Charlottesville’s Real Estate Blog since 2005.
Clear, Honest Market Analysis. For People, Not Realtors.
Is the Charlottesville market crashing? Nope. Did it change this fall? Yep. Contracts were up in July and August and down in September and October, Albemarle owners listed more homes than in any fall since 2020, and prices have been flat for three years. The market is still bifurcated — homes sell fast at full price, or they sit and cut.
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Prices held steady in Charlottesville and Albemarle this fall. New listings are up 8% and about half of homes took a month or more to go under contract. Here’s a quick look at the numbers.
%%excerpt%% If you read only one section of this month’s Jim’s Note, make it “Start the Work Now.” The homes that hit the market in spring are being prepped right now.
In 2008 I wrote: “Fear is not a fundamental.”
With hindsight, I’d add to that. Fear isn’t a fundamental. Uncertainty is.
The buyer knows their ceiling. The seller doesn’t. Nobody knows what rates will do.
We study the data, and the data leads. Every decision my clients make still involves a bit of a leap of faith. Part of the job is sitting in the not-knowing with them.
And then they decide. That part is never easy.
Greg Slater and Jim Duncan sit down for a wide-ranging discussion on the shifting Charlottesville and Albemarle County real estate market. From inventory doubling over the last 24 months and 7%+ mortgage rates to seller recency bias, inspection friction, and pricing reality, here is the raw conversation in two parts, complete with annotated notes, data, and historical context.
Jim Duncan is a Realtor and Broker with Nest Realty in Charlottesville. He’s been helping buyers and sellers here since 2001, and writing about the market since 2005, making RealCentralVA one of the longest-running real estate blogs in the country.
My goal is the same: provide clear, honest analysis of the Charlottesville market. No spin. No pressure. Just straight answers to help you make the best decision for your situation. And candid opinions.
My goal is simple: help my clients – buyers or sellers – make good decisions.