Take the Survey just released by the County.
Date Archives June 2007
Real estate Sunday in the Daily Progress – a deeper look at the housing numbers
The DP, Charlottesville’s biggest daily newspaper, has quite the real estate focus today:Prices put dream of homeownership out of reachFlight from high prices costs in road woesHigh housing prices hit city in rankingsHousing boom benefits but wages still lag(All stories on one page)A point of clarification and expansion referencing this (I don’t know why I am taking on the ombudsman role today):In response to the affordable housing issue, Phillips said, the real estate industry has built more moderately priced condominiums and town-houses…. Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna and Greene, there are 476 condos or attached properties active on the market, 329 of which are priced under $300k, 151 are under $200k and 38 are under $150k. Breaking the numbers down a step further to what I believe is a reasonable requirement for many, if not most:Of all attached/condo properties on the market, with at least three bedrooms:Under $150k: 0Under $200k: 1Under $250k: 2Under $300k: 6Another clarification:The region’s homes-for-sale inventory is also increasing, giving buyers more choices and slightly lower prices. There are currently 3,443 active listings in the region, representing a three-fold increase over three years ago.In Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene and Nelson, there are actually 2,581 properties on the market.
Newspapers remain (somewhat) dead
Perhaps my favorite line:I also agree with John’s premise that newspaper advertising is more about promotion of the real estate agent than bringing qualified buyers to see the home. Imagine the absurdity of telling a home seller, “I am going to advertise your home in our local newspaper with a grainy photo and five column lines of type.”The story is particularly serendipitous, as next week I will be advertising in the local print media for the first time in well over a year, at the behest of a client and out of my own curiosity – does it work?… Should one use print media, which is none of the above, to maybe reach that remaining ~20%?And, my favorite comment from the 3Oceans article she referenced:It’s sad to think that the second largest group of persons needing to read this won’t see it. Of the largest group – sellers – many will see it because savvy real estate agents like you, Kevin and other web 2.0 agents will show it to them.The second largest group – traditional real estate.
FSBOs in Charlottesville?
But, a couple of readers emailed me the article, so I feel obligated to comment (and I am grateful for that obligation – thank you for reading)The study (pdf) is less a story of how much more unrepresented sellers sell their homes for than those who choose to hire a Realtor, and more about the effects of a viable alternative to the MLS, which is currently the best way to market a home.We focus on the city of Madison, Wisconsin, where a single web site (fsbomadison.com) has become the dominant for-sale-by-owner platform.A few thoughts:1…. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) argues that Realtors provide valuable help with setting the listing price, preparing the house, checking potential buyers’ qualifications, showing the house, bargaining the terms of the deal, and handling the paperwork.5…. Maybe the best “by owner” site in Charlottesville is c-villebyowner, but their market share remains infinitesimal.In the Charlottesville area real estate market, some neighborhoods are more likely to be successful for those who choose to represent themselves in the sale of their homes – those that are fairly cookie-cutter and high-traffic neighborhoods may be better candidates than those that are not, but why would someone want to limit the number of people to whom they market their most valuable asset? What about the pictures?By the way, the study is outdated.The study found, however, that homes listed with agents sold more quickly — with a 25 percent probability of selling within 60 days versus a 16 percent probability for FSBO-advertised homes.The average days on market in the Charlottesville area, right now, is trending between 74 and 106 days.
Putting Charlottesville traffic in perspective
Our versions of what ‘bad’ are surely differ, but I’m sure if you look at any traffic survey of worst traffic cities, Charlottesville won’t even come close to registering on the list.One of the appealing things about the Charlottesville area has been the relatively high quality of life…. Is our region marketing the lifestyle of “Charlottesville” from seven to ten to fifteen years ago, when one could go from one end of town to the other in ten minutes, or the lifestyle of today, when that same trip takes thirty minutes?… Within our region, we are becoming more and more segmented – 29 North (North), Pantops (East), Crozet (West) and 29 South – and the desire for self-sufficiency and sustainable businesses within these regions is growing (fodder for another story). Just as we market the characters in neighborhoods in addition to the actual house, the question is – when marketing homes for sale in the Charlottesville area, which lifestyle are we marketing?
Feel free to vote for me
As the “Favorite Realtor” in the Charlottesville area. Check it out at the Daily Progress. I won this in 2005 and closed at least one transaction because of it, so I would be greatly appreciative if you would take 30 seconds to vote.
My favorite search term of the day
For some reason, my site ranks highly for this search: real estate agents sell their own mother. I’m so proud.