids Lift Foundation Toy Lift / Books Lift Kids PO Box 6762 Charlottesville, VA 22906 (434) 975-TOYS info@kidslift.org www.kidslift.org” * Even if I didn’t believe in the Toy Lift, I’d be writing about it – my wife is on their Board. Continue reading
Charlottesville Area Market Update – June 2008
——————————- The Agent Update In 2007: From January through the end of May, 158 Realtors had more than 5 sides 45 had more than 10, and about 700 had not had one transaction In 2008: From January through the end of May, 74 have had more than 5 sides 24 have had more than 10, about 900 have not had one transaction Any Realtor who is not at least a little bit concerned about survival either isn’t paying attention or isn’t a full-time Realtor. … I didn’t know how long we’ve been in this cycle until I referred to this story – Sold Comps now matter less – from February 2007; and was a bit shocked that it had been so long since I had written it. 2005 
2006 
2007 
2008 
——————————- Median Prices of sold properties* – May 2008 – $274,000 May 2007 – $287,000 May 2006 – $264,000 May 2005 – $255,000 May 2004 – $227,998 ——————————- Outlook/projections : I have been saying that the recovery is nine to eighteen months away for nine to eighteen months. Continue reading
3rd Quarter Market report for Charlottesville area real estate market
Prices are falling in many markets, which complicates the delinquency equation as many mortgages continue to reset at higher rates and higher monthly payments.The new Charlottesville report seems to have less spin than many of the previous ones, which is beneficial to everybody – buyers and seller, the public, the media and the Realtors (and their credibility).One aspect of the report that needs clarification is this – when looking at non-locality-specific numbers, the numbers they use are for the entire MLS, not just our market area, which I have noted several times before skews the numbers.In the City of Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson Counties, as of 14 October, 2007:There are 2,492 properties actively on the market right now.2,444 properties have sold since the first of the year…. There are 367 homes under $200k on the market (and I don’t have the ability to do the average DOM for that many properties) and there are 170 homes over one million dollars on the market.A few choice quotes from the report, decidedly un-spun:In the early part of the decade, we saw extremely low inventory levels of around 4 or 5 months of supply…. Prices will continue to rise slowly and inventory will continue to be the big story in the market.Take note: the lenders do not consider the Charlottesville area a “declining market,” which is declared after a market has witnessed several consecutive quarterly declines. From an email from one of the lenders with whom I work : Northern Virginia is getting hammered; these counties are listed as being “declining markets” – Fairfax, Arlington, Clarke, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Warren, Fauquier, Prince William, Loudoun, Including the following cities: Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Manassas Park – sharing the page with Florida and California.
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Houses are selling!
Removing condos from the equation – In Charlottesville/Albemarle/Fluvanna/Greene:141 properties sold in October 2006…. 196 in October 2004 and 194 in October 2003. Putting condos back in the mix, as they have become the de facto choice for many seeking affordable housing, the numbers change a bit:161 properties sold in October 2006…. 197 in October 2004 and 196 in October 2003.
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Central Virginia development moves on
The traffic study work session next month should be interesting.As always, Cvilletomorrow has much more information as well as a podcast of the planning commission’s meeting.Wal-mart is finally coming to Greene County!… There has been much discussion locally about the merits of Wal-mart, but I do know that my clients in Greene will welcome this addition to their community. Soon they won’t have to go to Culpeper or CharlAlbemarle, Yesterday at an open house for a new development, I was interested to see that their solution, as approved by the County, to the affordable housing situation is to provide affordable “accessory apartments…. More at the County’s website.Fluvanna’s clustering is moving forward and Daniel has his thoughts on the newest Fluvanna development.Housing inventory is up, but development plugs on, and for many, that’s a good thing.
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Housing numbers are down
And inventory is up.
Rates are low.
Home price appreciation is slowing.
Inventory is up. Significantly.
note: as soon as I figure out how to upload an image via coding, rather than depending on my normal program, I will.
Regarding NAR’s press release: They have an obligation to present the facts, and their best opinions. Everybody has opinions and interpretation of data. Assumptions and conclusions may (and usually do) differ.
Take this for example:
Total existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – dipped 1.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.18 million units in
Market Data for July 2006
The past few months have seen some significant changes in our market. It’s not just the interest rates, though – they’ve actually gone down a bit of late…. *Active in July 2005: 456Active in July 2006: 418% change: -8.33%Contingent: -16.74%Pending: -29.31%Sold: -20.02%In short – the market has slowed…. Surprisingly, there were fewer properties on the market in July 2006 versus July 2005, but fewer of those are going under contract. The greatest jump in new-to-the-market inventory was in the second quarter of this year…. From an aggregate point of view, May, June and July – There were nearly 4% more properties on the market for this time period in 2006 when contrasted with 2005, yet not nearly as many going under contract. March/June/JulyActive: 3.82%Contingent: -2.32%Pending: -13.48%Sold: -5.62%Bottom line (except for the *): Real estate remains a wise investment. Everybody’s expectations need to be re-evaluated: buyers have time to decide, sellers need patience and agents need educating.*these are only for those properties in CharlAlbemarle, Fluvanna and Greene.
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