Category Archives: Louisa
April 2012 Charlottesville Real Estate Market Report
Highlights:
- Days on Market (an inherently flawed data point) are down in Charlottesville, Albemarle and Fluvanna.
- Average Sales prices are down (not surprising)
- Total sales across the MSA are down (not surprising)
Thoughts/initial conclusions:
- More buyers are looking to be closer in/closer to stuff
- Good properties are selling and selling quickly
- Interest rates remain low – a good thing for buyers.
- I think we may have pulled the spring market forward a bit; the early spring may have pulled transactions into the earlier months of the year.
Dead simple Takeaways:
- Buyers: do your due diligence, don’t let emotion enter the equation and make sound, rationale decisions with the intent of holding the property for at least five to seven years
- Sellers: do your due diligence and realize that buyers most often don’t have to buy, but want to buy – it’s your job to make them want to buy your house. This means: price, presentation, perfection … and a great location and setting.
Vacant Homes in Charlottesville MSA – 2012 Update
I’ve tracked the housing vacancy rate for homes actively on the market in the Charlottesville MSA irregularly over the past several years; it’s an indicator as to the health of the housing market. More occupied homes = a healthier market.
The last time I checked, the percent of homes on the market in the Charlottesville MLS that showed as being “vacant” in the showing instructions was about 22%. In 2008, that percentage was about 33%. In 2007, that percentage was 36%!
Right now, there are:
- 2271 residential properties marked as “active” in the MLS
- 525 … Continue reading…
Lake Anna Nuclear Plant set to Reopen Soon
The earthquake on 23 August of this year shut down the Lake Anna nuclear plant. And it’s still offline.
After a public hearing last night, NRC says start up “could be authorized as soon as next week.” They can provide no specific date. #NorthAnna
Tammy Purcell wrote a very well researched story last week about the history of the Lake Anna nuclear plant; it’s highly recommended reading.
Tammy’s been providing much of my knowledge regarding the plant, via Twitter. Continue reading
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
Connected communities
As our region continues to grow, each area has its own perspective on how to handle growth – Orange County – Resident, after resident, after resident lined up to speak in strong disapproval to the proposed Annandale development. The 244 acre site would sit just outside of Gordonsville and house nearly 500 single family homes for people ages 55 and up. Some residents felt this many homes could destroy the small town feel.Nelson County – In addressing Nellysford, Rue said there could be three routes taken to complete the plan. They include long-term transportation and business growth, a focus of safety issues on Virginia 151 or a plan that looks at safety as well as business growth.Louisa County: questions are raised regarding the mixed-use implementation as they revise their Comprehensive Plan – The suggested changes would define “very low density residential development” as one dwelling unit per acre and “low density residential development” as up to two dwelling units per acre. High density residential development would be defined as more than six units per acre…. (and one person remarked) “If [one house per acre] is very low density,” she said, “I don’t know what life is going to be like around here.”What if a rural county wants to maintain its rural character? And one of my favorites comes from Trish, who laments the changing landscape of the CharlAlbemarle area – Why do we have to completely strip the land to build anything?… The land-use decisions in Louisa will impact the real estate market in CharlAlbemarle – if more people are able to comfortably buy, live and work in Louisa, perhaps fewer people will move to CharlAlbemarle.
Continue reading
Local housing market review
The DP has two interesting articlesDavid Hendrick provides a good analysis of the local market and its prospects for the upcoming year. Charlottesville is unique, for a variety of reasons. One of which is – “Charlottesville is a destination area,” said Casey Dawkins, director of the Virginia Center for Housing Research. “It seems to be the case that there is still potential for growth.”…”Virginia is one of a few states where you see dramatic regional difference,” Dawkins said. “Charlottesville will probably continue to grow, as will Richmond. For the rest of the state I would anticipate smaller increases.”On the flip side, if people cannot afford to live in Louisa, traditionally one of the more affordable counties, where can they afford?
Continue reading
Population increases (shocking!)
The Weldon Cooper Center has released a study showing population increases throughout the Commonwealth. The Thomas Jefferson Planning District (our region) has seen a fairly significant increase in its population – 7.5%.Albemarle has seen a provisional change of 7.4%.Charlottesville – .5%Greene – 11.2%Fluvanna – 24.4%Louisa – 12.1%Nelson – 4.2%The above numbers are the total percentages, combining the natural increases and the change due to migration. Continue reading
Growth, politics and the market (morning reading)
Tom McCrystal has a nice post.Conserve energy.The NYTimes causes a stir this morning with a report on the housing market.Greene faces its future with their Board of Supervisors elections.Development issues in Louisa and Fluvanna.Everything in this region always comes down to money, politics and growth. Continue reading
