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Habitat for Humanity Builders Blitz this Weekend in Charlottesville

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If you have some free time this weekend, why not help to build a house for Charlottesville’s Habitat for Humanity Builder’s Blitz ?

On two weekends in July 2010, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville will begin the final set of four homes in the affiliate’s first mixed-income development with an all hands on deck community Blitz Build.

This fun, participatory event will take place on four days – Saturday July 10th, Sunday July 11th, Saturday July 17th and Sunday July 18th at Paton Street in the Fifeville Neighborhood. The event will kick-off at 8 am on Saturday, July 10th with a short groundbreaking ceremony featuring the Habitat Partner Families who will own the homes being built and the home sponsors.

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Builder’s Blitz in Charlottesville

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I have been negligent in not writing about this event, starting today in Charlottesville.  I make a general rule not to post press releases and such (and have written about Builders’ Blitzes a few times), but this is an exception, due to Habitat for Humanity’s outstanding mission and the real need for both affordable housing and homeowners who take investment and responsibility in their homes.Home Builders Blitz 2006 will take place this summer, June 3rd – 10th.  The formula is simple.  Builder/Architect teams have been matched with house sites and qualified Habitat partner families in our program completing their “sweat equity” hours.  In that week the builders will complete six simple, attractive and sustainable homes and the families will move in soon after to take up an affordable mortgage as homeowners.  The homes are located in the Fifeville neighborhood of Charlottesville, an area consisting of 70% rental units.Building six houses in seven days – priceless.

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Builders’ Blitz

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This story in the DP this morning is a good sign that the Builders Blitz is ready to take off.  I wrote about this in June, and am excited to see it coming to fruition.  It sounds like the premise of one of those reality shows: Six building teams and six architects will try to construct six houses in one week in a Charlottesville neighborhood.  …Michael Bednar, Builders Blitz design coordinator and a professor of architecture at the University of Virginia, agreed.  “These are not the homes you would see in a usual Habitat project,” he said.  “The houses will be more innovative and different.”Nationwide, the weeklong project is expected to result in the construction of 1,000 homes across the United States, including several hundred for hurricane victims on the Gulf Coast.There are several similar Habitat for Humanity projects throughout the Commonwealth.  To support Habitat, please call 434-293-9066.

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Builders’ Blitz

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This sounds very cool – Professional builders in Raleigh and Greensboro, N.C.have created a way to help Habitat affiliates like ours build more homes with low-income families.It is called a “Builders Blitz”. The program was very successful in those cities, bringing local builders together to collaborate in building 60 homes in three years. It has gained such momentum that Habitat International is coordinating a national effort to build 1,000 homes across America with a nation-wide Builders Blitz the week of June 5-9, 2006.These homes will be in addition to the usual Habitat homes built by volunteer groups.We want to be part of it locally to add to the homes we are already building.More information can be found at Charlottesville’s Habitat site, their quarterly (pdf) newsletter here and Habitat’s site.

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Market demand for green building in Charlottesville

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The Real Estate Weekly, newcomer House and Home, the Green Matters series being run by Habitat for Humanity,(their links page is here) …  Right now there are 17 properties on the market here with the term “EarthCraft” in the remarks, and 3 with “Earth Craft;” (Large PDFs are here as the links expire in 10 days) Charlottesville is consistently rated as one of the top “green” places in the country….  Many buyers note that windows and insulation will be among the first upgrades they made after they purchase….  Building and renovating green are more long-term decisions that many in the market – buyers, builders, Realtors, lenders – are not yet used to.

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NAR’s campaign and the Minnesota Association of Realtors

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This new letter from the Minnesota Association of Realtors and the new advertising campaign from the National Association of Realtors have one thing in common – credibility.The MNAR’s first letter asking some Realtors whether they would be better served in other careers generated quality discussion, on both sides….  I disagreed with the campaign.Sandy Mattingly states at the Matrix:NAR is a national organization, so almost anything that it says nationally runs against the all-real-estate-is-local axiom….  However, they are doing more harm than good to our reputations as trusted professionals.Yesterday morning on CNBC, NAR’s president Tom Stevens and Roubini Global Economics’ Nouriel Roubini faced off.  One said the market’s great the other said recession was upon us. Guess which one said which?This morning, Toll Brothers (huge national builder not yet in the Charlottesville market) announced lower-than-expected earnings.”We expect the cancellation rate to remain elevated while home prices decline and the time [needed] to sell a home lengthens,” he added.People appreciate and respect candor.

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Condos and CharlAlbemarle market stats

in Albemarle Charlottesville General Real Estate Market statistics on

The market in the Charlottesville/Albemarle region is, shall we say, different than it was last year.”It’s a great time to buy” – the new media blitz from the National Association of Realtors.  I have said it before and will say it again – housing is not, nor has it ever been, an immediately liquid investment.Condos -From the first of the year to 1 November:2006: 498 Condos were sold in CharlAlbemarle895 Condos were listed2005: 379 Condos were sold in ChalAlbemarle544 Condos were listedSo, yes, condos have been supporting the local market quite well….  
–Mark Twain (attributed to)Taking a cue from Ardell, here are a few different angles:1BR condos: far more one bedroom condos were sold in 2006 compared to 2005, due primarily to the continued trend of condo conversions….  However, the average price in 2005 was $169k versus $159k in 2006.2BR condos: Average price per square foot in 2006 – $195/foot.

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