Posts tagged Albemarle

Trader Joe’s is Coming to Charlottesville! (Maybe)

Located at the intersection of Hydraulic Road and Route 29, Stonefield will be anchored by a 65,000 square foot Regal Cinema, with 14 screens and stadium seating, making it the largest cinema within a 60 mile radius of Charlottesville. … “From the beginning, a state-of-the-art cinema has been part of our strategic plan as we create the foundation for a signature shopping and entertainment experience,” said Jessica Bruner, Vice President of Leasing for Edens & Avant. “In addition to Regal Cinemas, we are extremely excited to introduce Trader Joe’s to Charlottesville – a specialty grocer that we feel is a perfect fit for such a progressive community .” … Along with Regal Cinema, Edens & Avant is also assembling an eclectic mix of regional retailers and restaurants that will be characteristic of theCharlottesville community.

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Are Some Homebuyers Too Picky?

Some buyers are absolutely too picky , some are not and some haven’t seen enough houses yet to ascertain whether they’re too picky. As with most things in real estate, the answer depends on the client.

“The fact is, you just can’t have it all,” Westfall said. “You can’t have the big yard, the top-line updates and all that in a starter home.

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Good Fences And Non-Conforming Use in Albemarle

First, the Blue Ridge Swim Club pool, located in Ivy in a (by others’ standards) rural part of Charlottesville/Albemarle has the opportunity for another phase of its long life.

Albemarle County planning commissioners voted Tuesday in favor of allowing a summer camp to take up residence at the Ivy-based Blue Ridge Swim Club— one of the country’s oldest continually operating commercial swimming pools supplied by natural waters.

…If approved by the supervisors, the changes would require the police to determine if the music is audible 100 feet from a vineyard’s property line or within a neighbor’s building. … I live in a cookie-cutter development next to a soccer field, baseball diamonds, playgrounds and a pool; if Crozet Park were up for some kind of redevelopment, I’m sure I’d be upset.

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Au Revoir, Forest Lakes & Hydraulic Markets?

The beauty of the Markets – gourmet gas stations which really are ” ironically delicious ” – the original one at Bellair , the newest one on 29 at the corner of Greenbrier, the one at Hydraulic and 29, and the ones at Forest Lakes and Mill Creek – is that they are decidedly Charlottesville .

…“We’re trying to make these stores destinations rather than convenience stops,” said Stuart Lowry, marketing director for The Markets of Tiger Fuel, a Virginia convenience chain that offers fresh seafood, a fancy deli and professional chefs.

…While I share some of the writer’s sentiments, I’d rather focus on their current contributions to the economy and to the culture of Charlottesville for the past 20+ years as a resident, customer and Realtor in Charlottesville. … I may sound a bit elitist, but given the choice between a snack or sandwich and a cup of Mudhouse Coffee at a Market or a chili dog and a fountain drink at a 7-11, I’ll choose the former every day of the week.

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What do Real Estate Assessments Mean?

It’s the value on which you (and I) pay taxes.

C-Ville interviewed the Bubble Bloggers:

What do the 2011 assessments not show, with regards to local housing? Assessments are not appraisals. They are not completed by people who have actually examined the home. Assessments do not show how many folks are at the brink of foreclosure, struggling to make home payments, unemployed, late on taxes, trying to get a mortgage modification. Assessments don’t show how few sales there are nowadays. Assessments don’t show soaring inventory. In some sectors, it’s 12, 18, 24 months’ worth. At the high end, it’s years’ worth.

How do the assessments relate to the number of days properties spend on the market?‘Days on Market’ means almost nothing because it is manipulated. Houses are relisted and repriced to make them [resemble] ˜fresh’ listings, because listings get the most attention in the first 30 days.

– “Gaming the MLS” to reset the Days on Market is less common now, but it certainly is still done. Any good Buyer’s Agent will provide the true timeline of a property to his or her client.

– My answer to a client this morning asking about the assessments’ relation to market value and pricing their home to sell:

“Assessments are not a reflection of market value. They are a backward-looking assessment of what the market value may have been at the time the assessor looked at the house (most likely online, and not in person). The assessor may or may not know the condition of the property, the condition of the property’s neighbors, may not consider the traffic noise, crime stats, proximity of sexual offenders, level of inventory, smell of the neighborhood, etc. etc. etc. Assessments are why you pay taxes on.”

And from the Bubble Bloggers’ post:

c-ville: What do the assessments mean in relation to the CAAR report, and CAAR-provided stats like the # of days on market, etc? 

Almost nothing.  Any reputable Realtor will tell you this.

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Four Positive Signs about the Charlottesville Real Estate Market

1 – Stabilizing real estate assessments – some are legitimately up, some are legitimately down; while they are irrelevant to market value – they do affect consumer sentiment & perspective . 2 – Unemployment has declined to a two year low . ( more ) 3 – I am hearing this more and more from buyers with whom I am working: “She is in no immediate rush but she is aware that this is probably the bottom of the market so would like to capitalize on that.” … I just returned from FiberLight’s ribbon cutting ceremony at the Omni Hotel in Charlottesville, and I am very excited about what they are doing, what they plan to do and what this may mean for the Charlottesville region. More to come on how this will affect businesses, consumers and most importantly (to me at least), the Charlottesville real estate market.

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