Posts tagged Charlottesville

Lawrence Yun Came to CAAR

in Albemarle Charlottesville General Real Estate Market statistics on

It’s always great to hear NAR’s chief economist talk. He’s in a tough spot – he’s a great economist. But he’s the Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors – the trade association for Realtors*. Part of his job is to be both an honest economist and to spin the research positively for Realtors. That said, he’s infinitely better than his predecessor. I’m inclined to follow up on our lunch from a couple years ago to see how, if at all, his perspective has changed. That said …

A few takeaways –

– Rents and renters are rising

– Interest rates are likely to rise this year – he says to 5.3%

– Home sales are up (nationally)

– Home prices nationally have risen 20% (way to fast/high in my opinion)

– Pending sales are down – troublingly so. (see Calculated Risk, Zero Hedge (sales “collapsed” & Big Picture, who uses the term “cratered” referencing pending sales)

(results from my running data)

For Charlottesville-Albemarle, contracts were down 11%:

226 – from 12/1/13-1/31/14 – number of homes went under contract in the Charlottesville MLS
254 – from 12/1/12-1/31/13

For Charlottesville MSA (Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson), contracts were down 7%:

366 – from 12/1/13-1/31/14 – number of homes went under contract in the Charlottesville MLS
393 – from 12/1/12-1/31/13 –

One of the most striking things I heard him say was this:

Some (many?) parts of the Charlottesville area market are doing better, but if you were about to have a day like I’m about to have, you’d know that there remains a lot of pain and suffering – financial, personal and psychological – in our market.

Click through to see the slides from Dr. Yun’s presentation.

Read More

Why Move to Charlottesville?

in Albemarle Charlottesville on

I’ll defer to these folks’ story about why they moved to Charlottesville. Of particular note is that “finding jobs” is #6, behind wanting to buy a house with at least a little bit of land, proximity to the mountains … this is a common thing – choosing Charlottesville and finding jobs later. Or choosing Charlottesville and keeping the jobs you have and telecommuting.

It’s a great story worth a few minutes’ read.

Read More

Arthouse Theater + Beer + Restaurant Coming to Downtown Mall

in Albemarle Charlottesville General Real Estate on

In the “something cool coming to Downtown Charlottesville” category …

If the number of times this story was shared and discussed on Facebook is any indication of success, the new movie theater on the Downtown Mall is poised for tremendous success.

The Downtown theater, that just successfully drove the Vinegar Hill theater out of business, will now be an art house theater with a bar and restaurant.

Regal Cinema’s movie theater monopoly in Charlottesville has ended, and the new kid on the block is planning to serve up something sure to have local cinephiles salivating: a Downtown theater that offers upscale food and cocktails along with indie film fare.

…

He said the movies the new theater will show will be in line with the mostly indie fare currently screening at the Downtown Regal—which will continue to be the tenant in the space for the immediate future—but he also plans to show some more mainstream films.

Patience is recommended though.

The first step is getting approval from the city’s Board of Architectural Review for a new facade. He’ll present initial plans to the BAR on February 18, but he’s aware it might take awhile to get the O.K.

As it turns out, when my small one and I went to the UVA Women’s soccer tournament in December, we had an occasion to try what I perceive (and hope) this new theater will be.

Read More

Charlottesville a Fast-Shrinking Economy?

in Albemarle Charlottesville General Real Estate on

Hmmm … this isn’t good. I wonder how they define “Charlottesville” – is it “Charlottesville, the City of,” or “Charlottesville = Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson”?

9. Charlottesville, VA


> 2013 GMP change: -2.2% (tied-7th worst)


> Change in employment: -1.9% (tied-5th worst)


> Projected 2014 GMP change: 2.3% (tied-144th best)


> Unemployment rate: 4.6% (32nd lowest)

Charlottesville’s economy contracted by 2.2% in 2013 after failing to grow in 2012. This year, however, may be relatively strong for the area. Employment is projected to rise by 1.4%, while GMP is expected to grow by 2.3%. While these figures aren’t strong relative to the U.S. overall, they are a step in the right direction. Despite the two consecutive years of a shrinking economy, the area’s unemployment rate of 4.6% is considerably lower than many other metro areas. Charlottesville is home to the University of Virginia, a major employer in the area.

This does track with some of the sentiments I have observed, if not the data. I’m thinking that the study authors mean at least “Charlottesville + Albemarle” as much of the University of Virginia is in Albemarle.

Read More

Why Are Charlottesville Home Prices So Much More Expensive than Where I’m From?

in Albemarle Charlottesville on

moonrise 2

I hear this a lot. “Why are homes in Charlottesville so much more expensive than where I’m moving from

I hate to say this, but the answer starts with because. And expensive is relative – it depends on where you’re coming from. But yes, we tend to have higher housing costs than many other parts of the state and country. But we also offer a remarkable location – close to hiking and mountains, a short drive or train ride to DC, Richmond is less than an hour away.

But I also say this having represented buyers who have chosen to not relocate to the Charlottesville area because I showed them homes that just didn’t fit what they could get back home, I’ve represented buyers who have made compromises on what type, style, size home, and I’ve represented buyers who’ve found exactly what they were looking for.

– Because Charlottesville truly is a great place to live.

– Because of supply and demand – a lot of people choose to live here.

– Because quite a few people see Charlottesville as a destination location – they either move here and keep their jobs in Seattle or LA or Boston or – or they are retired or semi-retired. Many want to live in a college town where one of the biggest negatives is choosing between the things to do in your free time.

– Because CharlAlbemarle is always on some kind of best list .

– Because you can get most places in 20 minutes or less. (when I was a kid, it was 13-15 minutes, and today sometimes that 17 minute drive takes 40 – but still.)

Because. And I’m not the only one … Spend a few minutes reading the great comments and discussion we had about this topic on Twitter and Facebook. It’s truly a great conversation with insight from people who live here, grew up here who no longer live here and clients whom I’ve represented. Really. Read the comments.

If you’re curious, here’s some data I pulled – just for single family homes in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene and Nelson Counties –

– Sales and Inventory history 2001 – 2004

– Sales and Inventory history 2005 – 2009

– Sales and Inventory history 2010 – 2014

Read More

Wegmans Finally Coming to Charlottesville

in Affordability Charlottesville on

Wegmans will be pushing dirt in March. The plan will go the to Albemarle County Architectural Review Board (never a non-daunting task) on Monday, Chris Stover at the Newsplex reports.

I’ve had clients tell me that they wanted to move to the south side of Charlottesville specifically because a Wegmans grocery store was coming there. Now it’s actually coming. I doubt I’ll go there other than to satiate my curiosity and to tell my clients that I’ve been there.

Is Wegmans better than Trader Joe’s? I went there a couple times after they opened but Stonefield isn’t my favorite place, and Trader Joe’s newness wore off quickly.

That said, being close to “stuff” that matters is important and this is a huge positive for all of the neighborhoods on that side of Charlottesville – Redfields, Mosby Mountain, the soon-to-break-ground Whittington, Mill Creek when the connector road is finished …

Two questions

– Will the Food Lion survive?

– Why will folks who live on this side of town go to 29 North now?

Read More