Date Archives September 2013

Comparing 2012 and 2013 – When Do Homes Come on the Market in Charlottesville?

in Albemarle Charlottesville Market statistics on

I hadn’t updated this chart in about 18 months, and I was curious … one of the most common questions I get is “when do homes come on the market in Charlottesville?” Typically this question comes in one of three conversations: (I’m going to do a series answering these questions – to be published the next two Wednesdays) –

– I’m thinking about putting my house on the market – when does the Charlottesville market start? (short answer: Take pictures now)

– I’m thinking abut buying a home in the spring – when do most homes come on the market? (short answer: Fall/Winter is the best time to begin your home search. And an even better time to hire buyer representation so your search process is less frustrating, more efficient and better.)

– I’m curious. What’s the market like? (note the third chart to see what my curiosity led me to)

A few differences between the following charts and the one from January 2011:

– “Charlottesville” = Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson (in 2011 I didn’t include Louisa)

– Only Single Family, Attached and Condos results are included – not “proposed” – meaning not new construction, paper lots, aren’t included

That said –

Let’s look at some numbers. 2011 was interesting, with the new listing bump breaking the traditional mid-year inventory decline right after the start of the autumn school year – a trend that occurs every year.

And 2012?

list-contract-closed-Charlottesville MSA 2012

So … how’s 2013 looking?

– The contract peak was in May of this year versus April of 2012 – As I said in my monthly note recently, the frenzy of the early spring filled with hope and confidence was tempered early.

– Inventory levels for 2013 are pretty much on track – across the MSA – with 2012.

When do homes Come on the market in Charlottesville MSA? 2013

The differentials between 2013 and 2012 are fascinating. Look at the peak in Contracts.

– I’m speculating that the increase in inventory in July/August is due in part because some sellers saw the hope in the market and success their neighbors were having in selling and thought that now would be the right time for them to try to (finally) sell.

Differential - 2013 versus 2012 -When do homes Come on the market in Charlottesville

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West Main Street – The Solution to UVA’s Housing Crunch?

in Charlottesville Growth Transportation on

That’s what it’s seeming like, and the Charlottesville City Planning Department is starting to realize the ramifications of being said solution to UVA’s growth.

Charlottesville Tomorrow reports (read the whole thing):

Several members of the Charlottesville Planning Commission said Tuesday they leaned toward not approving an apartment complex on West Main Street unless the needs of an adjacent public housing site are taken into consideration.

“I have grave concerns about the social justice and the environmental justice issues of putting a project like this next to Westhaven,” said CommissionerGenevieve Keller.

The developers of the proposed 189-unit development, the Standard, had a preliminary discussion with the commission during its meeting Tuesday night. The developers need a special use permit to allow for additional density and building height.

The ramifications – rents, homeownership rates, transience, transportation, the demand for ancillary services – of so many rental units coming on the market at pretty much the same time will be … interesting. We’ll know more in 24 months.

And here you have the story of transportation/infrastructure/”planning” of Charlottesville and Albemarle … in a nutshell (bolding mine):

The Planning Commission is slated to vote on the special use permit later this year, but Keller said she wanted to wait until the results of a $350,000 study of infrastructure required to guide redevelopment of West Main Street. No timetable for that study has been made available.

Look … I’m not saying they should wait for the study results, but I am saying that our localities’ respective proclivities to plan and study and plan to study and study the plan – while growth happens is harmful. To the localities, to businesses, to basic qualities of life of those of us who live here.

Background story on RealCentralVA from October 2012. Some of the other stories I’ve written about West Main Street.

A look at West Main on Google Maps.

I *really* wish Flickr allowed for geographic searching; searching for “West Main” isn’t so useful.

COeverywhere looks really promising from a mobile perspective for (hyper)local insight.

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Local Elections Matter – Charlottesville and Albemarle Edition

in Albemarle Charlottesville Growth Politics on

The Virginia Public Access Project - Albemarle County

Local elections matter immensely – they’re where our growth, land use, property taxes, police and more relevant policies are implemented. I’ll be writing about the Albemarle, Charlottesville and Greene elections more as we get nearer to the elections, but for now, three of the most important resources available for Charlottesville and Albemarle and local/state politics, respectively are:

– Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Candidate Forum Calendar. They will be posting their comprehensive Election Guide soon.

– VPAP, the Virginia Public Access Project tracks money in elections. Sadly, it appears that Albemarle and Charlottesville are the only two local localities participating.

— Albemarle – So far, $86,303 is being reported as having been raised between the three races. Duane Snow is getting killed in fundraising – Liz Palmer reporting nearly $30k versus his $8,500
— Charlottesville – So far, about $12k is being reported as having been raised. Will this be the year a non-Democrat gets elected to City Council?

– C-Ville’s recent Albemarle County Supervisor interviews. Rio District, Samuel Miller and Jack Jouett.

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The HooK Closes

in General Real Estate Off-topic on

Damn.

One of the most pressing questions is posed on cvillenews:

And what of The Hook’s website? There are 12 years of vital, historically significant news coverage there, available to anybody using Google. The loss of that archive—like the once-deep web-based archives of The Cavalier Daily, WINA, and The Observer—would be terrible. What’s the plan to maintain that?

There has to be a plan – even a community plan – to fund the archives’ existence in perpetuity.

The Internet Archive isn’t going to cut it.

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September’s Monthly Note – Google Glass, Negligence and a Recap

in Shameless Self Promotion on

Choosing to not publish archives in my monthly notes is one of the more difficult decisions I’ve made this year.

I wanted to focus on the moment, the content and the reader. Not being able to link back to last month’s note forces me to focus on writing right now and to write more descriptively and concisely; I don’t have “see last month” or ” … in February I noted” as a literary crutch.

That said, I’ve found great enjoyment in writing these monthly notes – target audience being my readers here, consumers, and admittedly other real estate professionals (but I have yet to think about writing for that segment other than, “I better not write that – other Realtors read this.”

If you find subscribing to near-daily emails from my real estate blog too much (I probably would) you might find that my monthly notes, including a summary of the more notable posts of the previous month, valuable.

If you’re inclined, you can subscribe to my monthly notes here (it’s a two-step process).

Brief outline of September’s note:

– Market Update (a monthly feature)

– Lead and septic

– Nest Party

– Recap of August on my blogs

– a couple other things

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Crozet Library is Open

in Albemarle General Real Estate on

In planning since at least 1987, Crozet’s new library is open.

Crozet Library - opening soon

I have represented a few clients who have purchased in Crozet in part due to the new Crozet Library. It’s going to be interesting to see how it, and the area around it, evolves over the coming years.

This is why Crozet needed a bigger library.

If you’re curious about the Crozet Library saga, you can start here.

No public plans as of yet as to what will become of the old Crozet Library, but it’d make a great restaurant … but for the lack of parking.

Update – I took a few photos today when my daughter and I went into the Crozet Library for the first time. It’s a pretty fantastic building.

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