The MLS Coffin – one stake at a time
And this is a big one. When I was at the Virginia Association of Realtors Legislative conference a few weeks ago, I sat in on a presentation that touched on the NAR MLS working group on which I had the privilege to serve. At the…
Real estate blogging is catching on
Surprise, surprise! Real estate blogs even have their very own (and brilliant!) search engine, courtesy of Todd Carpenter. Greg has aggregated 190+ real estate blogs, and Active Rain and RealTown becoming the largest real estate blog platforms. Having written consistently for just over two years,…
Congestion pricing in Charlottesville?
With all the talk of late about the City of Charlottesville debating closing Old Lynchburg Road, a major artery into and out of the City, how long until the City considers instituting congestion pricing á la London? Imagine the potential revenue - 10 bucks to…
The value of transparent blogging
I find myself referring to this blog frequently in conversations with clients and prospective clients. The ability to refer to what is essentially a public record of my opinions has proven to be invaluable (and I guess dangerous). Can we see how long a property…
Beware of redistricting
This is why I always use the word "probably" when referencing school districts. Unless you can see the school and maybe throw a rock and hit it, there are no guarantees that that desirable Elementary-Middle-High School feeder pattern will remain intact. From today's DP: “One…
Market cap on Charlottesville prices?
From a reader: I have another question if I may. We have been wondering how in the world prices can keep going up in a town the size of Cville. Is population growth of people on the upper end of the socioeconoic strata expected to…
All properties have to go in the MLS?
I was at a trade show this week, and besides having much to contemplate with regards to whether to switch brokerages in the future, I learned a bit, too. In one class, agents were talking about how they send buyer clients automated emails when new…
Rant against Delta Airlines
Wildly unrelated to real estate, but related to my belief that good customer service is paramount. Biding my time in Atlanta ... Our flight was scheduled to leave at 8pm and arrive in Charlottesville at 9:30pm. I have received successive text messages from Delta saying…
Shopping for an agent and more
Search for an agent instead of a house. I couldn't agree more. Sometimes, the first agent you meet might not be the best one for you. Wolf Net seems to have a pretty good mapping solution. Shopping for houses isn't like shopping at Nordstrom's Another…
Charlottesville Neighborhoods brief hiatus
Just until next week. I have been out of town for the past several days (still am) and the other postings have been posted auto-magically. The series will resume on Monday. In the meantime, these are the other ones that have been covered so far.