Locally, I do not see a “bubble” per se, but I would really like the National Association of Realtors to either give more credible support or just stop giving it.Question: “Should we be concerned that home prices are rising faster than family income?”Answer: “No. There are three components to housing affordability: home prices, income, and financing costs – the latter are historically low.”I am not an economist, nor do I play one on TV, but this argument seems … precarious. What happens in three (or two) years when those who have unwisely chosen 3 year interest only loans see those 4.5% mortgages jump to 6.5%, or 8.5%? Will they have planned judiciously for that event … or not?
Date Archives November 2005
Good Press
From Sunday’s DP regarding the VPTC’s luncheon last week:Taking the business opportunities off the page and into the ears, panelist Sean Tubbs of the Charlottesville Podcasting Network told of the podcasts he recently produced for local real estate agent (and blogger) Jim Duncan.This sort of press can (hopefully) only help to build my business. First in the region to blog, first to podcast, what’s next? The second podcast is in the works, but in the meantime, check this out (if you have iTunes), courtesy of Jim Bain and, of course, Wordcast Productions.
Telecommuters, taxes and traffic
Try this – telecommute+CharlottesvilleRecent government studies also underscore telecommuting’s favorable impact on transportation, energy, and environmental goals and the role played by the national information infrastructure (NII) in furthering these outcomes. (source)Telecommuting seems like a good thing, right?Based on research from other private sector and public organization telecommuting experience, benefits to the employee are likely to include increased job satisfaction, reduced commuting time and transportation costs, diminished stress, improved quality of life, and improved family functioning. Societal contributions include environmental and energy conservation, less traffic congestion on area highways, reduced family stress, increased civic involvement in local communities, and improved economic development at local and regional levels.From a housing market point of view, more telecommuters means all of the above including more intellectual capital in the region, higher salaries and a potentially more stable local economy.
Restrained growth on the horizon?
Fluvanna (from the DP):'”It’s a generational shift” … “It became apparent during this last campaign at [Lake Monticello] that there are more and more young people living at the lake,” Moss continued.”It’s a reflection really of the changing demographics, not just in Fluvanna County but at the lake.”Greene (courtesy of The HooK):”Morris cites land use and rising property taxes– particularly as they affect seniors– as the issues that spurred her to run. … “I think it boiled down to land use. He was Planning Commission chairman, and some of their decisions could be perceived as developer friendly,” Catalano says.”We don’t like pushy in Greene County,” he adds. “The perception was that the Planning Commission was trying to push an agenda in the county.”One aspect of politics that continually vexes me is the consistent dishonesty, or even perceived dishonesty, of politicians. If the following is true (and I believe it to be), how can we expect different from our elected officials?Grant concedes that his name recognition and longtime resident status may not have helped. “Maybe they hate my guts and don’t want to tell me,” he says.
What do you want to know?
What questions do you have about the Central Virginia real estate market? What interests you? Our real estate market touches most people who live and work in the Charlottesville area, whether they own real estate or not – land use freedoms and restrictions, transportation projects and bottlenecks, what impact a 5% reduction in property values may have, property tax increases, etc. How many people commute to Charlottesville? What happens if tourists become residents?What piques your interest?
Blogging for Business
I attended the VPTC “‘Casting for Customers” on Thursday and was quite impressed (as I fully expected to be) with the quality of the discussion. Cvillepodcast has the podcast and there is a brief blogging “primer” on Michael Prichard’s site.
Coincidentally, I came across this site yesterday, which led me to this blog discussing how and whether companies should integrate blogging into their corporate marketing plans. His arguments are against corporate blogs, per se.
Ha. YIMBYs.
… a new line of YIMBY t-shirts on cafepress.com today. YIMBY = Yes In My Back Yard, a person who believes that the more life there is, the greater the city. (As opposed to NIMBY, a person who’s generally opposed to development in their neighborhood.)