If 2018 continues at this pace, it’s going to be a very difficult year for for a lot of buyers, and a good year for some sellers.
For Albemarle County – Contracts up 12%
- In the first 17 days of 2017, 56 homes went under contract. This year, that number is 62.
- 22 contracts were new construction in 2017; 16 in 2018. Interesting and I think this number will shift up by month’s end.
For the City of Charlottesville – Contracts up 56%
- In the first 17 days of 2017, 13 homes went under contract. This year, that number is 20.
- No new construction was put under contract (per Charlottesville MLS) in 2017 in the first 17 days. This year, we have 3 – in Belmont Station, Village of Moore’s Creek, and Carter’s View.
Affordability remains a massive challenge.
From my monthly note
Much as I hate to not produce original content for this note, what I wrote in 2015 and 2005 are particularly relevant.
I wrote in 2005:
“I heard the end of an interesting story on NPR this morning discussing the over-heated real estate markets nationwide. One couple was recalling how they had to decide to make an offer on a house within 30 minutes of visiting the house once and then had to offer tens of thousands of dollars over the asking price, all while waiving the home inspection.
This for a purchase of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Contrast this with purchasing a digital camera (Update: remember when people bought digital cameras? They don’t anymore).
When the subjects of the story bought their camera, they went through a similar process as I did. I researched diligently, compared Consumer Reports, checked online and at local stores for prices and so on. Purchasing a home, in a perfect world, would allow for a much more diligent process. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
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