Posts tagged Charlottesville

Choosing Where you Want to Live in Charlottesville – Walkability and Safety Top the List

in Albemarle Charlottesville General Real Estate on

Choosing where you live is a huge, immensely significant decision. As I jokingly tell my buyer clients – “it’s no big deal … you’re just deciding where you’re going to live for the next five to ten years … “

Last year I asked you what were the most important factors when evaluating where you want to live. I’m finally getting around to publishing the results. (and thank you to all who answered – for answering and for your patience).

While by no means a scientific survey, as the RealCentralVA readership is probably skewed (I’d argue towards the more informed) 86 responses isn’t insignificant.

Not surprisingly, the top two answers to “What’s the most important factor when choosing a neighborhood?” are “Maximum walkability” and “Quietest/safest.” “Other” came in a reasonable third place.

What's the most important factor when choosing a neighborhood in Charlottesville?

What’s the 2nd most important factor when choosing a neighborhood? Revealed an interesting shift – “safety” and “neighborhood with character” came in 1st and 2nd with “activities for kids” edging out walkability and length of commute. Sadly, there are few “neighborhoods with character” being built in Charlottesville, so new construction buyers are left choosing from either soulless “neighborhoods” or older housing stock that likely needs some degree of renovation and updating, but may have the “proximity to stuff” that matters.

What's the 2nd most important factor when choosing a neighborhood?

From my perspective, everything is about location (naturally) – but “quality location” can be a relative term.

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Development in Charlottesville – Future and Present

in Charlottesville Growth on

Bill Emory asks some great and important questions about current and future development in Charlottesville, “Charlottesville” being the “City of Charlottesville” not “Charlottesville MSA” or “Charlottesville and Albemarle.” A must-see photo essay.

The overreaching question is: How do we move to excellent urban planning?

(and how do we connect Charlottesville and Albemarle and the greater Charlottesville area?)

Thanks to Sean for the pointer.

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Confidence in the (Charlottesville) Lending World

in Albemarle Charlottesville General Real Estate on

Nate Delesline writes a good piece in today’s Daily Progress about the uphill battle faced in the local real estate economy with respect to the lending environment.

Matt Hodges sums up current thinking:

“I’m bullish on the lending market and the real estate market locally,” said Hodges. “We believe that there’s even going to be a greater demand this year than last.”

“There was a pendulum swing where it was way too easy and then it was way too hard to get a mortgage,” said Hodges, who has worked in Charlottesville for 14 years. “Today, consumers still believe that’s it harder to get a loan than it actually is.”

From my perspective as a buyer’s representative – if you’re qualified, you can get a loan. Getting a loan is a far, far more tedious process than it used to be, but it’s absolutely doable. There are challenges that need to be navigated, including the application process, appraisals, underwriting … but these are all surmountable challenges, particularly if you as a buyer have surrounded yourself with the right team.

Remember: lenders don’t ask for things repeatedly because they are bored – they’re asking more questions because they have to. Unlike the previous market, lenders do have some risk if they make bad loans. And we all benefit from a reasonably more stringent lending world. I’m not saying it’s perfect (and never will be). The knee-jerk responses (see: HVCC) by an ignorant, paid-for Congress are extreme, but I feel that we’re on a path to balance. Hopefully.

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Brief Market Snapshot for Charlottesville Area – May 2013

in Albemarle Charlottesville Market statistics on

Homes are selling fairly well in the Charlottesville area. For this post, I was looking less at house prices, where things are selling, etc. and more for a snapshot of the market’s speed.

Per the Charlottesville MLS (and acknowledging that the numbers will shift as end-of-the month-closings are entered into the system:

Some things are looking pretty good … Initially I was working with data from the Charlottesville MSA, but I had to pull the data apart and limit my query to Charlottesville and Albemarle, single family and attached homes. I wasn’t looking for hard numbers (yet) but more a sense of how fast things are selling, and hopefully what the list-to-sale ratio was in April.

In Charlottesville and Albemarle in April, for only single family and attached homes (not marked as “new construction”: (yeah, I know this would look super-cool as a snazzy info graphic, but we make decisions based on data and insight rather than pretty pictures, right? 🙂 )

– 112 122 homes sold in April in Charlottesville and Albemarle

– 8 had continuous days on market of 3 or less — average DOM was 2; homes sold for 99.3% of the asking price – Price per square foot: $151

– 32 had continuous days on market of 15 or less — average DOM was 7; homes sold for 98% of the asking price – Price per square foot: $145

– 43 had continuous days on market of 30 or less — average DOM was 10; homes sold for 97.8% of the asking price – Price per square foot: $143

On the other side of the days on market conversation:

– 43 had continuous days on market of 90 – 120 days — average DOM was 189; homes sold for 94.6% of the asking price – Price per square foot: $148

– 10 had continuous days on market of 120 – 180 days — average DOM was 140; homes sold for 95.5% of the asking price – Price per square foot: $143

– 25 had continuous days on market of > 180 days — average DOM was 240; homes sold for 93.9% of the asking price – Price per square foot: $154

Ok … I couldn’t stop … I was curious about how many non-new construction homes sold this April versus last.
From 4/1/12 – 5/1/12 in Charlottesville and Albemarle:
– 155 homes sold last year versus 122 this year – a 21% drop. (holy cow)
– Breaking out new construction – 24 sold last year versus 20 this year.
There’s always more data to look at …

Short story: YOUR MARKET will vary. But – price your home just right you’re going to be better positioned to sell your house faster for closer to the asking price. Here’s the thing – there’s an outside chance you might sell your home for a little bit more if you wait for that one buyer.

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Help Kickstart Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Education Coverage

in Charlottesville on

I’ve long said that I’m better positioned to represent my clients’ best interests because of the knowledge and information that Charlottesville Tomorrow shares.

Now they’re asking for the community’s help to Kickstart their foray into covering the education side of the news.

Charlottesville Tomorrow has provided something extremely valuable – consistent reporting for many years. Here’s hoping they’re able to replicate this success in the school reporting arena.

Keep in mind – “Distance from Schools” and “Quality of Schools” are the two least-likely-to-compromise criteria for home buyers.

* Disclosure: I donated $50.

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