I've referred to this chart so many times in the past few days, I thought I'd write another post. (most of) The Charlottesville real estate market remains highly active. But ... Amazingly, we are entering the seasonally and expected less active part of the market. That green bump at the end is likely representative of new construction closings- 70 of the 296 December 2016 closings were new construction; 50 of the 256 in November 2016 were new. If you're thinking about buying in 2017, figure out your market, and look at … [Read more...]
1st Quarter 2017 Market Report – Prices Up, Inventory Down, Velocity Stable
For many, the Charlottesville - Albemarle real estate market is great. For some, it's fine. For buyers, it can be profoundly frustrating. For sellers whose houses aren't selling, the headlines touting the strength of the market are confusing. There are still homeowners whose houses are underwater, for whom the broad headlines and talking points are infuriating and confounding. For a lot of sellers, now is a fantastic time to sell ... but, if you're moving locally, where would you buy? Download the 1st Quarter 2017 Charlottesville Nest … [Read more...]
Public Hearing on Albemarle County 2017 Property Tax Hike
No one showed. https://twitter.com/NeilSWilliamson/status/851924538619305984 Now, you have another opportunity to express your opinion about Albemarle County property taxes. Mark your calendars, folks - 15 May 2017 via email: (bolding mine) The Board of Supervisors held public hearings on the Calendar Year 17 Tax Rate and the Board’s Proposed FY 18 Budget on Tuesday evening, April 11. Immediately following the conclusion of those public hearings, it came to the County’s attention that there was a defect in the posted notice regarding … [Read more...]
Rural vs Urban Life
I love getting messages from friends and readers. What follows is an exchange with a particularly thoughtful client discussing rural and urban life in the Charlottesville area. (my words are italicized) * Actual urban living in Charlottesville is becoming rather unaffordable for many folks. Suburbia is not urban living. When I moved, I had the choice between urban and rural living. If I had wanted urban I would have gone to an actual city, like Richmond or DC. The reason I am here, and many others are drawn here as well, is the … [Read more...]
No One Cares about Albemarle’s $400 MILLION Budget?
*Yes, it's a deliberately antagonistic headline. I know. Alison Wrabel at the Daily Progress wrote a great story on Sunday about the lack of engagement/participation in the Albemarle County budget process. I wonder ... why are people not participating? (bolding mine) Three community meetings about Albemarle’s fiscal year 2018 budget have attracted a total of six people this year. A live tweet session seemed to get a lot of views, but no interaction. Only three residents spoke at the county’s first budget public hearing on Feb. … [Read more...]
Search for homes by Noise Level?
"Is this neighborhood quiet?" is a very common question buyers ask, almost as common as "how often does the train run?" This National Transportation Noise Map is one way to try to ascertain neighborhood transportation noise levels. (thanks to David Reese for finding this!) CityLab had a story in 2015 about a tool called HowLoud; I'm not yet sure how accurate that tool is for the Charlottesville area, but I did find a nifty map at RentLingo that seems reasonably good (after spending 30 seconds there) The Charlottesville … [Read more...]
Appeal Your Albemarle County Assessments (2017)
I'm posting this email from the Albemarle County Assessor, Peter Lynch, because: 1- It's good and useful information 2 - It's easier for me to send a link to a blog post to clients than the same email over and over. 3 - I've heard from several people that they intend to challenge their assessments ... some have dropped by 15% - 20%, and others have gone up 10% - 15%. 1. In order to request an appeal through the BOE, the taxpayer or their representative needs to contact our office either by phone at 434-296-5856, or by email to … [Read more...]
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