End Growth in Greene?
From cvillenews - If there's one thing that every candidate for the Greene County Board of Supervisors can agree on, it's the need to end growth. So reports Kate Andrews in today's Progress: This should prove an interesting story to follow. The region is facing…
“Discount” brokerages taking hits
Earlier this year, a knockout looked possible for discount REALTORS® everywhere once the Justice Department joined in the fight against the National Association of REALTORS®. But the WSJ's James R. Hagerty says the discounters' noses are bloodied by recent minimum service legislation sweeping the nation…
Market shift a good thing
The market's going to turn ... many Realtors won't survive. "There are two things that brokers watch: interest rates and the bubble scare. In general, what I've witnessed is that brokers are taking a hard and strong look at expenses built in a great market…
Eminent Domain being reheard?
The Connecticut homeowners who lost the landmark Supreme Court eminent domain decision filed a petition yesterday for a rehearing. The families want the high court to reconsider the 5-4 ruling they say already has "opened up the floodgates to eminent domain abuse." ... Already, according…
Eminent Domain article
The Roanoke Times ran an article yesterday interviewing members of the Virginia Property Rights Coalition about eminent domain in Virginia. The article provides some interesting insight into how eminent domain is often used not as the actual means to acquire property, but to intimidate the…
Region’s home sales continue at blistering pace
Indeed, despite some predictions of a coming slowdown, home sales in the Charlottesville area continued at a fierce pace in the just-ended second quarter of 2005, exceeding the numbers for the same period of 2004. “We continue to see a great real estate market,” said…
Talking my way out of a sale
Yesterday while on floor duty at my office, I either talked my way out of a potential sale or took a good step towards earning some clients' trust. A couple from Northern Virginia came in asking about condos in the area, strictly for investment purposes.…
Shopping for mortgages?
NYTimes has a good article this morning. FIXED-RATE mortgages, adjustable-rate mortgages, 30-year terms, 40-year terms, low down payments, no down payments, prepayment penalties! How is a home seeker, particularly the befuddled first-timer, supposed to wade through the current mire of mortgage offerings? "Most likely, your…
Outstanding commentary on possible bubble
Courtesy of NPR, listen to the commentary, from a Boulder, Colorado perspective. Unfortunately, it's not a podcast, but oh well. Some key quotes - "Five years after the boom, anyone waiting for a real estate crash is still waiting." "I have never seen a family…
Albemarle redistricting moving forward
School districts are one of the most important aspects of a homes' value, both to those who currently live there as well as prospective purchasers. This value cannot be quantified solely by a monetary number; the intrinsic value cannot be underestimated. With that, we note…