When America’s housing boom finally ends, don’t expect a loud pop.”It’s not going to be a big dramatic event,” says William Apgar, senior scholar at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.From today’s WSJ.I wish I could do a poll like the snapshot I took from their site (see below) to gauge the Charlottesville area’s public perception. In this situation, I believe that perception is going to be as, if not more important than reality.
Browsing Category Charlottesville
Goody.
We’re Number One (again).Homes are not cheap (median home price $225,000), but the cost of living is manageable. The city’s low unemployment rate and significant recent job growth promise continued prosperity. As more and more people learn about this year’s best city, Charlottesville may find staying affordable and sprawl-free is its greatest challenge!
The Parkway is coming
From today’s Progress -Remember that debate over whether or not the Meadowcreek Parkway needs an interchange to work?… An at-grade intersection was a much cheaper design that would have allowed construction on the parkway, under discussion for 38 years, to begin sooner…. To gain some history on the Meadowcreek Parkway, cvillenews is a great place to begin. Quite simply, our region needs more, more efficient infrastructure to cope and deal with the growth.
Building Green
If building green were as immediately equal economically, we would probably see more of it from the larger local builders.WINAThomas Jefferson Planning District’s Green SourcebookTimesDispatch”The premium wasn’t that much and I bet it paid itself back in the first year with my electric bill,” Winn said. And this is why – what is the immediate return for building green, besides the good press? Oh, wait, good press is a good thing. All it takes is good start, and more will come …
Local salaries
For those considering relocating to the Central VA area – read the DP’s article and WINA. I will get my hands on a copy shortly.
What Housing Bubble?
Our strong housing market is a function of myriad factors with real economic underpinnings: low interest rates, local job growth, the emotional attachment one has for one’s home, one’s view of one’s future earning- power, and parental contributions, all have done their part to contribute to rising home prices. Over the past quarter-century, there has been an explosion of second-home purchases, a continued influx of immigrants, and a significant reduction in existing housing inventory through tear-downs…. Speculators are Driving Home Prices: The media today is chock-full of stories of day-trading dot-com refugees who have found their calling buying homes and condos “on spec,” with the hope of flipping the property for a higher price…. The Charlottesville/Central VA market has a lot of speculative buyers who are taking out second mortgages on their primary residences, home equity lines, etc. Should rates rise and they stop buying, our market very likely will see a decrease in the rapid appreciation in home values – not an altogether bad thing.
Target is open
My wife just called and said that the Target is open, presumably for a “soft open” that will enable them to work the kinks out before the planned grand opening. Let the festivities begin.