Charlottesville's Real Estate Blog. Buyer &/or Seller Representation, Real Estate News
Good for the County for seeking to repurpose an existing building rather than building new.
It is a shame that there’s not an existing location which would be a central hub for connectivity via foot and bicycle traffic.
Neil Williamson at the Free Enterprise Forum has more.
What’s interesting to me is that as the new Crozet Library has grown, more and more of my buyer clients are mentioning that proximity to the library is a key factor in their “where to live” equation.
Update:
From where contractors’ subs come from to where the money ultimately goes when consumers buy a house, more and more of my buyer clients are asking about “local” … Most home builders have energy efficient…
YOUR market will vary.
Even though this is what we believe to be an extremely accurate market report, it’s still a broad-brush report.
Mill Creek will have different inventory levels and absorption rates than will Old Trail, or the Gleason condos. As will different price points. i.e. – low absorption rate at $1 million + , high absorption rate in the $300k – $400k price point.
Dig in, get educated, ask questions, either in the comments below or email or call me anytime.
This is an example of how saying “sales are up” or “sales are down” doesn’t tell the whole picture.
For all residential sales year to date in the Charlottesville MSA:
Very broad takeaways –
– Inventory levels across the MSA are up, sales are down.
– Quality inventory is anecdotally way down
– In some market segments, multiple offers are common place.
– New construction is going to be a huge market segment – for better or worse.
– Being prepared to act fast – whether as a buyer or seller – is crucial.
The full report is embedded below, or download it here.
The County of Albemarle (and City of Charlottesville for that matter) seem to have a “planning for traffic” plan in which they approve stuff and then, twenty years later, seem stunned that more houses and shopping brought more people and traffic … and then they (we) have to deal with said traffic and congestion.
Sunday’s Daily Progress’ editorial notes –
U.S. 250 in the Crozet growth area needs to be retrofitted to accommodate the kind of traffic generated there — including pedestrian traffic.
But the issue goes deeper than that — all the way to the growth pattern that created the problem in the first place.
Within two years, two pedestrians have died near the Blue Ridge Shopping Center, on one side of the highway, and Clover Lawn Village, on the other.
These developments — along with nearby subdivisions — were approved to locate along the highway, which made a certain sense at the time by allowing traffic to take advantage of existing infrastructure.
But the growth then altered the highway usage. Traffic increased — especially vehicular traffic, but also pedestrian — and U.S. 250 went from being a through highway to serving as a local road.
The two uses are profoundly incompatible.
Here’s the thing – Albemarle County have encouraged the growth in Western Albemarle, yet they haven’t begun to address how to facilitate the moving of the people who will move there … and 250 West is likely to not be widened as it’s a Scenic Byway, advocated for by Scenic 250, “… a citizens organization dedicated to preserving the rural and scenic character of US Route 250 from Charlottesville to the western boundary of Albemarle County“.
What’s the solution? I honestly don’t yet know, but the status quo is untenable.
Numbers matter. Today is the new normal when evaluating the Charlottesville real estate market. Last year’s market matters (as do the previous years) but what truly matters to buyers and sellers is what today’s market is.
Some context – the number of homes (single family, attached, condo) sold – in the first quarter – in Charlottesville and Albemarle since 1999:
For this story, I’m not looking at Fluvanna, Greene, Nelson, Louisa as their growth seems to have started a bit after Charlottesville’s and Albemarle’s did, respectively. Right now, I’m seeking consistent volume in the real estate market.
Single family homes are the traditional marker of the market, for the sake of consistency. Attached homes have exploded in popularity (we’ll be looking at new construction numbers next week) in the past 5-7 years.
For anyone looking to buy a home in the Charlottesville-Albemarle markets right now, five key points to be aware of are:
– Quality inventory is in high demand, low supply. Of the 550 homes (all types) in the MSA that went under contract in 1st Quarter 2013, 276 had days on market of less than 30, 214 had days on market of less than 14, 129 had days on market of less than 3! (57 had days on market of at least 300)
– Overall inventory is up (surprised, right? Me too)
– Quality, well-priced homes are selling – fast. Often with multiple offers (I’ve written several escalation clauses in the past few weeks, if you can believe it)
– Being prepared – both as a buyer and seller – is crucial. Know the market; hire a quality real estate agent, prepare your house effectively.
– Be patient. If you’re a buyer looking in particular segments, you might have to lose at least one house in the process. I know it sucks. But there will be another house.
If you’re interested in the actual numbers, click through to see the rest of the story.
Land use (for many) is boring and is the task of other people. But … if you live in (or are thinking about living in) the Charlottesville or Albemarle areas, you should be paying at least some attention to the Comprehensive Planning Processes of the County of Albemarle and City of Charlottesville. This stuff matters.
I haven’t reviewed the respective Comprehensive Plans, but the one thing that I think would be a crucial component would be how each locality plans to cooperate and collaborate with the other – particularly on infrastructure. Our locality’s inability to plan effectively and more importantly – implement and execute (at all) – are damaging to the community, real estate values and quality of life. 40 years ago, the Meadowcreek Parkway was a logical road (from what I’ve been told); today, notsomuch. But it’s the best that could be done apparently.
Naturally, Charlottesville Tomorrow reports on both.
The City of Charlottesville’s Comp Plan:
After two years of review and more than 60 meetings, the Charlottesville Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Tuesday on the document that will help shape land use decisions through 2018 and beyond.
…
The plan also includes an analysis of the city’s ability for future growth. There are currently around 10,000 potential residential units that could be built by-right, though only 800 of those would be in the city’s lower-density neighborhoods.
…
Haluska also said that the city is running out of vacant land for new residential development, so new homes will likely be built on sites that will have to be redeveloped.
And the County of Albemarle’s Comp Plan:
“[In the 2007 version] we had five sections in the Comprehensive Plan and they were kind of unbalanced,†county principal planner Elaine Echols said. “Those sections were created at different times and they each start with the growth management policy.â€
“[In the current draft] we’ve pulled these sections together into one single document and moved the growth management policy [to the beginning of the plan],†Echols added, noting that these changes should decrease repetition and increase ease of use.
There really ought to be a simple public display of how much money has been spent on transportation studies that result in nothing but recommendations for more studies.
Sean Tubbs writes that the Metropolitan Planning Organization is planning to study the Eastern Connector again:
Officials first want consultants to evaluate potential obstacles that could undermine public support.
Like … the complete unfeasibility of such a project? Would that undermine public support?
A bit of background –
– What if the Meadowcreek Parkway didn’t exist? (in the comments)
– Political Problems on Pantops