Looking at the market numbers since July of this year to date, the market shows clear signs of shifting towards a buyers’ market. There are no indicators of a “bursting” of the market, but the market is telling us that the “froth” may be blowing away.Data description -Using only Charlottesville and Albemarle for the market sample and data from the MLS, which includes by my estimation between 90%-93% of the market, and data from 1 July to 1 October 2004 versus 2005.Simply put, there are more homes on the market and staying on the market longer than this time last year. Prices have increased significantly, and while inclusive only of the CharlAlbemarle market, is representative of the entire Central Virginia region.
Browsing Category Regional
More is better.
Cville Tomorrow notes the MPO’s final report.
Growth, politics and the market (morning reading)
Tom McCrystal has a nice post.Conserve energy.The NYTimes causes a stir this morning with a report on the housing market.Greene faces its future with their Board of Supervisors elections.Development issues in Louisa and Fluvanna.Everything in this region always comes down to money, politics and growth.
Bubble
Discussing the potential bubble yesterday with a client, we noted some of the parallels between the “irrational exuberance” of the tech bubble and the “froth” in today’s housing market.1) Local Salaries are not keeping pace with housing prices.2) There is a limit on how many people from other markets can afford to move to the Central VA area.3) Look at how many REALTORS there are now – as everyone was moving into day trading, so are many moving into the real estate market. The misconception that this business is “easy money.” It’s not. 4) Everybody is talking about real estate, refinancing, etc.Active – ContingentPending Sold Withdrawn I am not sure what to think about the dramatic increase in the number of Withdrawn listings.
Charlottesville Tomorrow
If pictures say one thousand words, this organization has and will have a lot to say.The press conference held today at the Paramount announcing their launch was attended by several members of their Board of Directors, politicians and, of course, the media…. They are a refreshingly non-biased organization whose goal is to educate the public on issues in a clear, concise manner that will foster discussion, public knowledge, involvement and action.Realizing that young people are not involving themselves due to choice or apathy, yet expect to have conversations about growth, environmental issues, transportation, issues, etc., the site has a blog. Blogs have proven to be an excellent and efficient format to engage young people and the public in general.Seeing Mitch van Yahres pitch his idea for a Ruckersville Parkway, Meredith Richards pitch cvillerail.org and Connie Brennan of the Nelson County Board of Supervisors ask for a regional partnership showed the level of interest and head start this group has already.In the words of Chairman Michael Bills, Charlottesville Tomorrow aims to be “profoundly non-partisan,” provide information that is “lucid, graphic and compelling” and an “advocate that people act.” Brian Wheeler mentioned the barriers to the public getting involved and their goal to help remove those barriers and that they want to “enable the public to learn more about the issues.”This group has high aspirations, more than adequate funding and superior leadership.
C-Ville’s interesting stories
C-Ville has a couple of interesting stories this week.
Snippets –
Rather than fight the Parkway on its merits, one resident seemingly chooses to fight with bureaucracy. We need this road. Badly
Local road expert Peter Kleeman has been writing letters to the Federal Highway Administration and the Virginia Department of Transportation, suggesting potential problems with the City’s plans to build the Parkway and the interchange. Kleeman says the City is not qualified to perform the environmental studies the project requires.