Virginia Home Sales...Good News??....

Home sales in Virginia are picking up from the spring “kickoff” in March, according to the Virginia Home Sales Survey reported by the Virginia Association of REALTORS® (VAR). Figures released today showed that closed single family transactions are up in May compared to numbers seen in previous months.

“Spring is typically a peak time for home sales,” said VAR President Melanie Thompson of Fredericksburg, “and the numbers indicate that buyer interest may be picking up as we move into the summer months.”

“There are many positives in today’s market, from job creation to economic growth to historically low mortgage interest rates. Buyers who are on the fence should reconsider their position, and look at their local market again,” she added. “They'll never have better inventory to choose from. Those who wait too long are going to find fewer homes to choose from and the possibility of higher rates not too far down the road.”

January and February showed closed transactions at 6,586 and 6,826 respectively, followed by an uptick to 8,884 in March, which is typically the start of the spring buying season. In May, 9,514 sales closed, up from April’s 8,456 closings, but 16 percent less than the 11,374 recorded during last year’s near-record highs. The number of homes placed on the market was also up from April to May this year, with 10,283 pending contracts compared to April’s 9,834, but 12 percent less than the same period last year.

“It’s important to remember that the marketplace of 2005 to 2006 was extraordinary in many ways, but that the kinds of numbers we’re seeing now are more comparable to a normal market,” said Thompson.

Figures for May indicate that on the average, homes are selling at historic norms, currently 128 days on market on average for the state. Richmond Metro continues to be the fastest market at 54 days, followed by the Hampton Roads/Peninsula area at 65 days and the Roanoke Valley at 67 days.

“We’re hearing from Richmond-area agents that they predict inventory to rapidly decrease through the rest of the year, making this the best time for investment purchases,” added Thompson. “Prices appear to have stabilized in Northern Virginia, and we’re starting to hear that builders are offering fewer incentives in Virginia Beach as the new home market begins to balance out.”

The highest reported median sales price in Virginia was in the Northern Virginia area at $470,000, while the lowest was $91,250 in the Martinsville area. Nationally, the median existing single-family home price was $223,000 in May, which is 2.4 percent below a year ago, according to the National Association of REALTORS. The median is a typical market price where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

“Our advice both to buyers and sellers is to get representation," said Thompson. They can make it look easy on TV, but the fact is, real estate transactions are complicated, and consumers need to work with someone who can help them navigate the process, represent their interests, and bring them value. From pricing your home correctly to ensuring that you get the best representation in what is most people's biggest lifetime purchase, the value that professional can bring will save you money."

Virginia Historic Homes For Sale

A lot of people move to Virginia for the history...and boy does Virginia have that.

Today we'll look at the available historic homes in 3 mls...

The Charlottesville mls known as http://www.caar.com/

The MRIS which covers Northern Virginia...

And Flexmls.com which covers Rockbridge/Lexington Virginia real estate markets.

Here are all the Charlottesville historic homes available today in every price range and dating from 1700-1920. There are 230 historic homes for sale in Virginia here.

Next Lexington Virginia historic homes

And finally all of Northern Virginia's historic homes for sale 341 of them!!! And dating from 1700-1900 this time.

We're talking about 600 Virginia historic homes being for sale RIGHT now...Amazing.

This list will keep you occupied for a long time and you'll see why Virginia is such a wonderful place to live.

Call us to go see any of these homes. We are ready when you are!!

Loudoun County Luxury Homes Under Fire????

Loudoun County Virginia luxury real estate & their builders are getting clobbered in the Northern Virginia luxury homes market. The homes are humungous and usually right on top of one another.

I really feel for the smaller Loudoun County home builders...It's funny but we ALL knew a slowdown in housing in the Loudoun County homes market was coming but when.

The cautious wrapped up their homes and lowered the prices or offered irresistible upgrades and kitchen table deals...Even offering huge bonuses to their realtor to get the job done.

Yet the lazy and lackadasical Loudoun County builders did nothing and today they are pretty well screwed.

Southern Loudoun Virginia which includes Middleburg is so beautiful that a super home will always sell...within reason.

Take a look at some of these fabulous Loudoun County estates.

Now is the time for prospective Loudoun Virginia luxury home investors to write ridiculous offers and grab the prize.

Oh but wait...maybe not today...It's going to get worse...

Fabulous 1700's Virginia Historic Homes

The Old Keswick Farm is for sale...
547+ ac. premier horse property in Keswick. Renowned for breeding & raising some of the finest thoroughbred horses in the industry. Equestrian facility includes yearling, broodmare & racing barns & a total of 36 stalls plus board fencing. Historic home has 11 ½ ft ceilings, original woodwork & graciously proportioned rooms. Also a summer kitchen, pool complex & several cottages. Property under VOF conservation easement.

Available for the 1st time since 1952, this 547+ ac. horse property is one of the premier estates in Keswick.

Here are several other fabulous 1700's historic homes for sale in Charlottesville Virginia. Click here to view them

Virginia real estate For Sale signs

We were driving to Sugar Hollow Reservoir (which if you have not been there make it a point to do so!) in White Hall Virginia yesterday and EVERY real estate sign we passed had a small rider hanging below the Virginia realtor's sign.

