Tag Archives: 22932
Coaching Soccer This Spring. Again.
Easy: When we bought our home several years ago, one of my requirements wishes was that we live close to a soccer field. … At the time, I was coaching my older daughter as she began her U-8 soccer career, and I was (and am still) playing in an adult soccer league. … Coaching soccer is one of the ways I choose to participate in my community, and more importantly, my kids’ lives. Seeing the kids in the hallways of the schools, in coffee shops, in grocery stores, and knowing that for that little time of their lives, I had a impact, is something I encourage every parent to do. Continue reading
Would you close Rural Post Offices?
Not to mention to say how much money they could save if they closed the Afton, Greenwood, and other small offices they have around the area and concentrated the operations for Western Albemarle at the Crozet office.
The Charlottesville processing facility closed early in 2010 , but as of yet (to my knowledge) none of the small rural post offices have closed.
…I indifferently avoid the post office, and find that my local coffee shops provide the hub that I seek, but I wouldn’t seek to draw conclusions solely from my perspective.
… View Larger Map Driving Directions Related reading : – New Census Figures Mean Rural Areas Lose Clout – Mapping Virginia’s Human Settlement Patterns – Rural town fears US Postal Service cuts * Unrelated note: I wish I could embed the Post Office’s map , but now Bing is Continue reading
Talking about the Charlottesville Real Estate Market – WNRN Radio 9 January 2011
If you are interested in – whether from a buyer, seller, voyeur, moving to Charlottesville perspective, I highly encourage you to listen to this hour of radio Matt Hodges and me as we discuss the Charlottesville real estate market, national trends affecting all of us, and what the conversation may mean to you, the real estate consumer. … Some of the stories to come: One of the best parts of doing radio shows is that I always generate new ideas to write about. – Top 10 most popular neighborhoods in the area; I’m finalizing the methodology for how this will be determined, so I won’t promise the publication date. – An expansion on the nomadic class. – The internet’s/telecommuting’s impact on attracting people to the Charlottesville area. … Title issues, conveyance of title, property ownership – I think this is going to be a huge story in 2011. – Mobility – many of today’s potential homeowners are choosing to not buy because they want to have options. – QE2 – DIA and NGIC – their impact on the Charlottesville real estate market; in short, they they provided a stabilizing force. – Loan Level Pricing Adjustments – what does this mean to homebuyers?
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– Foreclosure rate for the Charlottesville MSA – Majority of Virginians oppose gas-tax increase – Town hall to discuss Hollymead development area expansion – Realtors’ response to Mortgage Interest Deduction – Commentary: Mortgage Interest and Real Estate Tax Deduction Facts – Facing Scrutiny, Banks Slow Pace of Foreclosures – Homeownership is not a must . Continue reading
Holiday Things to do in Charlottesville
We saw Elf at the Paramount last week; it’s great experience to see a movie here. (parents can get beer, too!)
… 5 December – Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Year Without Santa Claus – at the Paramount
… Today through 2 January – The Twelve Dates of Christmas, The Santaland Diaries, A Christmas Carol – at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton Cut your own Christmas Tree ; ( try this site too ) sadly, the farm where I cut down trees when I was a kid is now a subdivision in Earlysville . Find out more Christmas/Hanukkah/Holiday events at Albemarle Family , Suzy Said , And finally – the rumors swirl each year –
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Can Crozet have Three Centers?
Downtown Crozet needs to do something to combat the challenges put forth by: – The 250 West Corridor – Anytime Fitness, Harris Teeter, medical and dental offices, restaurants, office space … residential housing … – Old Trail Village – ACAC Fitness, Trailside Coffee, restaurants, Augusta Medical facility, Advanced Center for Physical Therapy (awesome place – they helped me rehab my ankle after a soccer injury) … residential housing in Old Trail Village .
…A group that oversees planning in Crozet has endorsed a new concept to redevelop a lumber yard on the Square into a walkable and livable community similar to Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall.
…“This is a very small scale, a version of that, but what it does create is the ability to have a gathering space and some place where people love to go [in] Crozet.”
… “From [research and development] business to office space, restaurants, retail [and] some housing,” Roell said, “it will provide a variety of opportunities for people to locate their businesses, live, work, play and entertain each other.”
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When Evaluating the Charlottesville Real Estate Market, IGNORE National Data
Take your lede : – Home sales up 14% in Charlottesville and Albemarle year over year. – Home sales up 19% in Charlottesville MSA year over year. – Foreclosures continue to climb in Charlottesville and Albemarle. – Questions abound regarding second half of 2010; where will we find the bottom of the market? – If you have questions about or would like more detailed analysis, please contact me.
…Simple (though notsoumuch in reality) What I’m reading: – Harvard’s State of the Nation’s Housing Market (PDF) and listening to an excellent podcast with Nicholas Retsinas , Director, Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies . (did you know that there was an exhibit at the Smithsonian on McMansions ?) – Core Logic’s Home Price Index Report for April 2010 – Virginia’s Housing Price Index, for single family homes year-over-year, is up 6.5%; for single family homes excluding distressed properties, is up 3.6%. Virginia is one of the five best states for year-over-year price appreciation excluding distressed sales .. but mostly that’s irrelevant in my opinion as the bulk of those sales are most likely comprised of Northern Virginia sales. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s House Price Index for First Quarter 2010 The FHFA (formerly OFHEO) say that in the Charlottesville MSA house prices have dropped 6.98% year over year, 1.86& in the 1st Quarter 2010, and have appreciated 12.68% over the past 5 years .
… Home Sales are Up 19% year over year in the Charlottesville MSA: 
Homes sales are UP 14% in Charlottesville and Albemarle : 
One point: Charlottesville’s Unemployment is lower than the national average. 
Prime example of the irrelevance of national, aggregate housing data, which is good only for political talking points and respective agendas: Foreclosure starts for the nation and Charlottesville and Albemarle: National foreclosure data, courtesy of the HUD Scorecard, using RealtyTrac data: 
For Charlottesville, using RealtyTrac : 
For Albemarle County, using RealtyTrac: 
What have median home prices done in Charlottesville over the past five years? Continue reading
Will Crozet Have a Parade this year?
Volunteers wanted . Continue reading
Old Trail Sales Up Year over Year. Really.
Inspired by this article in the Crozet Gazette , NBC 29 reported yesterday that home sales in Old Trail Village are up significantly this year . It’s not spin , it’s true , backed by data (see below). I have clients who saw the value in Old Trail (and I’d like to have more 
) I’m through Old Trail nearly every day and I have been tracking the progress made on the townhomes built by Craig Builders … I find new construction – the pace, the timeline, the fact that a bazillion pieces get put together and they happen to result in a house – fascinating.
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