Charlottesville’s Real Estate Blog since 2005.

Clear, Honest Market Analysis. For People, Not Realtors.

December's note

In February of this year, I wrote my first monthly note. I’d like to think that I’ve shared some useful knowledge and insight about the Charlottesville real estate market, the practice of real estate and other, tangential subjects. I know this – one of the most clicked-on parts has been the “blog recap” in which I summarize some of the better posts from RealCentralVA and RealCrozetVA. Above all, I’ve loved writing these notes and I hope I’ve been able to convey that through my writings. Aside from the writing, the best part has been the one-on-one interaction readers have shared – the format of the note is such there are no comments, but a lot of readers have chosen to reply to the note, and that’s enormously gratifying.

With that preface, the early outline of December’s note (lamentably, I suspect this will exceed my goal of no more than 1500 words)

– The market (I start all the notes with this)

– An interesting home inspector update

– A great builder anecdote

– Agent reviews (the current hubbub about AgentMatch) – determining the “best” real estate agent for you entails more than data.

– Life after being on the Realtor Board of Directors

– Brief recap of some of my favorite stories from this year’s notes

If you find subscribing to my blogs by email cumbersome (three-four emails a week from one site would be cumbersome for me too) – please consider subscribing to my monthly note.

Update: published late last night; at 2,000+ words, it’s the longest ever (and I’ll return to sub-1500 words in January). My monthly note really is where I write my best stuff.Interestingly, the number of people who open my monthly note is far higher than the number who open my near-daily emails.

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I have been been representing buyers and sellers in Charlottesville, Albemarle, and Central Virginia since 2001. Get local insight born of experience.

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Peril & a Rainbow – Jim’s Note September 2026

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This month's note is the one hundred ninety-first monthly note. Market and life peril, online valuations vs real ones, trust, detailed guides for those looking to buy or sell homes in Charlottesville, tips on how to figure out where to live, climate and real estate…

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My goal is simple: help my clients – buyers or sellers – make good decisions.