Browsing Category Albemarle

Charlottesville as a Great “Place” – to Live, Be, Grow Business

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There was a great discussion last night at the Tom Tom Founders Festival’s Social Media Innovation Track. The panelists were fantastic –

– Evan Cooper, Director of Digital Strategy, Red Light Management

– Tobias Dengel, CEO Willow Tree

– Marijean Jaggers, President of Jaggers Communication

– Ryan Derose, founder of VibeThink

The conversation is worth listening to – from their insights about attracting talent to Charlottesville, to the authenticity of Charlottesville to the future of the mobile web (hint:it’s huge)

Charlottesville Tomorrow was kind enough to document, photograph and record the whole thing. If you have 45 minutes, have a listen.

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I’ll Know Housing Recovery in Charlottesville When I’ve Seen It

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The housing recovery in Charlottesville (and presumably everywhere, but knowing this market is hard enough) is kind of like pornography.

I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description [“hard-core pornography”]; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that. [Emphasis added.]

—Justice Potter Stewart, concurring opinion in Jacobellis v. Ohio 378 U.S. 184 (1964), regarding possible obscenity in The Lovers.

How will the “recovery” be defined? Is now the time to buy? (or sell?)

First, we’ll know by hindsight. When we have the luxury and the benefit of 12 to 24 months of looking back, we’ll be able to tell.

Transactions – volume of transactions – what is normal volume of sales transactions in the Charlottesville MSA? I don’t know; homeownership rates are declining. Last year, 1755 single family homes sold in the Charlottesville MSA (including Louisa). In 2002, 2479 single family homes sold. I’d put the “sustainable” rate of single family home sales somewhere in between those two numbers.

Price – stability or appreciation showing themselves

Foreclosures and short sales – fewer than today to none.

Shadow inventory – known and dispensed with; no longer a question of uncertainty.

So … is the housing market in Charlottesville recovering?

Calculated Risk says:

The debate is now about the strength of the recovery, not whether there is a recovery. My view is housing will remain sluggish for some time, and I expect 2012 to be another historically weak year, but better than 2011.

Maybe.

Consider this snapshot, from which I’m trying to :

In Charlottesville and Albemarle:

– 107 homes went under contract between 15 April and 1 May 2011. 64 of those were single family. 23 were attached.

– 144 homes went under contract between 15 April and 1 May 2012 – a 26% increase! – 92 (30% more) were single family. 23 were attached.

In the Charlottesville MSA (Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson):

– 156 homes went under contract between 15 April and 1 May 2011. 109 (70%) were single family.

– 186 homes went under contract between 15 April and 1 May 2012. 132 (71%) of those were single family.

That sure looks like we’re on the path to recovery, right?

In the MSA in the above timeframe, 22 of those contracts in 2011 were either short sales or foreclosures (6 & 16, respectively). In 2012, 19 of those were short sales or foreclosures (8 & 11, respectively). “A 14% decline in distressed contracts!” surely is a better headline than “3“, right?

It’s too early to tell with respect to foreclosures/short sales/distressed sales

Charlottesville Foreclosure Rate and Foreclosure Activity Information | RealtyTrac

My personal favorite:

“When will U.S. house prices recover? Likely never. But that’s no reason not to buy.” and believe it or not, the article reaches some salient conclusions, echoed by many if not most of my recent buyer clients’ decisions –

That’s why prospective buyers should stop focusing on the vague hope that house prices will jump from here and focus instead on the functional value houses provide for the money. In most markets, they provide enough of that to make buying a good deal.

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Cville Bike Lab – Community, Engagement, Bike Repair & Education

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Weekly if not daily, I’m reminded that Charlottesville is a great place with people who are interested and invested in making Charlottesville a better place.

Cville Bike Lab is one of those “makes Charlottesville a better place” things.

If you have just under five minutes to spare, watch Spencer describe:

– What the Cville Bike Lab is
– What the Cville Bike Lab’s goals are
– The growing bicycle community in Charlottesville
– The coming peer to peer bike lending/sharing program (think airbnb for bicycles) and the sharing/interaction that will come from that exchange
– The part at 4:21 reminds me of something a friend is doing in Atlanta at a bank, Acru Wealth.

