2009 Lake Monticello & Fluvanna Real Estate Market Year-in-Review
January 28th, 2010 categories: Albemarle County, Charlottesville, Communities, First Time Buyers, Fluvanna County, For Buyers, For Sellers, Info, Lake Monticello, Market Statistics and Information, News, Quarterly Reports, STR Market Info Blitz
As promised on Monday, today is the day we release our 2009 Lake Monticello & Fluvanna Real Estate Market Year-in-Review. This report is just the latest edition of our Quarterly Market Reports.
2009 was in interesting year for real estate in the Charlottesville area, and especially in Lake Monticello and Fluvanna County. The year began with historically low sales numbers, but ended on a high note, spurred by the first-time homebuyer tax credit. All of this is reflected in the statistics in the report.
The report contains pages of statistics and analysis about the Charlottesville area and Lake Monticello and Fluvanna real estate markets. Here’s just some of the most interesting questions we answer in the report:
- Two counties in the Charlottesville area had more sales in 2009 than in 2008. Which ones were they?
- How many sales were there in Fluvanna and Lake Monticello in 2009? Which months were the best?
- What was the median home price in Fluvanna and Lake Monticello in 2009?
- What was the impact of the First-time Homebuyer Tax Credit on the market?
- How was the Lake Monticello waterfront market impacted in 2009?
These and many other critical pieces of information are included. We’ve been hard at work compiling the stats and doing the analysis because we want our clients to be the most informed clients in the area about the real estate market. This information is critical for you to have and understand so that you can make good decisions and reach your real estate goals.
Once again, you can find the report here. From that page, you can download, print, or even share the report with others. If you have any problems viewing the page, and would like us to email you a PDF copy of the report, just send us an email, and we’ll get it out to you right away. If you want, you can also scroll down and view the report right here in this post, and you still have the option of downloading or sharing the report with anyone you think might benefit from it.
As always, if there is anything you need, or any questions we can answer, don’t hesitate to ask. We’re always here to help you however we can.
2009 Lake Monticello and Fluvanna County Real Estate Market Year-in-Review
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Charlottesville Named one of America’s Best (and Healthiest) Neighborhoods by Men’s Journal
January 21st, 2010 categories: Albemarle County, Charlottesville, Communities, Fluvanna County, Fun Stuff, Lake Monticello, News, STR Market Info Blitz, Uncategorized
This post is part of the Strong Team REALTORS Market Info Blitz. We’re heating up the Winter market by giving you three-months worth of the information you need, November through January. Check out the latest posts in the blitz, here.
Life is good in the Charlottesville Area.
Buying real estate is always about more than just the square footage of a house, or whether or not is has a garage. We move into a house not only for the house itself, but for the area where that house is found. It is often the area around a house that helps turn it into a home.
Residents of the Charlottesville area know how valuable the area is to their quality of life. Sure, there are great houses in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, and Lake Monticello, but it is often the quality of life in the Charlottesville area itself that attracts people to these properties.
Charlottesville is consistently recognized by national publications for its high quality of life. One of the latest publications to recognize Charlottesville is Men’s Jornal. Charlottesville was recognized in the June 2009 edition of Men’s Jornal as being one of the best neighborhoods in America. Charlottesville was once again recognized by Men’s Journal in the January edition as being one of America’s 5 Healthiest Towns, using statistics from BestPlaces.net
It is always good to see the Charlottesville area receive recognition for the things that really set it apart and make it a wonderful place to call home.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/maong/ / CC BY 2.0
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Head to the Charlottesville Downtown Mall for the Holidays
November 29th, 2009 categories: Albemarle County, Charlottesville, Communities, Events, Info, STR Market Info Blitz
This post is part of the Strong Team REALTORS Market Info Blitz. We’re heating up the Winter market by giving you three-months worth of the information you need, November through January. Check out the latest posts in the blitz, here.
Walk on down to the Downtown Mall this holiday season
Walk on down to the Downtown Mall this holiday season
Why not head Downtown for the Holidays?
If you’re anything like us, you’ve probably already spent a good portion of the last few days doing holiday shopping. Heck, you might have even been one of the many who braved the cold and the lines to be one of the first through the doors on Black Friday.
The Charlottesville area is no different from the rest of the country, we do our fair share of shopping here. One the things that is unique about the Charlottesville shopping season is that you can visit Charlottesville’s Historic Downtown Mall and do your holiday shopping at a wonderful collection of local merchants.
The Downtown Mall is an outdoor walking mall that is located the heart of downtown Charlottesville. You can visit the Downtown Mall website to find out more about the great shops and restaurants that are located on the mall. During the holiday season, Downtown Mall merchants are offering two free hours of validated parking.
So, if you’re considering doing some shopping in the Charlottesville area, be sure to visit the Charlottesville Downtown Mall. It is sure to be a great shopping experience at one of Charlottesville’s jewels.
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andyhay/ / CC BY 2.0
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How walkable will Albemarle County be?
November 21st, 2009 categories: Albemarle County, Charlottesville, Communities, First Time Buyers, For Buyers, For Sellers, News, STR Market Info Blitz
This post is part of the Strong Team REALTORS Market Info Blitz. We’re heating up the Winter market by giving you three-months worth of the information you need, November through January. Check out the latest posts in the blitz, here.
