General Real Estate
Interest rates may be considered high … if you look at a very short-term window. When my parents were selling real estate in early ’80s, rates were in the 17-19% range. Ranting about 6.5% seems a bit … silly. Rates have actually dropped a little bit in the past few days (not reflected in the graph below because the reduction is statistically small, and December’s data is not included – on average from 6.28% to 6.26%)
30 Year fixed rate mortgages, 2001-2005
30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgages, Month-by-Month 2005
Rates are still very, very low. The housing market in the Charlottesville/Central VA region remains very strong with some clear signs of a Buyers’ market emerging. So long as rates stay in the single digits, I expect the housing market to remain strong. Housing will (and needs to) return to being regarded as 1) a home and 2) a relatively long-term investment.
Source: Freddie Mac (no longer available)
5 year ARM
Interested in Learning More?
Jim Duncan has been helping buyers and sellers in Charlottesville’s neighborhoods for 25 years. Get local insight born of experience.
Dig Deeper
Revisiting the “0 to 5 Buyer is Gone” Post – 15 years later
Revisiting the “0-5 Buyer Is Gone” Theory We’re in a different market now. Some of the people who bought between 2021 and 2024 are trying to sell — and the ones who bought new construction, now competing against new construction, are having a hard time.…
A Charlottesville e-bike Success Story
I have an e-bike. I love my e-bike. I ride it to meetings all over the City of Charlottesville instead of driving my car. e-bikes are great. A friend got an e-bike. He loves his e-bike. He has a different perspective, and I asked him…
Flipping the Switch, Part 3: ADUs, Zoning, and the Practical Guide
Flipping the Switch, Part 3: ADUs, Zoning, and the Practical Guide Part 1 covered the data. Part 2 covered the design. This week: the regulatory landscape, the ADU reality check, and the practical checklist. The ADU Conversation Has Changed When I wrote about this in…
Happy Homeownership Day (on a bicycle)
A good day starts with a bike ride. A better day starts with a bike ride to meet clients for a final walkthrough of their first home. Smile, happiness, projects to be undertaken, projects to be planned, lives to be lived. It's a good day.…