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Hyperlocal News Manifesto – An Area in Which Charlottesville Excels

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Local news reporting matters.

Charlottesville is lucky to have great local news and great local blogs that serve to make Charlottesville a better place.

I believe local journalism, local government and local economies are the linchpins of a vibrant, healthy nation. For decades, as conglomerates swallowed up independent news outlets across the nation (our own local paper, Bay News, is owned by News Corp. – the same company that owns Fox News and the New York Post, for example), local coverage was watered down because community reporting is expensive, and stockholders want dividends. And because corporations can view employees as easily replaceable cogs, one reporter who lives in the community and has covered it for decades is just as valuable as one straight out of journalism school three states over.

But community reporting requires more than cogs. It requires more than an academic familiarity of those it covers. What meaningful local reporting requires is a personal investment. If the reporter doesn’t stand to benefit from a healthy community, his coverage will serve to dramatize and exacerbate problems rather than solve them.

When Sheepshead Bites ventures to cover the community, we do it because we’re neighbors. Our writers live here. Our business is based here. And we endeavor to support and uplift our neighbors for all of our benefit.

Thanks to Charlottesville Tomorrow, The HooK, Cville and all the local Charlottesville blogs that keep me (and my clients and the community) informed.

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The Charlottesville Real Estate Market Update – In 8 Minutes or Less

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Thanks to Coy Barefoot for having me on his excellent Charlottesville – Right Now! show this afternoon. I tried to provide clear, quick analysis of the good, bad and possibly ugly in the Charlottesville real estate market – positivity framed with market realities and some context.

Listen to the podcast below.

Describing “where we are” in the Charlottesville real estate market is extremely difficult to accomplish in a short period 0f time; luckily there’s the 1st Quarter Nest Report for more in depth insight.

I think this tweet best describes today’s real estate market:

18 homes closed in CharlAlbemarle last week; Days on Market ranged from 0 to 863. $/sq ft from $89 to $227.#ThereIsNoOneMarket

As always, questions welcomed.

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Tom Tom Founder’s Festival in Charlottesville

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Tom Tom Founders Festival.jpg

If you haven’t seen or read about the Tom Tom Founder’s Festival, now would be a good time to start. Inspired by South by Southwest (SXSW), it aspires to be something it seems Charlottesville has not yet seen. Offering various tracks from biotech startup  to a locavore expo to Charlottesville as a startup hub, there’s something for any and everyone interested in being and becoming involved in Charlottesville.

(what’s this have to do with Charlottesville real estate? Nothing other than this is but one more thing that makes living in Charlottesville fantastic … if one can make time to participate and get involved. “Real estate” is about life and lifestyle. This Festival looks to complement and accentuate life in Charlottesville – for the better)

Have a look at their various Tracks –

– TTFF’s Music Track

– TTFF’s Arts Track

– TTFF’s “City as a Canvas” Track

– And then there’s the Tom Tom Founders Festival Music Track offering a remarkable lineup of music.

– The one about which I’m most excited – TTFF’s Innovation Track, in which they seek to explore Place Based Innovation, something about which I think Charlottesville really does (and should) excel. The Sustainable Design panel looks to be exceptional:

Our “Place Based Innovation” continues with an acknowledgement of the ways the well-being of future generations will be built on this generation’s choices. Charlottesville is home to groundbreaking pioneers looking at design, infrastructure, and resource development. These decisions not only help achieve ecological and cultural diversity; they help us stay productive. This discussion focuses on local innovations in sustainable design and product development, revealing the successes and barriers to increasing sustainable practices in our community.



Panelists:


Oliver Kutner, CEO and Founder of Edison2


Joey Conover, CFO of Latitude 38, LEED Professional


Andrew Greene, Sustainability Planner at the University of Virginia


Teri Kent, Founder of Better World Betty and the Better Business Challenge

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