Category: real estate

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Crozet Housing Prices and School Quality

Crozet has traditionally been regarded as having high-quality public schools; as such we benefit from the market created by our schools.

Do better schools increase house prices? From my perspective as a Realtor in the Crozet area, the answer is yes. I have never had buyers tell me that they wanted to live in a bad school district; but virtually every single one – whether they have kids or not – wants to be in a good school district. Frankly, I don’t need metrics or analysis or data to support my conclusion; I know that people buying homes in Charlottesville and Albemarle want good schools.

All the data in the world isn’t going to change my opinion, either as a Realtor or as a parent, that good, quality schools matter – to our kids and to our housing values.

From The Impact of School Characteristics on House Prices: Chicago 1987-1991

For many people, an important consideration when buying a house is the quality of the local public schools. There is a general perception that, all else equal, houses in better school districts will cost more.
…

Our results indicate that individuals pay attention to both per-pupil expenditures and test scores when deciding where to locate. However, when purchasing a home, individuals do appear to consider the current test performance of students in the local school rather than the extent to which a community’s schools contribute to a cohort’s test performance.

So what? What happens to Albemarle County home values if:

1 – Albemarle County schools cannot trim the fat sufficiently and
2 – They have to make so many dramatic cuts?

This is an email sent by the Albemarle County Parents’ Council with five attachments that will help you get acclimated … before the public hearing tonight at 6:30.

And now the meat of the post – if I’m a homeowner in Albemarle County, what are you talking about? How much more would I pay in taxes?

Continue reading “Crozet Housing Prices and School Quality”

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Charlottesville regional real estate market update

Download a copy of the Nest Report, which is what we believe to be the best, most “comprehensive and transparent analysis of the residential real estate market in Charlottesville, Albemarle and surrounding counties, prepared quarterly by Nest Realty Group.”

It’s a PDF, and it is a good, insightful and thorough analysis of what is happening in the broader Charlottesville real estate market:

2010 will be an interesting year to watch. Employment numbers continue to creep higher throughout the country and the state; national debt and deficit levels are of a constant concern; the foreclosures and short sales will increase; and yet there are positive signs that our market is making a stride toward normalcy. Number of transactions increased from Q2 to Q3. On a seasonally adjusted rate, sales increased from Q3 to Q4 by more than 10.8%. Charlottesville remains lowest of all Virginia for unemployment rates. And while statewide and nationwide unemployment numbers are up, Charlottesville has fallen for four straight months (Aug thru Nov) to 5.1%, which is lower than we have seen since December of 2008.

The big “what-if” for 2010 will be keeping an eye on Short Sales and Foreclosures across Central Virginia. We will go into this in more detail, but the basic issue is that Short Sales are up all across our state, and Charlottesville is not completely immune. Foreclosures are up significantly in Central Virginia, but are still way behind rates in other parts of the state. If that trend ends, and Central Virginia catches up with Richmond and Northern Virginia, we will see a significant erosion on prices throughout this year. As it stands, signs point to another 6-9 months of price drops followed by some stabilization, but no sign of increases in the next 18-24 months.

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How Often Do Homes Turnover in Crozet?

I got an interesting question the other day – –

How often do homes like this turn over/sell in Crozet? “This” being about 2000 square feet, at least three bedrooms and at least two bathrooms.

Looking at the question through the lens of its expected/possible value:

Looking at it by square footage …

Basically, if you sold your house last year in Crozet* and it fit one of these two criteria, you were pretty lucky.
Continue reading “How Often Do Homes Turnover in Crozet?”

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Walking to School in Crozet

It’s really not that far from home to Crozet Elementary, and while I wish there were sidewalks the entire way, it’s a pretty good little walk. Better yet, my small one and I stopped at Mudhouse on the way back home …

Personally, I’m grateful to live in such a walkable place.

Do you walk your kids to school?

Even better, I had my camera with me and took a few shots along the way:

** If you take pictures in or of Crozet, upload them to flickr and tag them with “crozet” – then they will be displayed in the slideshow on the homepage of RealCrozetVA.**


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Continue reading “Walking to School in Crozet”

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Waylands Grant Market Update

For those of you not aware, I recently joined Nest Realty. One of our core principles is that we intend to analyze – and write about – the Crozet and Charlottesville real estate markets more intensively than has previously been seen. For example:

However, 2009 may be a different story. With the town home and attached home market in Crozet slowing significantly, Waylands Grant hasn’t been immune to the slowdown. In fact, since January of 2008, there have been 10 different attached homes in the neighborhood that have been listed and either were withdrawn or expired. In that same time, only 2 have sold (one of which was a foreclosure) and 1 is currently under contract.   

Until the market stabilizes and the amenities promised in Crozet (like the Crozet Library, the Downtown Crozet Streetscape Project, and the Jarmans Gap Road Expansion) actually start to get closer to coming to fruition, I expect that the attached home and town home market in Crozet will continue to suffer.

Waylands Grant market update

Read the whole thing at the Nest.

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Trying Something New – an Open House in Crozet

This isn’t the standard “Open House” – it’s a community event to showcase what I believe to be a very well-priced home (that I’m marketing) in Parkside Village.

Additionally (and hopefully) if you stop by, you’ll be among the first to see Nest’s new real estate signs. (assuming they come in Friday) … bring friends who might be interested in moving to or within Crozet, come with questions about the Crozet real estate market … Saturday’s supposed to be gorgeous and there’s a great porch!

Stop by 3009 Indigo Road Saturday between noon and four or Sunday between three and five. If you have questions, please let me know.

Additionally (and hopefully) if you stop by, you’ll be among the first to see Nest’s new real estate signs. (assuming they come in Friday)

* Don’t worry – this type of post won’t become a frequent occurence, I’m just trying new things.