I was asked recently to write an article for the “Ask the Expert” column for The HooK. The first time, I wrote a decent, un-opinonated column. One could call it “pedantic.” It wasn’t me. It…
Date Archives July 2006
July Newsletter is out!
The July Newsletter is out. Please email me if you would like a copy.
All press is good press
I was recently interviewed by Jessica Swesey of Inman News for a story on real estate blogging success stories. I steadfastly hesitate to call my blogging experience a success. My blogging and career remain a constant work in progress. As soon as I get permission, I will post a link. Noah Rosenblat, also interviewed, said:”It always takes a lot more time to do than anyone thinks. The key is good content; there’s got to be a reason to come back,” he said. His theory for good content? Tell it like it is and always be honest.It is an odd experience to see my name and quotations in the same article as Robert Scoble, of Microsoft fame.
Geocoding public notices
A recent discussion at realcrozetva got me thinking – how difficult (read: how much would it cost?) would it be to geocode public zoning notices?A common question asked of me is – what’s going to happen to that field/woods/old house?… My second response is (by way of risk management and a need to be the “source of the source” rather than the “source”) is to direct my clients to the appropriate locality’s zoning department. Even zoning departments, however, cannot see into the future or guess with 100% accuracy as to whether a certain project will be approved or not. Albemarle’s Zoning Notice search page is detailed, but they charge a separate fee for GIS data.The City of Charlottesville’s new website is terrible, but I finally got here.Fluvanna has a nice GIS implementation.Great post on geocoding at RCGWhat if the a potential buyer or resident was able to do a proximity search from his or her address and search for zoning notices? Look at any and all zoning/public notices within a 2 mile radius of his home or business?… While we’re at it, why not provide crime data in an open format that is accessible and usable?I was smarter, I’d figure out Yahoo’s Geocoding API. It looks straight-forward and simple, I just can’t put it together.
Vacant Homes in Charlottesville & Albemarle
There are almost 1200 residential properties actively on the market in CharlAlbemarle. Almost 400 of these show as vacant, almost 300 of these are vacant homes are new construction. For the entire market area, there are about 2,000 homes on the market, 600 of which are vacant, 450 of which are new construction.Vacant homes on the market used to be rare. Now, not so much. Anecdotally, it feels like there are more vacant homes on the market than (almost) ever before. I know that we have more inventory that we have seen in some time. The vacancy rate means that Sellers are 1)confident that their houses will sell, 2) they are able to carry two mortgages or 3) they are holding their breaths and hoping, with fingers crossed, that an offer will come in.*Numbers used are mostly accurate, depending on the GIGO principle.
Sunday reading
Affordable housing and the World CupWe must see affordable housing not as charity but as investment in our nation’s future, in its capacity to assimilate and uplift and transform. Are “New Villages” next? Sounds like a rehashing of New Urbanism to me. Without efficient and affordable transit, this will remain a pie in the sky dream for our region.The Eastern Connector moves along – at a pace matched only by a wounded snail. More on this (and other) road at CvilleTomorrow.Might a similar ‘graph be written about the Central Virginia market?In some cases, short-term investors are lowering prices, worried about facing rising mortgage costs if they can’t flip properties quickly. … “The slowdown is occurring as developers put a growing volume of new units on the market.” …Environmentalism is hot.
Real estate is local (and regional)
As our region has grown and stretched itself wide, the need to join more data aggregators has similarly expanded. For this reason, I have just joined the Staunton/Augusta (Waynesboro) MLS. This is in addition to the Charlottesville area MLS and the Northern VA MLS, which includes Greene, Madison and Orange. With all of this overlap and extraordinary business expense, I would gleefully welcome a regional aggregator! One or two closings a year per MLS, and I’ve paid my dues.