These are the search results for same.Now, read this article in the Wall Street Journal referencing Washington State’s interpretation of eminent domain.The city of Burien, Wash., recently decided that a piece of property owned by the seven Strobel sisters that had long housed a popular diner-style restaurant was not upscale enough for the city’s ambitious “Town Square” development, which will feature condos, shops, restaurants and offices. Rather than condemn the property for a private developer and risk a lawsuit, Burien came up with a plan–it would put a road through the property, and the city manager told his staff to “make damn sure” it did. When a subsequent survey revealed that the road would not affect the building itself, but only sideswipe a small corner of the property, the staff developed yet another site plan that put the road directly through the building. A trial court concluded that the city’s actions might be “oppressive” and “an abuse of power”–but allowed the condemnation anyway.Until government’s power to take for profit is removed, all property owners are potentially at risk.
Date Archives January 2007
Quite an honor
To be included in a list of 10 Good Men (bloggers), is quite an honor. To be read by one’s peers is gratifying. To be recognized is humbling. So I humbly say, thank you.
Charlottesville area listing inventory numbers
Without a way to determine whether these were changes upwards or down, this is honestly a bit of a shot in the dark; my very educated guess is that these price changes in 2007 were more down than up.Witness this new construction property in Crozet that came on the market last June – it started at one million three hundred forty nine thousand and was just reduced to $899,000!—NB: Contrast what follows with what was released in yesterday’s End of 2006 market report:One factor that affects the DOM statistic is inventory…. Including only our MSA (Albemarle, Charlottesville, Greene, Fluvanna and Nelson), there are as of 10 January 2006, 1672 properties actively on the market…. For example, there are 184 properties on the market in Madison and Orange Counties – at least 35-45 minutes north and north east of Charlottesville. There are 14 on the market in Rockbridge County (home of my alma mater) – at least an hour and fifteen minutes away (realistically 90 minutes).Less inventory is a good thing, at least in this transitional market.* Albemarle, Charlottesville, Greene, Fluvanna, Nelson* This post was inspired by Rob’s continuous tracking of his market.
Charlottesville Neighborhoods – question for readers
Do you love your neighborhood?… As part of the series, I would love to include stories written by those who actually live in the varied neighborhoods. While I have lived in Charlottesville for nearly 20 years, and have been in real estate for six, I have actually lived in just a few of the neighborhoods. So, consider this a “help wanted” post!
Charlottesville Area 2006 Market round up
Rather than copy and paste the entire article here, you can read CAAR’s Year End Market Report here (PDF). In short, 2006 was another record-breaking year tempered by a (in some segments dramatic) return to normalcy. The “froth” or “irrational exuberance” has been blown away…. 4-7& average increase in values – different segments of the market will vary …
Charlottesville Neighborhood – Downtown Mall
While not technically a “neighborhood,” the cultural hub of the City of Charlottesville is the Downtown Mall…. One of the better and more selective lists has been compiled by the University of Virginia Law School.The cultural draw emanates from the Mall to all neighborhoods with even a peripheral or tangential relationship to the Mall. Far-flung neighborhoods are frequently marketed as “walk to the mall,” when, in all reality, that “walking distance” is more equivalent to a healthy bike ride. Some of the more popular neighborhoods that are within a reasonable walk to the Mall are: (links are to large PDFs)10th & PageBelmontFifevilleLocust GroveMartha JeffersonNorth DowntownRidge StreetStarr Hill Woolen MillsNote that not all parts of all of these neighborhoods are “walkable,” but most are walkable, if not bike-able.An interesting podcast that touches on the history of the Downtown Mall can be found at CvillePodcast.
Two things
Flippernation, Episode 3The iPhone. Apple does it again. My only consolation is that Cingular’s service in and around Charlottesville is inferior to Alltel’s.How much longer can MLS’ ignore Mac OSX and code their products solely for Internet Explorer?