In Charlottesville*, what does “Community” mean to you?
It’s walkable, it’s connected, it’s friendly, it’s helpful, it’s supportive, it allows individualism or collectivism, allows choice.
Browsing Category Albemarle
Somerset Farm – It’s What’s Next
Somerset Farm – Neighborhood centers, pedestrian-oriented, close to downtown Charlottesville …
From the Comprehensive Plan Report:
Neighborhoods centers would be developed as focal points for congregating. These central districts could include commercial or civic spaces that provide services, employment opportunities and gathering places for residents, reminiscent of European and pre suburban American villages
Charlottesville MSA – Single Family & Attached Homes Placed Under Contract – First Five Months
Note: if you have formatting issues, please let me know; I’m trying to embed the interactive charts, but have had issues with them in the past. They may go away without notice.
– Barry Ritholtz asks – How bad is housing?
– Consumer Reports says: Home prices have slid more than during the Great Depression
– The Wall Street Journal says: Why It’s Time to Buy
What does all of that mean if you’re trying to figure out what’s happening in the Charlottesville, Virginia real estate market?
Let’s look at the data*:
What I’m seeing:
– There is no consistency in the market, except for a few truisms.
– Things that shouldn’t sell do.
– Things that should sell don’t.
– Buyers are buying with minimum 5 to 7 year time frames in mind, and many are looking for 10 – 15 years.
– Buyers are being very selective, because they can be.
– Some buyers are looking for attached homes that have little to no maintenance; but … high HOA fees are deterring buyers. $200+/month is not a good thing (usually).
Truisms:
– Properties must be priced right in order to have a good chance of selling.
– Properties must be in as close to perfect condition in order to solicit the best offers from those seeking to (and many are) pay a fair value.
– Price + Condition = Good chance of selling.
– Sometimes the price is right, the condition is right, but the buyer just isn’t there. yet.
– Market capitulation isn’t quite here yet.
– Inconsistency rules.
Three Minutes on Charlottesville’s Rivanna Trail
One day I’ll hike the full 19.9 miles; until then, I’ll live vicariously through Tom Daly’s “Rivanna Trail in 3 Minutes” in which he “took a photograph approximately every 3 minutes along the hike. Here is the entire trail, boiled down to 3 minutes.
Charlottesville Real Estate Conversation – May 2011
Big thanks to Rick and WNRN radio for hosting us again on Sunday to talk about real estate … an hour is never enough.
We covered a lot, so much so that I’m going to break this post up into three posts – one this morning, one this afternoon and one on Thursday.
First, two thoughts. One from Seth Godin that applies to his world – marketing (broadly) – as much as it does mine (and ours) – real estate (bolding mine) :
What is “Charlottesville”? (via the ears of The Corner)
“We love the community, we love the University and we just love being here.”
When I’m in the mood to listen to music, I tend to be listening to the Corner. Why?
Note: Listen to their commercial here. With the blog redesign, I’m having some issues with playing mp3 files
1 – They play good music. Consistently.
2 – Listen to Kathy’s reasons for moving to Charlottesville; her reasons echo the reasons many of my buyer clients either move here in the first place or choose to stay in Charlottesville. With all of our problems, Cville is still a great place to live.
3 – They understand what Charlottesville is about and demonstrate that they get Cville.
4 – They’re not a homogenous station.
6 – As Charlottesville increasingly becomes homogenized – tell me what is “Charlottesville” about the Hollymead Town Center, which could be Anytown USA – it’s nice to have a local radio station that both understands and values the importance of the Charlottesville culture and its uniquenesses and idiosyncrasies.
PSA – UVa Graduation is this Weekend, 20-22 May 2011
You’ve been warned. 
Be aware. Traffic will likely be challenging , restaurants will be slammed, hotels are likely booked … as a new class of graduates embarks on a new journey . You know what? If you’re in Charlottesville this weekend, ride a bike rather than drive . ( weather should be great ) ( photo courtesy of )