Charlottesville Real Estate Blog

Like The Weather - Real Estate is a Local Concept

Charlottesville real estate isn’t in located Chattanooga or Portland or Austin or Detroit… it’s in Charlottesville, VA and in the spectacular county of Albemarle (where you will find the home of Thomas Jefferson just minutes from downtown) with the Blue Ridge Mountains and Wintergreen Resort real estate just 30 minutes to the West. And, just like the weather, all real estate is local and today is no exception.

Our 2007 Down Market - The Fourth Highest in History!

The Charlottesville real estate market is and always has been unique and this past year, where we just recorded our fourth highest sales total in the history of our MLS, puts this truism in perspective. That’s right, in the “down” Charlottesville real estate market of 2007, we recorded our fourth highest sales total in the history of our MLS. It is our unique quality of life that ensures the resilience of our marketplace and sustains the long-term desire for people to live and own real estate in the area. By living here, residents are able to share in the area’s beauty and special history. Monticello along with Ash Lawn, Montpelier and Mount Vernon, homes of four United States Presidents, are less than 30 minutes from Charlottesville (Mount being the exception at 90 minutes) and are great examples of some of the historical treasures that capture the imagination of natives and newcomers alike.

Basing Your Charlottesville Real Estate Decisions on the Facts

So what does the fourth highest sales total and a “down” Charlottesville real estate market look like? In 2007, there were 3,560 homes sold in our Multiple Listing Service (MLS) reporting area which, on the heals of the 2003 market, would have been a record setter, but on the heals of the 2006 market, represents approximately a 20% decline in total sales. As I mentioned in my recent post “Who Would be Dumb Enough to Buy a Charlottesville Home Now?“, our marketplace has been inordinately constrained by the mass media coverage of the credit crisis. As soon as the news coverage is behind us, there will be a discernible upswing in buyer activity as opportunity becomes reality for many savvy home buyers. Sellers are getting smart and adjusting their pricing to 2004 levels; there are great values in the marketplace; interest rates are favorable; and, the sanguine beauty and historic treasures of Charlottesville and Albemarle County continue to beckon.

What is your perception of the Charlottesville real estate market?

What impact has our “down” 2007 market played in your “local” real estate decisions? Has the national media buzz kept you parked on the sidelines waiting to “time” the market? Do you have a question about the state of the local Cvill real estate market? Be the first to comment - it’s easy!

Until my next post,

Brian
Your Charlottesville Real Estate Resource

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Charlottesville Virginia real estate isn’t flying off the shelf the way it used to and neither are Albemarle County farms and estates or Wintergreen vacation and resort real estate. Many of the Albemarle homeowners with whom I work are in an enviable position of being able to hold on to their second home and/or investment property for a couple more years while waiting for the buyer’s market to shift back to a more neutral and balanced market. But is it really a good idea to postpone a sale? Their thinking, of course, is that they will make more money by holding off for a couple of years. The unfortunate reality of selling a Charlottesville home is different.

Selling Your Charlottesville, VA Home Today By the Numbers

Whether you are selling your primary Charlottesville home or Wintergreen Resort vacation property, consider this example: You own a property that your real estate agent believes will realistically fetch $500,000 in today’s repressed market. This leaves you feeling frustrated because just 24 months ago, you researched the value of your home and felt it would have sold in the $625,000 range. To make matters worse, your current Albemarle County real estate tax assessment is $565,000!! If you have the option, one of your thoughts might be to wait until the market improves. So, let’s say the Charlottesville Virginia real estate market has improved two years from now and you end up selling your home for $540,000 (about 7% more than today). In the interim two year period, let’s suppose you paid $3,000 per month on your mortgage ($72,000 over two years) and $8,196 in real estate taxes (two years worth) for a whopping $80,136 in essential carrying costs to which you may want to add utility and insurance costs. Your personal income tax environment will change the final picture, and if you are living in the property or generating rental income, that will help to. But, even factoring in those benefits, it is likely that at best, by waiting two years you will come away with the same net as if you sold the property today, and there is a good possibility that you will be worse off (lose more money later) by waiting to sell.

Compelling Reasons to Sell Your Charlottesville Real Estate Today

One more thing to consider which makes pricing right and selling your Charlottesville real estate, Albemarle County farms and estates, and Wintergreen Resort real estate today even more compelling is the time value of money. In addition to the out-of-pocket carrying costs outlined above, you also need to consider the revenue that you could generate with the net proceeds of a sale. To give you a round number example, let’s say you sold your property for $500,000, paid off the $300,000 mortgage, and invested the remaining $200,000 in a certificate of deposit for two years earning 5% interest… There’s another $20,000+ in income that you would be without had you help on to your property (assuming it was a second home or investment property).

