Albemarle County’s Building Report tracks the location of these permits in the rural areas vs. the designated growth areas [see chart]…. The 202 rural area permits issued in 2007 represents the smallest total for the rural area in the past eleven years. Brian Wheeler has put this data into context useful for those interested in how the growth affects the Albemarle County School system. He also notes that:I have been tracking this data for the past four years and this past quarter had the fewest number of building permits (54) issued for single family detached homes in any quarter.As I said in November:Two notable conclusions can be drawn:1) The plan to drive development into the growth areas seems to be working (27% of permits issued were in the White Hall district in Western Albemarle)2) Fewer building permits means that the market’s focus may turn to existing housing inventory – which is a very good thing.
Date Archives February 2008
Why take a Buyer’s Agent to new construction?
Jonathan has the answers.And my take from last year on “Default Position.”
You think Albemarle and Charlottesville’s reassessments hurt the budget?
Here’s some perspective.The (Loudoun) county Board of Supervisors is expected to face about a $250 million deficit and begins its budget negotiations later this month.
“Suing for lack of competence”
Trailblazers for what?Advice for buyers:Ask questions…. For too long, buying a house was an almost trivial matter for some, as was choosing a Realtor…. The Ummels say he encouraged them to get their loan through him. Mr. Little ordered an appraisal of the house but did not respond to the couple’s requests to see it, the suit charges.How I wish this were a case of Dual Agency; that would be too easy.
Property taxes in Albemarle and a Streetcar in Charlottesville
Instead of defaulting to “raise taxes,” only two member of the Albemarle BoS think they need to reevaluate government’s “core services.”… While a possible good start, my question is this – how many people will actually use it?… We need to have a coordinated transit plan with the County of Albemarle and the surrounding counties. All I can think of is “monorail!”I’ve talked about Charlottesville/Albemarle/Central Virginia’s transportation issues for some time, and there seems to be very little progress on anything productive besides more meetings.
Rumors and expectations of the Realtors’ demise were greatly exaggerated
As predicted on 3 January of this year:The numbers of Realtors in the Charlottesville area is certain to decline in 2008…. Yesterday was the deadline to renew Realtor memberships and 98% of Charlottesville area Realtors chose to re-up for another year…. That number’s accurate – out of just over 1100 Realtors, only 27 have decided to hang up their memberships.Nationally, membership is flat.Locally, these are a few questions to ask your Realtor before you hire him. If you are a buyer or seller, ask yourself – when choosing someone to represent your best interests, would you want someone who does it only a couple times a year, or someone who lives and breathes it every day?The Pareto Principle (the 80/20 rule) proves itself again.More on the impact of the slowing market and part time Realtors here (from 2006).This was my first lead-in sentence:“in a sign of either delusion or confidence that the market will rebound, about 98% of Charlottesville Realtors decided to re-up their membership …â€But I chose a less blustery opening.