Charlottesville Real Estate Market Update for Fall 2014

There are many great Central Virginia area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (434) 260-1885 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Charlottesville Real Estate Market Update for Fall 2014

We've got a few important topics to cover with you today. First, we would like to talk to you about what is going on here in the Charlottesville real estate market. 

Home prices have increased for the 6th consecutive quarter, and the average home price has risen to $289,000.

For our current quarter, sales have been down. However, there are a ton of pending properties out there that should go through in the next few months. We are really optimistic about the market heading into 2015 so if you are looking to buy, now is a great time. Both prices and interest rates will be rising soon, so locking in a rate now could save you thousands down the road. 

We would also like to talk to you a little bit today about holiday safety. When you are traveling and leaving your home unattended, using social media may not be the best idea. Internet predators are out there everywhere, maybe even lurking on your friend list. If you just have to post about your vacation or trip, maybe post it so that only certain people, that you trust, can see it. If you have any questions on how to do this, let us know. We can help you out. 

If you have any questions at all about real estate, we would love to answer them on our next video. Give us a call or send us an email about questions you would like answers to, and we would be glad to answer them for you.

How we helped Greg with his real estate needs with our vast knowledge of the industry

We had really good results with Valorie. She’s very professional, she works hard, and is extremely diligent. She does a lot of different things from scouting property to helping with the valuating of the properties. She is very knowledgeable and really knows what she’s doing.

How we helped Delphine buy the home she wanted when she was ready to give up on it

(Working with Valorie was really great. She went way beyond what she needed to do in order to get this property for me. She never gave up even when I had. She pushed through and ended up getting me the house I wanted for a great price. Valorie is very determined and she saved me a lot of headaches. I’d highly recommend her. )

New Construction in Charlottesville and Richmond

There are many great Central Virginia area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (434) 260-1885 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

New Construction in Charlottesville and Richmond

Here are some numbers regarding new construction:

• Charlottesville currently has 369 new construction properties on the market
• Richmond currently has 858 new construction properties on the market
• Charlottesville has had 153 new construction sales
• Richmond has had 455 new construction sales

As you can see, there is definitely a demand for new construction in our market. More recently, Stanley Martin Homes bought out Piedmont Housing in Charlottesville and have already begun building a new development. Other great new construction companies are Southern Development, Liberty Homes and Ryan Homes.

Once you find a piece a property and decide that you want to build a home, there many banks that can help you obtain financing. For example, Stellar One is among many brokers that process new construction loans.

From that point forward, the bank will price the loan amount based on after-approved price of the property. This means that the bank will determine the loan amount by appraising the property and establishing its value using today’s market prices, upon completion.

Keep in mind that the completion date can range from three months to a year – this all depends on how big your home will be and what you will have done to it! This process showcases how great new construction is – you are able to pick the interior options you want, the size of land you want, and you are also able to pick your surroundings.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me by phone or email. Thanks and have a great day!

Should You Trust Zillow or Trulia?

There are many great Central Virginia area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (434) 260-1885 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Should You Trust Zillow or Trulia?

Have you ever heard of a “Zestimate?” If you’re not, this is Zillow’s method of appraising homes. This makes real estate agents cringe! To put it into perspective, have you ever gone on to WebMD and entered in the symptoms you were experiencing? WebMD will you give you list of options, but you aren’t going to trust them over your doctor.

This is the same as trusting Zillow or Trulia. Trust an agent that studies housing inventory every single day – we know what we’re talking about! If you have any questions about the value of your home, please don’t hesitate to call or send me an email.

Thanks and have a great day!

The Spring Market is Proving to be the Time to Sell!

There are many great Central Virginia area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (434) 260-1885 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate 

The Spring Market is Proving to be the Time to Sell!

The Richmond and Charlottesville markets are remaining strong – we are still experiencing low inventory. Homes that are priced appropriately, are situated in great locations, are presented well and don’t require $30,000 or more in repairs are selling quickly. Rates may be fluctuating, but they still remain low. However, financing has been tight – so beware.

The market may not be back to the 2007-08 levels; however whatever you lose on selling your home, you will make up when buying your next home. You can’t always weigh the negative end when you have such a huge positive factor on the other end. It is also worth noting that property values are increasing. Going into the spring market, consider whether or not you’re living where you want to be living.

If there is anything I can help with, feel free to reach out to me by phone or email. Thanks and have a great day!

Investing in Real Estate: What Does Low Inventory in the Market Mean for You?

There are many great Central Virginia area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (434) 260-1885 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Is Now a Good Time to Invest in Real Estate

Today I wanted to talk to you about investing in today’s real estate market. In regards to whether or not now is a good time to invest, I was reviewing some market data and I found that in 2009, housing lost $489 billion in value. This was actually up from $3.6 trillion in 2008! Although those two years were the lowest in real estate, property values are still down. It is always a good time to invest in real estate; it just depends on whether or not it’s a good deal.

There are always good deals on the market. If you’re looking to hold and collect rent, there are many great opportunities, especially in the Richmond Market due its extremely low prices. You have the ability to snatch up homes for under $20,000! If you paid cash and collected rent for $800 a month, over time those properties will regain value. The Charlottesville market is hit-or-miss in the same sense with condominium developments and new construction. Be aware that the HOA will eat away at some of your profits!

As for the “fix and flip” market, Charlottesville is tough due to the low inventory. With low inventory, the well-priced homes typically have multiple offers which bids up the price and chips away at your profit margin when going to flip a home. Richmond may have better opportunities, but it is always a good time to invest. This is always a plus when you want to take a vacation or time off work; you will still be bringing in income!

If you have any questions about investing in real estate, please give me a call at (434) 327-6900 or email me at vford@kw.com. Thanks and have a great day!

Make Smart Real Estate Decisions by Being Informed: Your Central Virginia Market Update

There are many great Central Virginia area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (434) 260-1885 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

What is the Current Real Estate Market in Central Virgina Like?

Today I wanted to cover the current state of the market in Central Virginia. Before I go into that I would like to introduce the newest member of my team, Moose, my new puppy! As for the market, Charlottesville has 916 active listings with 332 that are contingent or pending.

I saw a statistic a few days ago that showed zip code 22902 having a 35% increase in value, which is phenomenal. The market is still pocketed; some areas are in favor of buyers and others in favor of sellers. This could be attributed to the fact that our economy showed little affect to what was going on with interest rates. Our area actually saw a 3% increase in property valuations!

As for Richmond, there are 1,644 active listings with 964 pending in the area. Richmond also has a pocketed market that is really price point driven. Interest rates are sitting at about 4.33% for a conventional loan and 3.91% for a 30 year fixed FHA loan. They are stable for now, but that is all depending on what the Fed plans to do.

Thanks and have a great day!