Pepperoni Bubble | Monthly Notes Archives

Archives of my subscription-only monthly notes. The blog is more searchable. Interested in not waiting a few months to read it? Learn more here.   For these posts, I don’t do much formatting/changing as I’m more concerned about simply having the content here forever (because I own the blog, and I don’t own Tinyletter)

March 2017.

Discussed: Charlottesville Market, Pepperoni (and community), Nest Presents, lessons and bicycling.

Market Update

I’m not looking at prices this month. Not that they don’t matter, but I cannot see anyone making a decision to buy or sell based on last month’s median price or average price per square foot. What matters now, for better or worse, is volume and speed. I want to dispel the notion/belief that *everything* is going under contract immediately. A lot of properties do move quickly, but not everything.

In February

• 231 properties went under contract in the MLS in Charlottesville & Albemarle.
  • 75 of these were new construction (32%!)
  • 57 had days on market of 0
    • 45 of these were new construction
  • 119 had days on market of 7 days or fewer
    • 50 of these were new construction
  • 48 had days on market of 90 days or more

In the City of Charlottesville

• 44 resale properties went under contract
  • 22 of those went under in 7 days or less.
    • Meaning, if you like a house, be ready to move. Quickly.
    • Meaning, you’d best have done your legwork and homework about the market well before the house you think you might love comes on the market.

In Albemarle County

• 112 resale properties went under contract
  • 47 of those went under in 7 days or less.
    • 25 went under in 3 days or less, 63 in 14 or less, 76 in 30 days or less. 27 went under in 90 days or more.

In February 2016, 203 properties went under contract in the MLS in Charlottesville & Albemarle. 18% –   37 were new. That’s a big shift.

What does this mean? It means that a lot of properties are going under contract … fast. And a lot aren’t. Because I was curious:

In February

• 25 properties went under contract within a mile of downtown  (no longer available)Charlottesville (no longer available). 5 were new. Median days on market was 11.
• 50 properties went under contract within the 250 bypass area (no longer available). 10 were new. Median DOM was 8.

Messages I’ve received from other, good, trusted agents recently:

• “crazy market right now… reminds me of 2007…bubble i feel”
• “i hate this market. i think people forget 2005-20009”

I’m not the only one with concerns … I advise caution to my buyer clients.

We read everything you write and appreciate your efforts. You are one of a kind.

We never properly thanked you for showing us Crozet properties as well as several down town properties over a year ago. So please accept our tardy appreciation. We ended up with two new … houses. One (here) and one (here) We used the … person you mentioned to us … (to help facilitate)

… Thanks again for helping us stay informed.

This is one of the risks of writing so much, and being so free with my time and knowledge. There are other, more protective ways to practice real estate, but for me, those ways wouldn’t be as fun.  I enjoy helping, guiding, and advising. And being paid to represent people make good decisions.

I shared the email with a friend, and he wrote to me:

They love your sharing of knowledge.
They appreciate all you taught them.
They don’t respect your role or the value you brought.

Harsh. Mostly accurate. I will fight the urge to be protective and jaded. But I won’t forget.

*This is part 1 of 2, with part 2 coming next month, when I’m going to write about buyer broker agreements. Not sexy, but vital. Part 2 will touch on a message I received from a Zillow lead, “I have a realtor but says this house is not on MLS. … He already said he couldn’t show it as it wasn’t on MLS.”

Riding a Bicycle is Good for You

I heard it described by a friend recently that riding a bicycle was his anchor, and without the time on the bicycle, he’d drink more, be less able to fight off depression, and likely be fending off suicidal thoughts.

That’s one way to put it. Another way is, “It’s Not Just a Bike—It’s a Happiness Machine Friends. Sunshine. Sanity. Mud. Wheeee! A bike is so much more than a frame and some parts—it’s the key to a lifetime of pure, unadulterated joy.”

Or … riding a bicycle is good for you, and fun. If you’re in the Charlottesville or Crozet area, and interested in meeting others who ride bicycles, the Crozet Cycling Club is having a Cycling Social on Sunday, 19 March.

Things I’m Reading

• Coastal Cities Could Flood Three Times a Week by 2045
• The Evolution of Home Equity Ownership
• What does neighborhood mean to you?
• The longer homes stay on the market, the lower the odds of selling for list.
• Nest Adds a Security Feature It Should Have Had All Along
• All-Cash Sales: 23 Percent of Residential Sales in January 2017
• Man buys new home; land owner blocks him from entering

And the blogs

RealCentralVA

• A home is a series of marks, part 2
• Economic Development in Albemarle County
• Charlottesville & Albemarle real estate assessments are up. Again.
• A new home is more than a hole in the ground

RealCrozetVA

• Be nice to your neighbors, please. A post about a friend & his family being harassed on bicycles.
• Robot cars in Crozet!
• Quick Crozet Real Estate Data
• CCAC Meeting recap – lots of transportation talk
• Cool old house torn down to make room for new apartments

Questions? Comments? Hearing from you is one of the highlights of my month.

434-242-7140

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Jim Duncan, Nest Realty, 126 Garrett Street Suite D, Charlottesville, VA 22902. Licensed real estate agent in Commonwealth of VA.