Talking about Charlottesville Real Estate Market in early 2026

Part One

The good thing about talking to Greg about Charlottesville real estate market data is that we could do this for hours. The bad thing is … we could talk about the market for hours. It’s fun to talk data with someone who takes his craft seriously. To see the short videos we pulled out and previous conversations, check out the youtube channel.

In this first session, Greg Slater and I look at the decade-long shift in price points in Charlottesville and Albemarle.  We discuss why total sales are down 20%, yet the “center” of our market continues to move higher. We also dig into the “manual” side of data—why I still pull out the paper maps and Crayola markers or pencils to help clients visualize where they want to live.

text

Part 2

In part two, we shift to the high end. We look at Crozet’s 500% jump in million-dollar sales and why “sold comps” from 12 months ago are leading to potentially dangerous pricing mistakes for sellers today. If you’re a seller chasing “aspirational pricing” in 2026, you’re likely to find yourself with price reductions, more negotiations than you were expecting, and possibly a de-listed property rather than a closed sale.

Buyers – you still need to be in a position of deciding in the first 48 hours if that home is one you want to consider or not.

Consider this data point:

As of January 26, 2026 in Albemarle and Charlottesville, looking at resale homes:

• 85 properties have been listed. 28 – nearly 33% – of those have gone under contract. I’d expect that those 28 are going to close near, at, or above asking price.