The Bottom Line - Why Wait?

The bottom line: Waiting is very unlikely to be beneficial. You are bettor off contacting a professional Realtor® today, finding out what the market value of your Charlottesville real estate is, and getting your property on the market.

Questions/Comments?

Be the first to make a comment. If you’re not sure when is the best time to sell your Abemarle property, ask your question. We will provide you the best answer based our market experience and local real estate knowledge.

Until my next post,

Brian
Your Charlottesville Real Estate Resource

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What do real estate in Charlottesville - real estate in Albemarle County - real estate in Wintergreen all have in common? A correcting marketplace with downward pressure on selling prices. The marketplace has been transitioning for about the last 24 months coming off of a strong sellers market morphing into what is now a strong buyers market. If you are a buyer of Charlottesville real estate or Wintergreen real estate or Albemarle County real estate, there has not been a better time to purchase since the late 90s into 2000. Combine the currently repressed market with historically low mortgage interest rates, and it is an undeniably compelling time to be a buyer.

Mass Media Intimidates Charlottesville Home Buyers!

So, why isn’t everyone buying… it gets back to that word I used earlier, “repressed”. Nothing makes for better news coverage (and advertising sales) than fear and sensationalism and our mass media is leading the charge with ubiquitous coverage of every negative angle they can find in the credit and housing markets. Now, I’m not saying the issues aren’t real - what I am saying is that the constant, unrelentingly, and one-sided news coverage has paralyzed many who would otherwise be smart buyers picking up great properties at very reasonable prices and with very favorable interest rates.

Desireable Charlottesville Homes are Selling Quickly

If you can’t afford to be in the market, then don’t be; if you can afford to be in the market, you should be aggressively searching the Charlottesville real estate marketplace as we are in a period right now where the very best properties sell first for the least amount of money. What comes later (and it’s always too late once all the news stories are about the recovery in the marketplace) is less desirable properties selling for more money.

Has the National Media Had an Effect on Your Charlottesville Home Buying Decisions?

Has all the “negative noise” from the national media caused you to second guess jumping into the Charlottesville real estate market? Let me know your comments.

Until my next post,

Brian
Your Charlottesville Real Estate Resource

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Some Charlottesville home buyers are relocating from areas where real estate taxes are very high while others are coming to the Charlottesville Albemarle County area from localities where real estate taxes are relatively low. The good news is that the real estate tax rates for the counties of Central Virginia (including Albemarle, Nelson, Orange, Fluvanna, Green, Louisa, Madison) along with the City of Charlottesville are relatively modest. And, in recent years, there has been a great deal of pressure from homeowners to lower the rates to offset significant increases in property values and assessments. Every year, county boards prepare a budget and establish their real estate tax rate for the coming year. Sometimes the rate changes, sometimes not.

Taking the Mystery Out of Charlottesville Real Estate Tax Values

In just about every MLS system there is a data field for entering the current real estate taxes for a property. The Charlottesville Virginia MLS is no different and in fact, it is a required entry. So, you may be wondering why I always enter zero for the Charlottesville Albemarle properties that I list for sale. The reason: The current assessment (and hence the current taxes) on the property may not be a good representation of what the buyer’s assessment will be after purchasing. In most of our Central Virginia counties and especially in Charlottesville and Albemarle, property assessments for real estate tax purposes are revised every year with an effort to reflect current fair market value in the assessment. But, the longer a property has been out of the market (been owned and lived in by the same people), the greater the disparity between the assessment and market value. This has been especially true in recent years when Charlottesville real estate values have shown dramatic increases. So, what I always counsel my clients to do is to budget for the current tax rate at the purchase price for the property they are buying. This seems to me like the best way to prepare my clients for the kind of real estate tax bill they will actually end up with after closing.

Valuable Charlottesville Real Estate Property Tax Consultation

Tax rates and assessments are a moving target. Plan for an assessment that is at or near your purchase price. And, if you want to know the current real estate tax rate for Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Nelson County, or any of the counties of Central Virginia, visit my County Tax Rates page and let me know the county(s) where you think you may be buying. If you have a question about calculating your Charlottesville real estate taxes, leave a comment by clicking on the “Comments link” below.

Until my next post,

Brian
Your Charlottesville Real Estate Resource

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