Prices up, sales up, new construction is doing very well, and buyers & sellers need to get ready for the spring.
Transcript after the break
David: Hey, I’m David Ferrall, Real Estate Broker at Nest Realty.
Jim: Jim Duncan, Broker at Nest Realty.
David: We’re sitting here at the beautiful rooftop, top of Piedmont place in Crozet.
We’re here to talk about real estate in the 3rd quarter of 2017. Strong figures, Jim.
Sales were up from 105 from 76 last year, up 38%. Year to date, we’re at 264 sales in the area, up from 216.
Jim: Interestingly, of that 105 that sold in Crozet, 35 of those were new construction. Median price of $597,000 for all. So that’s attached and detached. In the entirety of Albemarle County, inclusive of Crozet, median price for new construction was $539,000. So that’s a big difference between Crozet and —
David: Paying a premium to live in Crozet.
Jim: Yes. Very much so.
David: What was the median price for resale? I have $370,000 in Crozet.
Jim: $370,000 in Crozet, and…
David: Versus $597,000 for a new home.
Jim: That’s a big gap.
David: Big gap.
Jim: Back down to Albemarle County, is $320,000. So $320,000 for resale median price, and $370,000 in Crozet.
For Crozet, it’s Crozet Elementary, Brownsville Elementary.
David: Thanks for bringing that up.
Jim: Not 22932, because it’s a little bit too broad.
David: You were talking about affordability, too. What were those figures?
Jim: They weren’t fantastic. In 3rd quarter, of the 105 homes that sold in all of Crozet, only 32 were under $350,000, which…
David: Any of those affordable?
Jim: That is not affordable by a lot of people’s definitions. Four.
David: 4 were under $200,000.
Jim: 4 were under 200.
David: Sorry to hear that.
Jim: We’ve got some societal challenges ahead of us.
David: Gotcha.
New construction — detached homes were up to $636,000 on average. Attached homes were $448,000. I’ve noticed they’ve started to build a few more villas in Old Trail, versus town-homes. They’re a little bit wider, two-story properties, versus three stories.
Jim: Old Trail’s different. In the last 6-9 months, they’ve grown significantly in the East Village part.
David: They have.
Jim: A lot more homes have been built there. Though not frankly I was expecting last 12 months.
David: On a positive note, only one distressed sale in the quarter, which is the lowest we’ve had I think since the great recession started. We’re hoping to get that to zero one day soon.
There were 7 land sales, which is up a little bit from the same time last year, and there were 15 sales in total over an acre. So that typically is properties that are in the surrounding area.
Jim: Generally, we’ve seen the bulk of the properties in Crozet have sold in neighborhoods under 3/4 of an acre, because people tend to want to be closer to neighbors. A third of all sales in Crozet in 3rd quarter were new construction, which is the same as last year.
David: It’s typically the same as last year. The big figure is that we were up 22% year to date sales-wise. So it looks like we are going to be crushing 2016 total sales in Crozet if this pace continues.
Jim: For better or worse, sales continue to roll through. Half of the properties that went under contract had days to market in under a month. That’s for resales, not new construction; that’s a different animal.
David: Before we talk about some of the things happening in the neighborhood — you brought up a good point; people that are thinking about selling in the traditional spring market need to start thinking about that now.
Jim: Generally, the trend line starts in January, February, March, April, May, when volume of sales come on.
David: Last year, February and March were huge months in Crozet. I know I’m taking exterior shots tomorrow for clients; we’re taking them now while they’re green, rather than taking them in January.
Jim: The January shots really don’t move well.
David: Something to think about.
We’ve talked about new neighborhoods coming to Crozet. You and I noticed that the lot, the big 9-acre lot that’s just sort of behind the intersection of Park and Claudius in Brookwood has finally sold, so we think a developer will come in there and build right across from the YMCA. I haven’t heard yet what’s happening there, but…
Jim: I’ve got some things that I’ve heard. But I figure we’ll wait to see when they start breaking ground, if they start talking about it.
The F&R…
David: F&R Engineering.
Jim: — they’re moving from here to here.
David: It’s a cool building.
Jim: We’re in a drought. Coming up also, it’s fall. My favorite time of the year.
David: Great time to get out and go to the apple orchards, go for a hike. Leaves are going to be changing.
Jim: Arts and crafts festival is coming up.
David: Arts and crafts festival.
Jim: Festival time.
David: Yes.
Jim: Just a great time to be in Crozet.
David: I’m spending a lot of time in our new office here in Piedmont Place too. We’re calling it Nest West.
Jim: We’re going to be in Nest West the third Thursday of every month.
David: That’s correct. 5 to 7, talking about real estate.
Jim: Talking about real estate.
Come in; have a beer on us. And just let’s talk about the market. See what’s going on.
