There’s a lot at stake – growth, infrastructure, taxes … power.
So far, nearly $150k more than $250k has been raised in the race.
Browsing Category Albemarle
Keeping Charlottesville Sustainable
ASAP – Advocates for a Sustainable Population has a new ad (see? I watch local news) promoting their petition at KeepCvilleSustainable.org.
In part:
In signing this petition, you support keeping sustainability a planning priority for our quality of life, environment, and future.
Sign the petition. Speak up for sustainability and help maintain our quality of life.
My question: what does this mean? I’d like a petition to have links to their goals; this sentence – “A vocal minority has successfully pushed the Board of Supervisors to withdraw support for key environmental programs that help promote clean air and regional cooperation” – cries out for supporting links to stories that demonstrate what they are advocating.
Albemarle County Debating Growth Area Expansion – How Should the County Grow?
Make no mistake, this is a big deal. Charlottesville Tomorrow reports:
The Albemarle Planning Commission began the review of the county comprehensive plan Tuesday with a work session on whether to expand the growth area to accommodate new development.
The county adopted a comprehensive plan in 1980 that designated 5 percent of its land to be used for dense residential and commercial use. Development is discouraged in the rest of the county in order to preserve environmental resources.
…
The county is estimating that it will have an additional 34,000 residents by 2030. Staff estimated there would need to be between 1,770 and 7,438 new units to accommodate that population growth. However, they also concluded there are just over 8,000 units that have been approved by the county but not yet built.
“There is sufficient residential capacity to accommodate population growth through 2030 within current development area boundaries,†said Andy Sorrell, a planner in the county’s community development department.
Is there? Per Charlottesville Tomorrow’s reporting, there are 12 currently proposed expansions of the Albemarle County growth area. Will this be sufficient?
We talked about Somerset Farm in June of this year – an additional 1900 homes! – what if Wendell Wood doesn’t get his rezoning (which geographically makes a lot of sense) and he builds by-right? Is that what the planners (and more importantly, the community) want?
This struck me, as the area just past Barracks Road has been largely protected from the sprawling growth other areas of Albemarle have experienced:
Next door is a 14.7-acre property near the Montvue neighborhood which developer Charles Hurt wants to include in the development area. Hurt is also applying to add a 156.8-acre parcel further up Barracks Road that, if approved, could see an additional 312 to 628 housing units.
That seems like a reasonable place to expand, although it would personally make me sad to see beautiful landscapes ruined.
Lockboxes and Buyer Activity in Charlottesville
Lockbox openings = buyer activity.
Fewer showings will lead to fewer contracts will lead to fewer sales. But … one component that cannot be factored in is that often, when a buyer sees a home for the “first” time in person, it’s actually the second time they’re seeing the home. (insert shameless example of a home in Charlottesville that I’m marketing now)
If I Had a Million Dollars
Albemarle County has a million dollars less than they expected. Update February 2020: above is yet another Daily Progress broken link.
Charlottesville – A Healthy Housing Market (for New Construction) – With some Context
There’s danger in putting much faith in large-scale housing analysts and analysis, but I’ll take Builder online noting Charlottesville as being relatively healthy as a good thing.
Reason #1 that I’ll give the analysis a bit of credibility: They explicitly recognize “Charlottesville” as “Charlottesville metropolitan area”. Most lists about “Charlottesville” do not seem to recognize that “Charlottesville.”
Really, we’re less bad than many, many other markets.
From Builder magazine: (better context for building permits’ history at the bottom of this post)
6: Charlottesville, Va.
– Health Index: 81.0
– 2010 Population Forecast: 201,599
– 2011 Total Building Permit Forecast: 634
– 2012 Total Building Permit Forecast: 798Charlottesville isn’t a very big housing market, but it’s a pretty strong one. Home to the University of Virginia, the region has benefited from some strong household growth in recent years. It continues to attract second-home buyers from Washington, D.C.
Bargains are tough to come by in Charlottesville, where the median home price in August stood just below $300,000, according to local real estate agent reports. Though prices are down so far this year, Moody’s expects them to rise 1% next year.
The region has had some strong household growth in recent years, a trend expected to continue through 2012. It will also benefit from strong growth in median income–3.7%.
You know what? I’ll take good news/analysis. We need it.
Waiting (to Sell your Home) Is the Hardest Part
I think of this song whenever I talk to sellers who are frustrated by their homes not selling.
Put simply:
Sometimes the buyer for your house is not in the market right now.
As a seller, you and your real estate agent:
– could be doing everything right.