With all the talk about Google’s winning the battle of real estate search, the thing that irks me the most is the consensus that their victory is inevitable. Without competition, complacency reigns. Witness the fragmentation and loss of relevance that MLS’s are experiencing.I’m not saying that Google’s not going to win; I just don’t want to hand them the blue ribbon now – if they earn it, we may all benefit. They are constantly winning battles, but without competition from Trulia, Zillow, RealestateABC, ShackPrices, where would they be?
Date Archives January 2007
Gov. Kaine’s Transportation package
Provisions would ensure that roads are well built and, where appropriate, properly integrated with adjacent development before the state accepts the responsibility to maintain them.Note the changes to this bill introduced by Del…. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, any local ordinance, or any provision of Title 15.2 (§ 15.2-100 et seq.), on and after January 1, 2008, no street or road or any portion thereof in any county shall be taken into the state secondary highway system for maintenance purposes unless it is within an area under the control of a homeowners association. However, nothing in this subsection shall be construed as requiring or permitting the levying of any fee, charge, or assessment, however denominated, by any homeowners association on any member of the association for the purpose of maintaining, repairing, constructing, or reconstructing any street or road or portion thereof. The county in which they are located shall be responsible for streets and roads not taken into the state secondary highway system.Pay attention, folks – 6 days until the General Assembly reconvenes!
Links for 3 January 2007
How to fight.Gorgeous pictures of soccer fields (HT: growabrain)Too many RealtorsTime-based Zoning takes a blow in GreeneVista is going to jumpstart blogs and RSS…. I am currently using Neo Office, and it’s just fine, thank you. As is Google Docs.Survey shows the parts of the City of Charlottesville in which residents feel safer(er).Wal-mart pushing fluorescent bulbs and they may institute congestion scheduling for their workers – if they can do this for their workforce, why can’t the State institute congestion pricing for infrastructure? For all of their perceived evils, government could learn a lot from Wal-Mart.
You cannot call the correction over
Until the charts look like this.Charts courtesy of the WSJ and Seeking Alpha.I’m not saying that we’re not on an upswing – I actually believe that the Charlottesville-area real estate market is on its way up. Calling the game over now is a hair premature.
Charlottesville in USA Today
How ’bout that. They are saying what we have known all along.The University of Virginia insulates the economy and the housing market in Charlottesville from many of the national trends. Home sales this year will be the second-best on record, though still down markedly from last year.
Richmond loves Charlottesville
Or at least the Times-Dispatch does. This is an entire “section” devoted to Charlottesville. It was published this summer, but just popped up in my feed reader this morning.One of my favorites:The popularity of the city has spilled into Albemarle County, where huge subdivisions have sprouted, especially in the north, to handle the influx of families and even some retirees.
My predictions for 2007
Many of these will resemble “splogs” due to their blatant attempt to build business, rather than build reputation, knowledge and relationships2. Home sales and prices will continue to rise at a more “normal” level – perhaps a 5-7% increase in value YoY rather than 15-20% increase in value…. Competent representation of home buyer and sellers will gain value, and understanding by both Realtors and consumers.6…. The real estate market will be just fine, but there will be significant pain for those who chose Option ARM mortgages, and some who chose Interest Only.8.