Posts tagged Albemarle

Commuting and Traffic in Charlottesville

in Albemarle Charlottesville Transportation on

I noted five years ago that Charlottesville’s traffic’s perspective wasn’t that bad, when put into the appropriate perspective.

In the years since I wrote that article, traffic hasn’t gotten any more tolerable and the City and County continue to demonstrate an astonishing capability to do nothing – expensively. (see: Places 29)

That said:

One of the most important things to note to those moving to Charlottesville is that the region is becoming more and more segmented – if you live in the 29 North area, there’s usually little reason to leave 29 North except for work – same with Crozet, Pantops, City of Charlottesville, etc. Urban Cores matter.

But – if you live and work in the City of Charlottesville or the urban ring (or really, any part of) Albemarle County, your commute is likely to be not beyond 25 or 30 minutes. The following infographic* shows some useful data points about the value of a short commute.

For now, I’d like to think that the Charlottesville area offers a reasonably high quality of life, and the commuting isn’t that bad.

Five years from now – we’ll see.

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How is “Local” (Food, Farm, Business) Defined?

in Albemarle Charlottesville General Real Estate on

In case you missed the conversation (150+ comments) last week at cvillenews about the Charlottesville City Market’s first vendor who happens to be a franchise, it’s worth a read. The main question I see is – what does “local” mean to you? ( outside of the context of a City farmers’ market)

Charlottesville has seemingly been a leader in the locavore movement (see: Forbes and Tom Tom’s Locavore Expo for starters) and it’s been interesting and fun to watch and participate in the “I really want to know where my food is coming from and from whom” evolution. See: Buy Fresh Buy Local.

Does local mean: only local money and people? What if you grow and franchise? Are you now less local?

To what other industries does the demand for “local” extend?

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Charlottesville as a Great “Place” – to Live, Be, Grow Business

in Albemarle Charlottesville on

There was a great discussion last night at the Tom Tom Founders Festival’s Social Media Innovation Track. The panelists were fantastic –

– Evan Cooper, Director of Digital Strategy, Red Light Management

– Tobias Dengel, CEO Willow Tree

– Marijean Jaggers, President of Jaggers Communication

– Ryan Derose, founder of VibeThink

The conversation is worth listening to – from their insights about attracting talent to Charlottesville, to the authenticity of Charlottesville to the future of the mobile web (hint:it’s huge)

Charlottesville Tomorrow was kind enough to document, photograph and record the whole thing. If you have 45 minutes, have a listen.

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I’ll Know Housing Recovery in Charlottesville When I’ve Seen It

in Albemarle Charlottesville Market statistics on

The housing recovery in Charlottesville (and presumably everywhere, but knowing this market is hard enough) is kind of like pornography.

I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description [“hard-core pornography”]; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that. [Emphasis added.]

—Justice Potter Stewart, concurring opinion in Jacobellis v. Ohio 378 U.S. 184 (1964), regarding possible obscenity in The Lovers.

How will the “recovery” be defined? Is now the time to buy? (or sell?)

First, we’ll know by hindsight. When we have the luxury and the benefit of 12 to 24 months of looking back, we’ll be able to tell.

Transactions – volume of transactions – what is normal volume of sales transactions in the Charlottesville MSA? I don’t know; homeownership rates are declining. Last year, 1755 single family homes sold in the Charlottesville MSA (including Louisa). In 2002, 2479 single family homes sold. I’d put the “sustainable” rate of single family home sales somewhere in between those two numbers.

Price – stability or appreciation showing themselves

Foreclosures and short sales – fewer than today to none.

Shadow inventory – known and dispensed with; no longer a question of uncertainty.

So … is the housing market in Charlottesville recovering?

Calculated Risk says:

The debate is now about the strength of the recovery, not whether there is a recovery. My view is housing will remain sluggish for some time, and I expect 2012 to be another historically weak year, but better than 2011.

Maybe.

Consider this snapshot, from which I’m trying to :

In Charlottesville and Albemarle:

– 107 homes went under contract between 15 April and 1 May 2011. 64 of those were single family. 23 were attached.

– 144 homes went under contract between 15 April and 1 May 2012 – a 26% increase! – 92 (30% more) were single family. 23 were attached.

In the Charlottesville MSA (Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson):

– 156 homes went under contract between 15 April and 1 May 2011. 109 (70%) were single family.

– 186 homes went under contract between 15 April and 1 May 2012. 132 (71%) of those were single family.

That sure looks like we’re on the path to recovery, right?

In the MSA in the above timeframe, 22 of those contracts in 2011 were either short sales or foreclosures (6 & 16, respectively). In 2012, 19 of those were short sales or foreclosures (8 & 11, respectively). “A 14% decline in distressed contracts!” surely is a better headline than “3“, right?

It’s too early to tell with respect to foreclosures/short sales/distressed sales

Charlottesville Foreclosure Rate and Foreclosure Activity Information | RealtyTrac

My personal favorite:

“When will U.S. house prices recover? Likely never. But that’s no reason not to buy.” and believe it or not, the article reaches some salient conclusions, echoed by many if not most of my recent buyer clients’ decisions –

That’s why prospective buyers should stop focusing on the vague hope that house prices will jump from here and focus instead on the functional value houses provide for the money. In most markets, they provide enough of that to make buying a good deal.

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Cville Bike Lab – Community, Engagement, Bike Repair & Education

in Albemarle Charlottesville on

Weekly if not daily, I’m reminded that Charlottesville is a great place with people who are interested and invested in making Charlottesville a better place.

Cville Bike Lab is one of those “makes Charlottesville a better place” things.

If you have just under five minutes to spare, watch Spencer describe:

– What the Cville Bike Lab is
– What the Cville Bike Lab’s goals are
– The growing bicycle community in Charlottesville
– The coming peer to peer bike lending/sharing program (think airbnb for bicycles) and the sharing/interaction that will come from that exchange
– The part at 4:21 reminds me of something a friend is doing in Atlanta at a bank, Acru Wealth.

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Hyperlocal News Manifesto – An Area in Which Charlottesville Excels

in Albemarle Charlottesville Off-topic on

Local news reporting matters.

Charlottesville is lucky to have great local news and great local blogs that serve to make Charlottesville a better place.

I believe local journalism, local government and local economies are the linchpins of a vibrant, healthy nation. For decades, as conglomerates swallowed up independent news outlets across the nation (our own local paper, Bay News, is owned by News Corp. – the same company that owns Fox News and the New York Post, for example), local coverage was watered down because community reporting is expensive, and stockholders want dividends. And because corporations can view employees as easily replaceable cogs, one reporter who lives in the community and has covered it for decades is just as valuable as one straight out of journalism school three states over.

But community reporting requires more than cogs. It requires more than an academic familiarity of those it covers. What meaningful local reporting requires is a personal investment. If the reporter doesn’t stand to benefit from a healthy community, his coverage will serve to dramatize and exacerbate problems rather than solve them.

When Sheepshead Bites ventures to cover the community, we do it because we’re neighbors. Our writers live here. Our business is based here. And we endeavor to support and uplift our neighbors for all of our benefit.

Thanks to Charlottesville Tomorrow, The HooK, Cville and all the local Charlottesville blogs that keep me (and my clients and the community) informed.

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