MLS questions answered
Belatedly answering Michael's questions - 1. Listings are important content, but they’re very specific or, to be buzz worthy, long tail. Blogs are more general. I’ve seen very few blogs engage with listings in a way that’s interesting. Rather, the successful blogs present overviews (statistical…
Local candidates’ election dollars
Thanks to VPAP, now you can see how much cash local candidates have on hand - and from whom they have received said cash. Albemarle is here, and Charlottesville is here. Ah, transparency! Hat Tip: Bacon's Rebellion.
Marketing ethics to Virginia Realtors – Take Two
As noted here in February, the Virginia Association of Realtors has started a viral campaign to combat unsavory ethical practices. The Inman story will be subscription only after today. Take the "Tedst." I'd love to see a question about Dual Agency.
Get ready for higher water bills
In CharlAlbemarle, that is. Customers’ rates may rise more than 20 percent this year given the expense of area water and sewer projects being undertaken by the RWSA.
When given the option to build green, will Buyers take it?
My bet is that they will. As more local builders such as Barry Meade, Church Hill and Stonehaus build green, the question soon will not be, "is this house green?" It will be, "Why don't you build green?" Don't underestimate the power of both the…
Dual Agency under fire in Virginia?
From the head of the Commonwealth of Virginia's Real Estate Board, Schaefer Oglesby: We are still seeing numerous cases involving dangerous practice of dual agency. Remember, if something goes wrong with the transaction, you are probably at fault. (italics and bolding mine)The newsletter is here…
There should be a way to report agents
To their sellers. I tried to show a house on Tuesday, but the lockbox wasn't there. Neither listing agent has called me back yet. My clients and I have found another house (there's quite a bit of inventory out there), but shouldn't there be a…
Vacancies in Charlottesville MSA
Taking inspiration from Inman's article on housing vacancies ... There are currently 1894 properties on the market in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna and Greene. 583 of these are listed as vacant - right around 30%! Macro analysis at CR.
If you’re not reading this via RSS, why not?
Click To Play There are two types of Internet users, those that use RSS and those that don't. This video is for the people who could save time using RSS, but don't know where to start.
Buy now in the Charlottesville market or wait?
Question from a reader: My sense of the housing market is that we have seen the biggest run-up in prices from the late 1990s to the present in the past 100 years (e.g. this NYTimes graphic). The market has started to soften, but like prior…