Browsing Category Albemarle

Thanks for Reading RealCentralVA in 2013 – and Hopefully 2014

in Albemarle Blogging Charlottesville General Real Estate on

Thank you. Thank you for reading this year. Your time, your insight – on and offline – is a huge part of why I do what I do here.

I’m planning some stories for 2014 – obviously a bunch of new stories but also quite a few that have never made it out of “draft” status in my moleskin or my writing program.

The wonderful thing about real estate – both as a career to practice and as something about which to write – is that every year is different and interesting. Having written well over 4,000 stories since January 2005 here (some of which are pretty good) there remains plenty to write.

Some of the things that are on my list for 2014 –

– Unemployment and its affect on the housing market

– New construction – more is coming – what will its impact be on infrastructure and the resale housing market?

– The impact of new mortgage rules – Qualified Residential Mortgages are finally being implemented, and while the rules haven’t yet been finalized (or written) this new wrinkle will affect the housing market.

– The new proposed legislation that affects real estate stuff

– I’ll continue to localize national real estate advice. This is a wonderfully useful overview of the home buying process, with at least one detail that doesn’t apply to the CharlAlbemarle area – when buying a home, you wire the money.

– What do you want to read about? What interests you?


And next-to-lastly, a request:

If you want to stay informed every time I write a story, I’m asking you to consider subscribing; you can do so here (it’s the second option).

If that’s too much email (and for me, it probably would be) – you can subscribe to my monthly note , which is where I write some of my best (and definitely my best-edited) stuff.

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Charlottesville Albemarle Airport Expanding

in Albemarle Charlottesville General Real Estate on

At the airport in Charlottesville (CHO), waiting for my flight to Dulles (IAD)

Having recently completed an 800 foot runway extension, CHO is about to spend $4 to $6 million.

Nate Delesline with the Daily Progress reports:

A reconfigured security screening area and new, larger public restrooms — before and after the TSA checkpoint — are among the elements that likely will be the most visible changes for travelers.
In addition, the terminal’s deli and gift shop will be relocated; passenger departure and seating areas will be expanded; electronic gadget charging stations will be added; a business center will be added upstairs; and the terminal’s escalators will be replaced.

Having easy access to such a nice airport is a positive for many who are seeking to purchase in the area. I can’t count the number of times an incoming client has asked about CHO. My response has always been that when it works – departure and arrivals are smooth and on time – it’s a beautiful thing. When it doesn’t, the hubs that CHO feed are nice. 🙂

A question – how much larger will the (can the?) airport grow? How will it affect the area surrounding the airport?

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UVA’s Strategic Plan to Cost More than Half a Billion Dollars

in Albemarle Charlottesville General Real Estate on

Derek Quizon at the Daily Progress reports that the University of Virginia is looking to spend well over half a billion dollars in the next few years.

Implementing the University of Virginia’s five-year strategic plan could cost more than a half-billion dollars, much of the money going to faculty, according to school estimates.

UVa’s administration has avoided publicly discussing the plan’s cost, calling it a fluid and unpredictable figure. But a 44-page analysis obtained in an open records request put the estimate at $564 million, almost a fourth of that amount covering faculty pay raises and net salaries for more than 400 new professors, mostly to cover an anticipated wave of retirements. Faculty startup packages — or research seed money — would total almost $200 million.
…
The analysis said about $330 million would go toward faculty. The university expects to replace 295 retiring faculty with 425 new hires. Additional faculty is needed to account for projected enrollment growth, Sullivan wrote in her letter to the board. Enrollment is expected to increase by 1,089 over the five years of the plan, starting next fall and ending in 2019, according to the analysis.

Pouring that much money into the Charlottesville area is likely to have a positive effect, but I’m curious as to what the impact will be on tuition and housing. What plans are being made (if any) to accommodate the new students? Presumably the slew of new apartments on West Main Street will house some of these students. Any plans for new parking garages?

I’m curious too why it took a FOIA to extract these numbers from the University.

