It’s up. Check it out for a European perspective.
Date Archives September 2006
Prioritize the students!
University students feel put upon and under-prioritized:Charlottesville politicians are notoriously leftist. … In an interview with The Cavalier Daily a few months ago, Charlottesville City Councilor Blake Caravati stated that City Council cares far more about family units than for student housing. … But City Council has worked tirelessly to block as much new construction as possible with encumbering regulations. This has ensured stratospheric rent and housing prices.But … what does all this data mean?The city’s Department of Neighborhood Development Services will present a report to the City Council on Tuesday that outlines just how rapid the pace of construction has been and how rapid it will remain in the coming years.The report should prove enlightening. I for one am looking forward to it.
Labor Day
Labor Day:Labor Day is the celebration of the value and dignity of work, and its role in the American way of life.I have an 11 o’clock (marketing presentation), a one o’clock (write an offer) and a three o’clock (take photos for a new listing). And then input another new listing. It’s a Labor Day, alright. 🙂 More reading on Labor Day here and here.
Mass transit = inefficency
Via Digg:There are plenty of good reasons to encourage mass transit, but arguments about the hidden costs of the automobile fall on deaf ears because people, unconsciously or not, factor time and convenience into their decision making. The average driver knows perfectly well why she drives.The cost of a transportation system is first of all, any flat fare…. Then there’s a cost per mile (call it C) and the mileage (M). The value of your time we can call S (salary per hour), and the time it takes to travel is T…. Time will be mileage divided by your speed (V), so we have Cost = F + CM + SM/V = F + M(C + S/V). We can see that cost increases with mileage (obviously), high time value (every minute traveling costs more) and low speeds.This is a pretty interesting article, and provides some chewy food for thought…. Until mass transit can provide real efficiency, it’s doomed (in addition to many of the other reasons). I am glad that there are people out there who write papers like this.
I haven’t heard this in five years
I have been licensed in the real estate business for over five years and until yesterday, had never heard this phrase uttered by buyer clients in the Charlottesville area: I don’t know – there’s just so much to choose from.We are in a different market, folks.
Simple fuel analysis
One thing that I do for clients is fuel analysis and cost of travel. For those who choose to live in say, Buckingham and commute to Charlottesville, they may be better suited living closer and paying a bit more for a house rather than paying less for a house and paying much more for fuel. This site (via Digg) is going to make that analysis a touch easier.
Great questions for a Seller to ask Their Realtor
Some outstanding questions for Charlottesville home sellers to ask their potential Realtor representation, from how many homes do you sell each year, to how would you recommend we spend $2K to get our home ready for the market?