In Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson there are 1,959 active properties on the market, rather than 3,072 as the report says (this is simply selecting “active” and then clicking “search”) If Waynesboro and Augusta, to our West, are included, there are 2,505 properties on the market.- There were 2,778 homes sold in Central Virginia last year, versus 3,515 in 2006, 3875 in 2005.- For first-time homebuyers, there are 182 homes on the market under $200k; include Waynesboro and Augusta and there are 360! Take condos out of that equation and the numbers drop to 222 and 249.- In just Charlottesville/Albemarle, there are 82 non-condo properties under $200k (116 sold in the past 6 months – about 7 months of inventory), and 117 over One Million Dollars (35 sold in the past six months – just over 3 years of inventory).I’ll refer (shamelessly) to last week’s C-Ville Weekly:“When you actually start looking, the pickings are fairly slim, realistically,†Duncan says…. Now can be a great time to buy – if you’re buying with the appropriate amount of due diligence, proper consideration and the best buyer-representation you can find…. Building permits are down, and I expect 4th Quarter building permits in Albemarle to be even lower when they are released later this month.I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.Note: Price per square foot is a metric by which to help determine a home’s market value, not the metric.Surprise!
Browsing Category Market statistics
Charlottesville Area Market Report for 2007
The report will be released tomorrow. I have an advance copy, so I’ll have a post ready to go at 12:01 Sunday morning. I’ll post the full report here with a few quotes, charts and clarifications.
Charlottesville Housing Inventory for the start of 2008
Today, in Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson (and Augusta/Waynesboro, as hey are becoming such a part of our market)***As of 1 January, there were currently 2206 properties on the market in the Charlottesville market area, and 400 were under contract. A quick look back at the past three years shows that our market has changed dramatically. On 3 January, there are 2443 active on the market, and 467 under contract.*I’m choosing to start the year off with this thought in mind:But let’s be frank: After such a run of down and bad numbers through most of 2006 and 2007, will it really be a big surprise if housing demand and sales and new construction finally begin showing signs of recovery — even modest recovery — in the year ahead?Looking back (and stating the obvious), the National Association of Realtors did not have the best track record,while the Mortgage Bankers Association was a little bit closer:Independent of the fact that I make my living representing clients buying and selling real estate in the Charlottesville area, I have been told by several clients that they perceive right now to be an excellent time to buy. *Charlottesville market area has been: Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson** The tables do not include Waynesboro/Augusta, as they did not begin to participate in our MLS substantially until 2007.*** Going forward in 2008, I am going to try to include Waynesboro/Augusta as well.
It appears people are trying to assess the Charlottesville real estate market
Search provides such valuable insight into the minds of readers. The following search strings brought people to my site in the past twenty-four hours.housing market in charlottesvillecharlottesville housing priceshow to re-negotiate with buildersunited states housing market by region 2007median house prices Charlottesville VA 2007You can start here to find some of the answers to these questions.charlottesville real estate blog jim duncan – this one always intrigues me, as it’s a fairly frequent search, particularly when the visitor is local and spend 41 minutes on this blog – and they didn’t send me an email or anything!
Central Virginia regional real estate market update
With that preface, welcome to the market report for the Charlottesville area for November 2007.This month I am including data from 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.Conclusions — Read beyond the headlines.- There is no “national” or perhaps even “regional” real estate market…. For example – the neighborhood that is stable, in a great location and is desirable is going to be in better shape than the neighborhood that shares a border with a new construction development that has seen its asking prices slashed by twenty or thirty percent.- Things are selling, and now is regarded by many to be an excellent time to buy – so long as you are looking to buy for an appropriate timeframe…. People still need places to live.- Due diligence and statistical analysis on every real estate purchase and sale should be performed prior to every transaction.- The data, while skewed by inaccuracies here and there, offers the best trending information available.Highlights — For the entire Charlottesville MSA, the absorption rate for our inventory is currently more than four times that of November 2004 and five months more than November of 2006.- Days on market for the entire area is slightly higher than this time last year.- Average sales price is higher than the average sales price in 2005, but lower than 2006.- Median Sales price numbers are interesting and all over the board.Caveats — It is very difficult to pull new construction data out of the MLS statistics, and even then, the data is often grossly inaccurate for myriad reasons, so I go with what is there.- The data is only as good as the people doing the input.- Buyer and Seller psychology are very difficult, if not impossible, to quantify.The data speaks for itself. (Click images for larger versions)Inventory levels for Charlottesville/Albemarle 2004-2007The year end report should be equally fascinating, and I will revisit my predictions from earlier this year and make new ones for next year.How low will the Realtor membership decline?*Including Albemarle, Augusta, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson, Waynesboro below the fold.*All market statistics that I have written can be found here.2007 information for the entire region.2006 information for the entire region.There is more to the above data that I am digging into for a later story.Waynesboro and Augusta are included because they are becoming more and more a part of our market, but the data remains quite incomplete.
Lest you get the impression that things aren’t selling
but -Two properties clients of mine were interested in recently went under contract.What made them sell?Property #1 – in the City of Charlottesville (property links will expire in 7 days)Came on the market in March – asking price of $199k…. One dramatic reduction on 30 October – four offers followed.Property #2 – in the City of CharlottesvilleCame on the market in February for $630k, $50k price reduction in March…. The property went under contract seven days later.Lessons learned -1 – Price it right from the beginning.2 – If the market says the price is high, reduce it…. What you need to make to buy the next house is irrelevant to what your home is worth today.5 – Both clients found me because of this blog.Point of clarification: we wrote an offer on the first one and “lost” and serendipitously never made it to the second.
October Market Report for Charlottesville/Albemarle
In short — Days on Market are up, year over year- Inventory in Charlottesville/Albemarle is slightly up, year over year. This may be a signal that we’re moving in the right direction.- Absorption Rate (the time it takes for the existing inventory to be churned) is up – anything over 5-6 months is considered to be a Buyer’s Market. 14 months of inventory in Charlottesville/Albemarle certainly fits that definition.- Buyer clients of mine made an offer on a very well-priced house in the City last week – and were one of four offers.- Properties are still selling, average sale price is still up.Buyers are buying and sellers are selling – the price and the property have to be right. Market data for the Charlottesville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) – Charlottesville/Albemarle/Fluvanna/Greene/Louisa/Nelson after the jump.* Data is pulled from the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors’ MLS – data is the best that is available, and is (by my ballpark estimations) about 85% accurate – both for inventory collected and data entry by the Realtors.