Albemarle residents want more use out of their sneakers
Years ago, folks in Albemarle County decided that they wanted to pursue a plan of real estate development that would lead to more urbanized, walkable neighborhoods. Albemarle decided that they wanted to make it a priority that new real estate developments would have a more mixed-use, urban feel, and part of that meant that they would planned in such a way as to encourage walking and biking.
Now that it has been a few years since the focus shifted towards walkability of neighborhoods, C-Ville Weekly decided to see just how walkable new neighborhoods in Albemarle have become.
Their cover story this week, titled, “Where the Sidewalk Ends,” is a first-hand account of what it is like to walk around one of Albemarle’s newest, and largest neighborhood areas– Hollymead Town Center. For those of you who might not be familiar with where that is, the Hollymead Town Center is where the Target is located on Route 29. The neighborhood by the center has grown quite a bit over recent years, and it is designed around the principal of walkability.
What is walkability?
Basically, walkability is exactly what it sounds like– a measure of how easy it easy to walk around a neighborhood and do everyday, essential tasks like shopping and such.
There is a website called Walkscore that will tell you just how walkable your neighborhood, all you have to do is enter your address. Interestingly, if you plug the address for the Charlottesville Target into Walksore, it gets a score of 62 out of 100, or “Somewhat Walkable.”
How walkable is Albemarle?
Well, that all depends. The reporter in the article encounters many of the obstacles to walkablity that you might expect to find, especially in a neighborhood that is still under construction– sidewalks aren’t finished, drainage issues, etc.
Having been to Hollymead Town Center quite often, it is certainly one of the more walkable neighborhoods in the Charlottesville area. While there are obviously challenges to walkability now, the powers that be are hard at work removing many of the obstacles that exist.
How can Albemarle be more walkable?
As county officials mention in the article, there are some planning rules that will need to be changed or added to encourage developers to put in sidewalks and do many of the things that create smart density and enhance walkability. Albemarle County is definitely committed to achieving the goal of more walkability, and having widespread buy-in from county officials is a major component of their plan that seems to have already been achieved.
Much of the future of Albemarle’s walkability lies in the hands, or rather the feet, of residents. The Charlottesville area hasn’t historically been a very walkable area. People around here are very accustomed to getting in their cars and going where they need or want to go. Consequently, decades of generation and infrastructure has been built around people and their car-centric lifestyles. That isn’t going to change overnight. It will take time, and a shift in the habits of Albemarle residents.
Ultimately, Albemarle’s goal of increased walkability is both a lofty and appropriate one. Having walkable urban centers will go a long way to improving the already high quality of life that Charlottesville area residents enjoy.
If you’re interested in learning more about walkability, and the numerous new, more walkable, neighborhoods in the Charlottesville area, just let us know! We’re happy to get you walking on the right path!
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28481088@N00/ / CC BY 2.0
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October real estate market stats for Charlottesville and Albemarle
November 3rd, 2009 categories: Albemarle County, Charlottesville, Market Statistics and Information, Monthly Statistics, STR Market Info Blitz
This post is part of the Strong Team REALTORS Market Info Blitz. We’re heating up the Winter market by giving you three-months worth of the information you need, November through January. Check out the latest posts in the blitz, here.
Our most recent market report covered sales statistics for the 3rd Quarter in the Charlottesville Area real estate market. Now, it’s time to take a look at the stats for the month of October. You can expect the monthly reports to be published here from now on. We’ll just be doing them as individual articles. We’ll save the longer, published report for the end of each quarter.
The statistics in this article will be for Charlottesville and Ablemarle only. We’ll share stats for other areas in the next few days. All of the stats are just for the month of October, and all of the stats come from the Charlottesville Area Association of REALTORS MLS. All of the stats are believed to be accurate, but they are not guaranteed.
2009 October Real Estate Sales in Charlottesville and Albemarle
2008 October Real Estate Sales in Charlottesville and Albemarle
What it all means. . .
As you can see from the number of sales, October 2009 looked slightly better than October 2008 in Albemarle. In fact sales were up by a total of 8 in Albemarle, which represents a 13% increase over 2008. The median price dropped slightly in Albemarle, but only by 1.5% compared to last year.
The City of Charlottesville managed to hold on during October, matching the number of sales seen in 2008. The big change was in the median sales price. That number dropped 12% in 2009.
All of this is consistent with the trend we have been seeing over the last few months– while sales may be holding steady or even increasing, the median price of those sales is dropping.
How you can use this information
If you’re living in Charlottesville or Albemarle and thinking of selling, you should be aware the homes are not selling for the same amounts as last year. It is also good to note that the bulk of market activity has moved towards lower price ranges. That simply means that you should adjust your expectations accordingly.
If you’re thinking of buying a home in Charlottesville or Albemarle, you, too, should be aware of what is going on in the price range in which you are looking. If you are looking in a range that is at or below the median, you can expect there to be competition for homes from other buyers.
All of this information should give you a more complete picture of the current real estate market conditions in Charlottesville and Albemarle. If you have any questions about any of the information, or would like more specific statistics, just let us know. We are happy to provide whatever information we can gather for you.
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