As promised (while delayed) this is a brief market report for the Waynesboro and Augusta part of the market. More and more, I am representing buyers in this market about 15 minutes to the west of Crozet and 25 minutes to the west of Charlottesville. Quite simply, housing is more affordable here, and the Crozet and Waynesboro MSAs are very integrated – very much so .

Keep in mind that these commuting numbers are from 2000; I predict that 2010 will show these numbers to have at least tripled:

In 1970, 799 people were commuting from Waynesboro/Augusta/Staunton to Charlottesville/Albemarle. As of 2000, nearly 2,200 were making that commute. The markets are compressing.

On to the market report:

I apologize for the display issues; I am still working on reports from their MLS. In short, they did not have the same run-up in price or inventory that the Charlottesville market did. However, their market now has about seventeen months of inventory (PDF here) versus about five months of inventory at this time in 2007 and almost four months of inventory in 2006.

The Median Sales report for March 2008 is here.

The Sales History report for March 2008 is here.

The Sales Trend Report for March 2008 is here.

There seems to be slightly less negotiation in price in this market as well, across the board, but – Waynesboro is growing – rapidly. I have heard rumors of an Olive Garden, and Outback Steakhouse and a few additional places (did you know they have a drive-through Starbucks? Charlottesville doesn’t have a drive-through Starbucks!) Just look at the Waynesboro Town Center’s plan! Many of the people in Crozet have very little reason to even go to Charlottesville.