Good article in the DP this morning about the vast number of condos in the area (if you want more information on these, please email me, rather than the Sellers’ agents!)Read the whole article, but take note of what Ted Koebel, director of the Virginia Tech Center for Housing Research says – it is something I say to all of my clients – “If it makes sense as a residence, that’s fine,†Koebel said. “But if you’re relying on speculative value, be careful.” This is the best advice I can give to my buyers. Perhaps when the public’s mindset moves back to seeing real estate as homes rather than stocks, the market will adequately correct itself.
Browsing Category Growth
Afternoon links
The economy is a fickle thing, driven largely by the Fed’s policies, etc. but psychology plays and equal, if not larger part.Given all of this doom-and-gloom reporting, maybe the surprise is that Americans are nonetheless behaving with their typical optimism, buying goods and services, bidding up the stock market, and creating new businesses. They may repeat to pollsters what they hear on TV, but they are acting on what they see with their own eyes.The parallels between this article and Charlottesville’s condo market are direct and important.But now, families that can easily afford to buy a home are choosing to live in condos, and that says a lot about Americans’ changing lifestyles. Between 1970 and 2000, the percentage of nuclear families among U.S. households declined to 24% from 40%, according to the Census Bureau. Some studies show that the number of households without children will increase in the next 10 years, while those with children will fall slightly.Home builders say the rise of the condo also reflects a desire among buyers to live downtown, with easy access to restaurants and entertainment, and no tough daily commute or time-consuming domestic upkeep.
Goody.
We’re Number One (again).Homes are not cheap (median home price $225,000), but the cost of living is manageable. The city’s low unemployment rate and significant recent job growth promise continued prosperity. As more and more people learn about this year’s best city, Charlottesville may find staying affordable and sprawl-free is its greatest challenge!
Urban Flight
This post titled “The Fear Factor in America’s Growing Exurbs,” highlights this. The growth that we are seeing is not isolated to the Central Virginia region; it may feel like it, but it’s not. With the introduction of Ryan Homes in Louisa, I believe that we may see more of these developments…. People don’t move necessarily because the developments offer amenities, but because they can afford to live there – hence, Crozet’s growth.
Gas tax.
A regional gas tax is an idea that has been floated occasionally for some time. Bacon’s Rebellion has a good article as does the Road to Ruin about this very subject…. I personally would be more prone to support a regional rather than a state gas tax (of course, we would need a regional authority to levy said tax). This sort of tax would be painful, no doubt about it, especially in light of some predictions/educated guesses that oil may shoot up to $75.
NIMBYs unite.
From a letter to the editor in today’s C-Ville – This letter is to the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority [“So simple, it just might work,†The Week, August 2]…. No charge for the advice.This kind of simplistic response is all good and well, but simply not practical…. We need to accept the growth, but manage it within the guidelines that are 1) currently in place or 2) can reasonably be put in place by reasonable people working together. Maybe we should stop the continuing development of the Downtown Mall while we’re at it.The above sentiment seems to be that of many natives and NIMBYs alike.
The Parkway is coming
From today’s Progress -Remember that debate over whether or not the Meadowcreek Parkway needs an interchange to work?… An at-grade intersection was a much cheaper design that would have allowed construction on the parkway, under discussion for 38 years, to begin sooner…. To gain some history on the Meadowcreek Parkway, cvillenews is a great place to begin. Quite simply, our region needs more, more efficient infrastructure to cope and deal with the growth.