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.
Date Archives April 2007
If you’re not reading this via RSS, why not?
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?
I am glad to continue renting if sellers are unwilling to lower their prices to account for the fact that the market has changed and real estate prices are unlikely to appreciate much in the near future (see, for example, the recent New York Times aricle entitled “A Word of Advice During a Housing Slump: Rent”)…. I realize that most sellers are probably not going to accept an offer well below their asking price all at once; rather, they are probably going to reduce their asking prices gradually until someone makes an offer reasonably close to what they are asking…. More on assessments at cvillenews.A brief analysis of homes sold in the MLS between $$500k and $600k since the first of the year comparing their sold price to their asking price and the assessed value found, unfortunately, very little consistentcorrelation.Right now, when searching for buyers, I tend to search prices 15%-25% higher than their “comfortable” price range (not the maximum they are pre-approved for, but comfortable) because often, price is not the greatest determinant when sellers are considering offers.The decision of whether to buy now is one that should be made with (far) more consideration than was necessary in the past five to seven years…. With input from our parents, the state of the market right now, the small time frame that we’ll be here in Charlottesville, etc, we just don’t think it’s the best move for us right now.I feel bad because I know that you put in a lot of time and effort for us and we appreciate it very much.
UVA’s growth plans’ impact on Charlottesville real estate
For starters, check out their Master Plan and their Master Plan Map; in short, UVA is everywhere, and will continue to expand and provide opportunities both for their employees, students and the general public (generally).I received the following from a reader earlier this week.UVa’s College of Arts & Sciences is slated to expand by 200-300 faculty positions in the near future (using capital campaign funds)…. So we opted for Johnson Village (more here), where our house is a sweet 1.2 miles from the South Lawn.It seems that many of the original residents of Johnson Village are now empty nesters who are “downsizing,” selling their homes — which are at an attractive price point (high $200s/low $300s) for first-time homebuyers and young families…. These existing developments are poised to take advantage of the re-emerging trends of *gasp* walking and biking to work and play.For an interesting perspective on UVA’s growth and plans, from the recent past (2003), read this.If there’s one truism about master plans, it is this: they change.In an effort to better inform the community about its master planning efforts, the University has pledged to formalize the way that the city of Charlottesville and Albemarle County participate in its planning process…. has reconstituted its Master Planning Council — charged with advising the University president on long-range physical planning issues — which includes nonvoting representatives from the city and the county.When thinking about UVA and their autonomy and seeming unrestrained expansions, I remember reading on a local blog years ago this quote – “If it weren’t for UVA, Charlottesville would be Scottsville.”
Local real estate blogging – take two
Of these, only one has written anything new in the past month.The national real estate blog network Active Rain, lists eight Charlottesville-area Realtors, none of whom (myself included) have posted a single entry…. (not that I am personally complaining) For better or worse, consistently writing and analyzing the market gives readers an opportunity to meet you and determine beforehand whether they want to contact you. For instance, I just received this kind note from a potential client I met through this blog:”Jim Duncan was incredibly helpful during my relocation to Charlottesville…. I would happily refer others to take advantage of his knowledge in looking for a house!”The funny thing is, she ended up not working with me (another story coming) but now there is one more person who reads and tells people about me and this blog.
Wednesday links 04-25-2007
Beware of Builders Bearing Gifts and Pushing Lenders – always, always analyze what is being offered to you. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.Before getting that loan …As noted earlier last month, Charlottesville is one of the top 25 Green Cities in AmericaChoosing C’Ville because of the relatively lower cost of living – frankly, I hadn’t heard that before. How homeowners can combat global warming – or more directly, how homeowners can save money.As Environmentalism Grows, Online Publishers Go Green – responding to the market’s demands.Energy Efficient home construction – building green is not rocket science, and it’s not even that different. It just takes a little bit of thinking differently.