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Do You Know What You Don’t Know about County Public Meetings?

in Albemarle Charlottesville Growth Politics on

What happens in public hearings affects darn near everyone.

So much happens in Albemarle County Board of Supervisors meetings that the public doesn’t find out about – and then get up in arms about, or support – until it (whatever it is) is too far along to change.

I try my best to follow what happens in these meetings as I think it’s part of my job to know more than my clients – whether buyers or sellers. I need to know what might be happening over there that might impact their quality of life, traffic congestion, shopping options, potential resale competition, growth and human settlement patterns, property taxes – you name it, it’s covered at local public meetings.

For example, the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting is chock full of stuff that will affect people’s lives and property values, and these public hearings are all over the County – Barracks Road, 29 North, Pantops, Crozet …

Public Hearings (links go to PDFs):
• ACSA-2013-0002. Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc
• ZMA-2012-00003. Out of Bounds

• ZMA-2012-00004. Avon Park II
• ZMA-2013-00001. The Lofts at Meadowcreek

• ZMA-2012-0005. Hollymead Town Center (A-1)

• ZMA-2013-0007. North Pointe Amendment

• ZMA-2013-0002. Pantops Corner

• SP-2013-000015. Mahone Family

• ZTA-2013-00006. Residential and Industrial Uses in Downtown Crozet Zoning District (“DCD”)

If you’re interested in following these public meetings, two of the more prolific tweeters of public meetings are Neil Williamson of the Free Enterprise Forum and Sean Tubbs of Charlottesville Tomorrow.

To be equitable, I looked for the Charlottesville City Council’s agenda but it has not yet been posted. (actually it’s postponed, per C-Ville)

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Three Charts Depicting the Charlottesville Real Estate Market Entering December 2013

in Albemarle Charlottesville Fluvanna Market statistics on

Curiosity stole an hour of my morning … I intended to update only the Crozet “When do homes come on the market” spreadsheet, got lost there for a bit and decided to look at the Charlottesville MSA numbers.

2012’s Charlottesville MSA sales trends – looking at when homes came on the market, when they went under contract and when they closed.

When do homes Come on the market in Charlottesville - 2012

And 2013

Well, this is interesting.

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

And the differential between 2013 and 2012.

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

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What is “Usual and Customary” in Charlottesville? – Part 2

in Albemarle Charlottesville General Real Estate on

Ipswich, Waterfront, Ipswich Campus, The Big Question Mark Sculpture

Part 2 of 2. Part 1 is here.

Continuing the “what is usual and customary” question and answer series …

What’s “normal” in the Charlottesville real estate market? It’s a question that’s asked of me by buyers coming from other markets (agents, too) and sellers who haven’t sold a house before (or for many years). Note: what you see on HGTV is not what is “usual and customary” in the Charlottesville market. (or any market on Planet Earth).

“Usual and customary” is always changing. Radon inspections weren’t usual and customary a couple years ago; now they are. Heck, buyer agency wasn’t usual and customary 15 years ago.

Q: — Who attends the home inspection? Appraisal? Termite/Radon inspections?

A: A buyer’s agent attends all of these, with the home inspection being far more important for them to be onsite than for the termite or radon inspections. Meeting the appraiser can be tricky – sometimes if the appraiser has a lockbox key and MLS access, we never get the call to schedule. I try to meet all appraisers onsite, as I like to pick their brains about what they’re seeing in the market as they see the market through a different lens than I do.

Q: Recording and possession. Is recording done the same day as closing? Are keys transferred when closing docs are signed or when transaction is recorded?

A: Usually recording and possession happens on the same day, although I advise my buyers to not have a moving truck on the front lawn the afternoon of closing … I’ve had this happen, something went wrong and many tears were shed, curse words flew, phone calls made and a few nights in a hotel for the buyer highlighted why I advise what I do. Frequently the keys are given to the buyer at closing, with strict instructions to not enter the property until recordation has occurred.

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