June 2011 - Page 3 of 5 - RealCentralVA.com

Impossible to Predict the Charlottesville Real Estate Market

in General Real Estate on June 13, 2011 June 13, 2011

If you have been reading RealCentralVA for a while, or we’ve talked in person you know that I have been saying for a while that we don’t know what the market is doing and we don’t know what we don’t know.

I was a bit comforted to read that Robert Shiller, the “Shiller” in “Case Shiller” believes the same thing, whether he’s predicting that the (national) housing market is going to get better or worse.

“Statisticians deal with things that repeat themselves. This housing boom and bust is so historic and unprecedented, you can’t forecast the future because you have no comparison.”

* video coming soon …

Batesville Store is Closing

And it’s a damn shame. I find it inexplicable and infuriating that, if everything that is reported is true – that Friday was the owners’ first notice that they were in violation – then the State’s choice to enforce their rules and shut down the store is inexcusable and unacceptable. The Batesville Store is part of what makes Albemarle Albemarle.

The Batesville Store is was an integral part of the community. Personally, I’d like to see the community of Batesville, if they were so inclined, refuse to let the state shut the store down.

At RealCrozetVA – read the letters from the owners.

Friday: What I’m Reading.

in Off-topic on June 10, 2011 June 10, 2011

Coming on Monday – a comprehensive look at the first months’ real estate sales in the Charlottesville MSA, (following up on this weeks’ first look at the real estate market data) including median prices for attached and detached homes, Year over Year and 2011 versus 2000 transactional data. In short, even more Charlottesville real estate that you won’t find anywhere else.**

I’m trying to read more books.

I just finished The Great Stagnation: How America Ate All The Low-Hanging Fruit of Modern History,Got Sick, and Will (Eventually) Feel Better and now I’m reading The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You, both of which are terrifying on different levels.*

Some linkage for you:

What Does “Community” Mean to You?

in Albemarle Charlottesville on June 9, 2011 June 9, 2011

In Charlottesville*, what does “Community” mean to you?

It’s walkable, it’s connected, it’s friendly, it’s helpful, it’s supportive, it allows individualism or collectivism, allows choice.

I Could Have Written this Today – We Don’t Know what We Don’t Know

in Market statistics on June 9, 2011 June 9, 2011

“We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know” – from August 2009.

And Government is still intervening and failing miserably, spectacularly and consistently. Come to think of it, the only consistency in the real estate market is that the government is consistency screwing things up.

But hey, why should we worry?

Meadowcreek Parkway Opening (for bicyclists and pedestrians)

in Charlottesville Transportation on June 8, 2011 July 11, 2011

From Charlottesville Tomorrow:

In other news, Huja announced that VDOT has agreed to open up the countyâ€™s portion of the parkway to cyclists and pedestrians by the end of July. Another agreement between the city, county and VDOT prevents the road from opening to vehicular traffic until the interchange and both road sections are all completed.

Somerset Farm – It’s What’s Next

in Albemarle Charlottesville Growth on June 8, 2011 June 8, 2011

Somerset Farm – Neighborhood centers, pedestrian-oriented, close to downtown Charlottesville …

From the Comprehensive Plan Report:

Neighborhoods centers would be developed as focal points for congregating. These central districts could include commercial or civic spaces that provide services, employment opportunities and gathering places for residents, reminiscent of European and pre suburban American villages