Archives of my subscription-only monthly notes. The blog is more searchable. Interested in not waiting a few months to read it? Subscribe 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). 

A quick reminder, as much for me as for (new) readers: this note is for consumers, curious clients, inlookers, and generally for those not in the real estate space.

A Patched Jacket

Micro Market Analysis

I am taking you at your word. I’d love to know more from you about the Johnson Village micro market. Even more specifically the OG Johnson Village that doesn’t include either Cherry Hill or Village Place (you probably know why I ask).

I think the differentiation between OG Johnson Village, Cherry Hill, Village Place is crucial, so I asked the sender permission to use it. “Johnson Village” is an interesting neighborhood, and defining it requires a bit of local knowledge. Neither of the following is correct. For example, Zillow shows this when searching for Johnson Village. RPR (the Realtor Zillow-like site) has this. This is correct.

Micro-markets, and micro-market knowledge, matter.

• In Johnson Village, there are no actives, and two pendings.
  • Actually, four, as this foreclosure came on the market morning of 12 July.
    • Three have sold so far this year. (I guessed six; nine sold last year, and five had sold by 7/11/2018)
• In Cherry Hill, there is one active, and one pending.
  • Six have sold so far (I guessed five)
• In Village Place, there is one active, and none pending.
  • One has sold there this year.

Digging in a bit to Johnson Village, I’m going to be a bit more broad here than I would be for a client looking at a specific property, but …

• In the City of Charlottesville, between $275K and $425K, single family homes, there are 23 active and 33 pending – a pretty good ratio for a seller.
• 98 have sold since 1 February; I tend to look at the previous six months of solds, then I look at the previous 3 months … a market can shift a bit in just a couple months. 78 have sold since 1 April.
• Then, looking at those that have at least 3 bedrooms, at least 2 baths, on less than an acre, and were built before 1990, we have 30 results. 13 active and 17 pending. And then, in the Johnson Elementary school district, we have 4 results – all pending.

Short summary – the Johnson Village market has been less active this year than last, in part I’d suspect, because the people who live there like it there. Last year, the average sold price in Johnson Village was $331K and $176/foot(relevant for trend number, but not actual value) So far this year, those numbers are $365K and $174/foot. Shorter summary: Johnson Village is doing pretty well right now.

I enjoy these newsletters.  I am interested in the Rugby Hills neighborhood in Charlottesville City if you are doing micro market analysis.

This was fun; I’d welcome another micro market analysis option – suggestions?

Why not file a Code of Ethics complaint?

I wrote last month about how an agent lied to me, and how I wasn’t going to file a complaint. (reminder: outright lying by an agent is an anomaly, in my experience) Why not file? The simple answer as to why I won’t file a complaint is because I am going to have to work with that agent again, and my filing a complaint today would 1) lead to a tiny penalty, if any, 2) most importantly, my future clients will be disserviced by my filing a complaint. Imagine in two years I represent buyers who are one of three offers on a property he’s marketing; think their offer will be presented as favorably as the others? Nope. Or when I have a listing, do you think he’s going to be inclined to show it, or might he attempt to dissuade his buyers from looking at it? I’d wager on the latter. Tangentially Related: I represent my clients so well, the listing agent advised sellers to not accept my buyers’ offer.

Septic or Public?

I understand that homes in Albemarle County outside the development areas are on well water and septic tanks. Does this make a difference to many buyers? I know I was leery of septic, because I’ve never lived with one, and really didn’t consider homes with them. But maybe I’m an urban-raised minority and no one else cares.

Well … living on a septic system is a bit different. This is one of my favorite videos I’ve done: Steve with Cavalier Septic explaining the simple ways to live on a septic systems, starting with, “#1 and #2 and nothing else.”I’ve had buyers shun all houses on well and septic, and I’ve had buyers avoid public water and sewer as the prefer living on well water. Broadly, I’d say that most buyers (broad brush here), given the option, would choose public water and sewer. The conversation about the differences between life on a well and septic vs life on public water and sewer is a vast one that is well summarized by a colleague: when you’re on well and septic, you are your own water and sewer treatment plant. This question won the prize – a donation to the questioner’s preferred charity.

Managing Expectations

What I’m Reading

• How Utrecht Became a Paradise for Cyclists
• Realogy Sues Compass Alleging Antitrusts Violations
• If a Recession is Coming Soon, We Have to Prepare
• How being sad, depressed, and anxious online became trendy
• ‘Reading the City’ Helps Travelers Find Books About Their Destinations
• I’ve seen lifelong hippies who drive electric vehicles stand up at these meetings and say, ‘There’s too many people here already.’
• Niksen Is the Dutch Lifestyle Concept of Doing Nothing—And You’re About to See It Everywhere*Annoyingly, all of these links expire after a couple weeks.