It said: Price Reduced

This is the Virginia market today...

This is good news for buyers/investors and terrible news for the sellers.

One thing I see as a Virginia Buyers Broker (which means I work only with buyers) is the ridiculous prices other Virginia realtor's put on their listings.

7 out of 10 times the owners are telling the agent how to price their home.

Comps don't mean a thing to them...hence the house just sits there and the agent is foolishly spending marketing dollars.

Then, 3-6 months later the listing expires and a new agent is invited over.

Many agents nowadays are refusing listings from selfish sellers.

I like that....Just say NO!

So where is this conversation going?

Well, if you have money and a good realtor NOW is the time to invest in Virginia and Charlottesville real estate. But ONLY if you know what you are doing.

Write multiple low ball offers and see what happens with the stipulation that your wife or mother must like it too. This way you can escape from the contract if you get to many acceptances. See you...

Central & Northern Virginia's fastest growing areas

The Washington area's lush techno-economy has pushed out suburban sprawl so far that three semi-rural counties near Fredericksburg have become bustling commuter frontiers that rank for the first time among the fastest-growing communities in the nation.

Have you been to Fredericksburg lately?

What a traffic disaster. It's becoming one 8 lane mega-mall.

Sorry but I can't stand any of those three counties...The real estate market is NOT luxury homes and is usually young, transient military families and multi-family Mexican migrants.

It's tough being excited about a 3 bedroom dump.

Fauquier, Stafford, Caroline and King George counties have joined Loudoun County, which has been on each annual list since 2000.

Most people moving to these counties come from the north (and Mexico), where growth has slowed and new immigrants often replace residents who have left for Florida and Arizona.

Give them Stafford, King George and Caroline.

Hold the fort in Fredericksburg for it's wonderful history!!

But...There's still hope for Loudoun & Fauquier Counties!!!

It still maintains much of its verdant beauty and history, at least in the southern part of the county.

Thanks to Middleburg & Upperville!


The Rt 29/15 area is one big gated country-club community but it IS very attractive.

Here's a list of Loudoun County luxury homes that might appeal to you...Click here

Looks like Warrenton is next to fall then Culpeper. (Click on either of those towns to see their luxury homes).

Washington area's population increased to nearly 6 million. Halfway through the decade, the 8 percent growth rate for the region, which stretches from the Chesapeake Bay to the Blue Ridge, is on track to equal that of the 1990s.

Washington area counties are driving most of the growth in Virginia show Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William and St. Mary's counties added more residents in the past five years than in the previous 10, and Charles County added nearly as many.


But momentum is moving beyond those counties. Ranked just behind Loudoun, whose 2005 growth rate ranked eighth in the country, were King George and Caroline counties, two small jurisdictions more likely in the past to draw state employees from Richmond than federal or high-tech workers from the capital region.

Now, most of their new residents come from Prince William, Stafford, Spotsylvania, Charles and other counties closer to Washington.

Those new residents are seeking lower-priced housing, bigger lots and less congested roads than established neighborhoods offer. Some are bypassing other fast-growing counties that imposed development restraints.

Age-restricted housing and waterfront property in Caroline and King George also are drawing retirees and "pre-retirees," people in their fifties who plan to work for a few more years.

Many new residents commute through Washington area gridlock. Portia Cobb, 37, leaves home in Caroline County at 4 a.m. each day to drive her van pool 70 miles to the District, where she is a manager at a printing company. She used to live in the city, and now she takes about an hour to get there in the morning.

"This is the only way I could live comfortably and have some space and privacy," said Cobb, who paid $224,000 last year for her four-bedroom, three-bath, split-foyer rambler.

"I went there to get away from the hustle and bustle and to get to easy living."

Caroline County officials predict its population will double within two decades. Among more than 10,000 new homes in the pipeline are 4,000 at the Haymount development overlooking the Rappahannock River.

"Our market is pretty simple," developer John A. Clark said.

"It's commuters in the I-95 corridor."

Officials of every county are trying to straddle the line between welcoming the newcomers and reining in runaway growth.

How can ANYONE stop this?

Albemarle County where Charlottesville sits is trying...read more tomorrow...

Toby Beavers - Virginia realtor extraordinaire.

Some fabulous luxury Virginia real estate is now available...

As members of 4 separate mls', I was recently looking over the Virginia luxury homes market in Loudoun County, Charlottesville/Albemarle County and Lexington/Rockbridge areas.

There are some terrific homes available. But one thing that caught my eye...The prices are still really high. Luxury home owners are more reluctant to slash their home's prices as fast as the more needy & spec home builders. Ryan Homes, a self confessed Virginia luxury home builder, is offering a $100,000 deduction on some of their Charlottesville luxury homes.

One home I saw on the market was Meriwether Lewis's birthplace in Ivy. It's listed by Frank Hardy and in my opinion, as I have seen the home, overpriced by $500K.

Here's the link to see Meriwether Lewis's home... His father owned Cloverfields in Keswick. His mother was estranged from his father and lived in Ivy. Then know as Ivy Depot.