Category Archives: Greene
Greene County Townhome Inventory to increase by 500+
When Greene County gets its 500+ townhomes, it will increase the number of attached housing in that county by many orders of magnitude. Townhomes in Northern Albemarle – Hollymead, Forest Lakes, Abington Place, Riverwood will be impacted by the entrance – and prospective entrance – of these homes to the real estate market.
For context, a quick look at the Charlottesville Area MLS shows that:
Over the past 21 years (in the MLS which is “accurate enough” for these purposes:
Greene County Schools’ Growth
Harrisonburg City grew by an astounding 4.59%, but we outpaced Albemarle, Charlottesville, Louisa, Madison, Orange, Fluvanna, Rockingham, Staunton, and Nelson.
…I suppose that quite a bit of that growth can be attributed to NGIC/DIA as well as the fact that now that Greene has a Lowe’s and Super Wal-Mart people are more inclined to stay in Greene rather than always have to go to Charlottesville. Also, I’d bet that that Hollymead Town Center – Harris Teeter and Target – derives a fair amount of their traffic from southern Greene County.
…If you want a small farm to keep a pony for the kids or a nice vegetable garden, going north may be the answer. Continue reading
What a Difference Four Years Make
In June 2005, I wrote:
Tuesday dozens of people showed up for the groundbreaking of Greene County’s first active adult community. The community will have more than 500 lots and will include a 16,000 sq. ft. clubhouse. Project mangers believe the community will be an asset for the county. From WCAV.
Age-restricted communities are sorely lacking in our market. I receive a request from buyers for this type of community at least twice a month. These communities have the potential to be a fantastic asset to our region. Seniors typically bring affluence, knowledge and no drain on community resources;
Where to Search for Rentals in Charlottesville
Courtesy of the C-Ville blog citing a newsletter from the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors – All those home builders banking on selling houses to new National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC) employees may be in for a rude awakening.
… Posts of enduring interest for buyers This is where I point prospective buyers/renters – the rental market is far more fragmented with the “for sale” market – The HooK’s classifieds C-Ville’s classifieds Daily Progress Blue Ridge Apartment Council Craigslist Charlottesville MLS While I make my living representing buyers and seller clients, often it is in their best interest to rent for at least six months to get a feel of the area, a lay-of-the-land, if you will. Continue reading
Better to Beg Forgiveness Than Ask Permission
With ceilings placed higher than the storage space maximum, the basements become a new floor on the buildings that could be occupied for future offices, thus requiring Wood to build 200 additional parking spaces , or seek a waiver from that standard. … Because we have heard storage is actually laboratory space as well, so we are trying to get a better handle on what the real use of this space is,” said Graham. Continue reading
2nd Quarter Market Update for Charlottesville Region
I’m not saying that we haven’t hit the bottom, but that calling it as such with so many unknowns and new variables in the equation would be the wrong thing to do right now, despite Lawrence Yun’s statement – ” Without Forecasts, we don’t look credible .” The Realtor update (1): 1st half 2005 : 115 had more than ten sides, 296 had more than five sides, 679 had at least one, with about five hundred or so not having a single transaction 1st half 2006 : 107 had more than ten sides, 285 had more than five sides, 740 had at least one, about four hundred fifty not having one. 1st half 2007 : 73 had more than ten sides, 232 had more than five, 687 had at least one, about four hundred with zero 1st half 2008 : 44 had more than ten sides, 169 had more than five, 619 had had least one, leaving about seven hundred with zero transactions so far this year. (out of 1201 sold residential properties) From the DP on Saturday : Many real estate agents may not manage to weather the moribund market before it solidly rebounds, Savage said. Continue reading
One of the differences between Albemarle and Greene Counties
Albemarle County has an Architectural Review Board that micromanages minutiae.Greene County does not.Both Wal-Mart and Lowe’s said they will begin building their new stores there in the spring and fall, respectively. They will serve as anchors for the Gateway Center, a new retail shopping center in Greene County.Unlike other shopping centers, there isn’t an artist’s rendering available for the Gateway Center; the future of the site’s appearance depends on which businesses move in….“There will be space for smaller retail stores to lease, but the exact location and design have yet to be determined,” Hughes said….Officials know the layout of the site, said Steve Catalano, chairman of the Greene County Board of Supervisors. However, the county doesn’t have an architectural control committee….Catalano said the board did request that the site have “a tasteful appearance.”… The closest “big-box” stores are in Culpeper, about 45 minutes north and Charlottesville, about 20-30 minutes south. 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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