“Will I fit in?” is perhaps the most common question any homebuyer asks. Is “How will my potential neighbors vote” one of your criteria when evaluating where to buy (or rent) a home? I don’t…
Posts tagged Albemarle
Friday Chart – Good News – Charlottesville Housing Inventory Drops
I know, it’s Thursday, but I’ve been playing with numbers all morning … What follows is a sample of market reports to come in the coming days, weeks and months.
– We still have too much inventory
– New listings coming on the market appear to be trending down; this is a good thing
– I love market data, and this new tool looks promising. I’ll figure out best ways to use it as quickly as possible.
– I still don’t trust some of the data in our reports; the data is only as good as the systems and the people; days on market and “sales price to original list price ratios” are still skewed for a variety of reasons.
– “Greater Charlottesville” = Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson … look at these numbers for trending analysis only. Your market is local. Think about it … while a $200k two bedroom home in Belmont, a $750k home in Ivy and a new single family home in southern Greene are all included in these numbers … and all are affected differently by the market.
– What questions do you have?
The Lodge at Old Trail in Crozet – So Much More than “Assisted Living”
If you haven’t been to Crozet recently to see The Lodge at Old Trail, you’re missing what may be the one of the biggest privately-built buildings in the area. I spent the morning there talking with David Hilliard, the owner of the Lodge at Old Trail.
Simply put, both the building and the mission are impressive – it’s so much more than an assisted living facility. From a pub to gardens to residential living to a dance floor to a secure area for those who need a bit more assistance.
Categorizing the Charlottesville Real Estate Market
The Charlottesville real estate market can be broken down into at least four categories.:
– 20% distressed
– 20-30% is overpriced
– 20-25% is stuff that no one wants to buy
– 20% is in great condition, priced really well and is selling in under 60 days. *
* “Right now” is Tuesday, 2 August. In the Charlottesville MSA, there are 2312 homes on the market, 482 properties are under contract. 266 have Days on Market of under 60 days. 257 have Continuous Days on Market of under 60 days.
Further, just because I was curious, 766 properties on the market have been on the market for under 60 days.
Albemarle County Schools’ Populations Are Growing. Unexpectedly. ?!
Is anyone other than the politicians surprised?
The question is – would you support an Adequate Public Facility ordinance?
Aaron Richardson at the Daily Progress reports:
Some Albemarle County schools could exceed their capacity sooner than expected, thanks to rapid growth.
Supervisor Ken Boyd curiously chooses the word “adequately” when referring to funding*
“We’re committed to providing adequate educational opportunities in this county, but we’re going to have to look at what other capital improvement projects we have going on,†Boyd said. “We’d have to take a more holistic view than, ‘Gee, have we got $46 million more to spend on education?’â€
“Curious” because either:
1 – He thinks the County should offer merely “adequate” education rather than “world class”.*
2 – He’s laying the groundwork for a conversation about adequate public facilities (which tend to be opposed by Realtors) , the long-debated ordinance that would essentially prevent new homes’ construction before adequate infrastructure/fire & rescue/school/etc was in place.
Better schools increase house prices.
At some point, the politicians and the people need to understand that our population is growing, and they need to plan accordingly.
What is an adequate public facilities ordinance? I found the following definition in 2005:
An Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) is a law adopted by the local government that allows it to defer the approval of developments based upon a finding by the governing body that public facilities would not be not adequate to support the proposed development at build out.
What are the components of an effective APF ordinance?

• Identifies the types of public facilities to be considered.

• Limits the period of time during which the deferral on development imposed by an APFO can be in force.

• Requires the locality to have in place a capital facilities plan to remedy the infrastructure inadequacy that has been the basis for the development deferral.
Stonefield’s Red Clay Sea
Stonefield’s Sea of Red Clay. Or Moonscape. Whatever you want to call it.
Money, Money, Money – In Charlottesville and Albemarle Elections
Local elections matter. So does money. This is a big year for Charlottesville and Albemarle elections. VPAP released data that shows who’s giving money to whom in our elections. Spend some time digging in … it’s always funny to transparently follow the money.