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How high?
The median sales price of a Charlottesville area house in 2007 was $276,950. That's $6,950 more than last year's median, according to the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors. As the market slowed towards the end of 2007, the Charlottesville area showed a decrease in the average price per square foot, with city homes generally more expensive thanks to their location, according to CAAR.
Big deals
Albemarle County may not be Beverly Hills, but that doesn't mean some serious coin hasn't been dropped for prominent properties in the area. In 2004, John Carr and Raymond Hunniston III ponied up $24 million for the Castle Hill estate in Cismont, a favorite breakfast spot of would-be gubernatorial kidnappers. As steep as those figures are, they're nothing compared to two monster transactions in 2005. Fred Scott sold Bundoran farm in North Garden to Qroe Farm Preservation Development for a reported $33 million, and Hunter Craig shelled out a whopping $46 million for the land surrounding artists' enclave Biscuit Run. No recent transactions have even approached those price tags: 2006's biggest sale come when Clover Hill Farm went on the block and sold to Robert Micley and Carolyn Henderson for $13 million. 2007's biggest transaction was even lower: the Howe family sold a Barborsville residence to Red Horse L.L.C. for $4.75 million.
A cool down?
While it may be a buyer's market these days, the market has cooled throughout 2007. The average number of days a house stayed on the market rose from 75 in 2006 to 96 in 2007. Also, in 2007, 3,560 residential parcels changed hands in Charlottesville, Albemarle and the surrounding counties, down 835 from 4,332 a year earlier. And currently 3,072 homes languish on "for sale" lists, up from 2,504 this time last year. These houses carry a median price of $324,600, making Charlottesville a foreboding place for first-time buyers. No wonder there are so many real estate agents around here! --data source: CAAR
On the level
Dave Phillips, CEO of the Charlottesville Albemarle Association of Realtors, says 2007 presented the real estate market with "anything but an ordinary year." "By historic standards, 2007 will go down as the fourth best year for real estate in our area," he said in a 2007 Year-End report, noting that 2007 started in a flurry of sales but slowed considerably toward the end of the year. "The rest of the year will remain a buyer's market," he says. "There's way too much inventory on the market right now, which we won't see going back to normal levels for another year."
Who's moving here?
Retirees and others fleeing high taxes and living costs are relocating to Central Virginia-- thanks to a lot of fanfare in publications like Money Magazine. Then the rush turned into a stampede on March 30, 2004, when a book called Cities Ranked & Rated, from Frommer's, ranked Charlottesville #1 among American cities. But perhaps Frommer's, too, has felt the real estate chill. We dropped to #17 in the 2006 edition.
Total assess
By state law, the municipality is required to assess at market prices, so quit yer yappin'. Or call the Equalization Board, but beware that this three-person, court-appointed body has the power not only to decrease but quite possibly increase your assessment. If recent years are any indicator, that's a likely possibility.
CHARLOTTESVILLE-- Values contiune to rise, though at a steadier pace. A 23 percent jump in 2003 was followed by 17 percent in 2005, 14.3 percent in 2006, and 4.24% in 2007. "This definitely forecasts a slowdown in the sales coming in," City Assessor Roosevelt Barbour says. "The residential market is going to be flat this year." Assessor: Roosevelt Barbour 970-3136
ALBEMARLE- Albemarle County has grown rapidly through the years, only now seeing real estate values start to level off: 18.7 percent jump in 2003; 27 percent in 2005; 29.8 percent in 2007-- but now just 0.14 percent in the start of 2008! Albemarle has begun to reassess annually. Assessor: Bruce Woodzell 296-5856
Renting
Apartment search- One local search engine is run by the local apartment group, Blue Ridge Apartment Council. Another option is OffGrounds.com, started by students for students and faculty (817-0721). If you want to rent a house, try the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors, CAAR at (817-2227). However, only members of the BRAC are listed, so don't forget the old-fashioned methods of asking around, walking around, or... drumroll... checking out the Hook's classified ads.
Rights and responsibilities- Students can get free advice from Student Legal Services (924-7524). UVA's housing office (924-6873) offers a pamphlet called "The Off-Grounds Living Guide" that explains city ordinances.
Non-students might want to take a peek at the Virginia Landlord-Tenant Act, online or at the library-- it governs rental real estate dealings.
-->>For more info on renting, check out our Consumer section.
Buying and selling
Real Estate Weekly-- Among local real estate publications, this one has the greatest array of ads and even some how-to tips. 817-9330
Property search- The best local search engine is run by the local realtor group, the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors (817-2227), and is available on the CAAR website at the bottom of their homepage.
"FSBO"- The crowd-pleasing, if realtor-chafing, way to sell a house typically involves putting up a sign and then hoping. While the method is often attacked as a tool of sellers with unrealistically high opinions of their property's worth, it has worked in hot neighborhoods as a way to avoid paying that nettlesome six percent commission. In the last three years, four discount brokerages have opened. Assist-2-Sell says it'll sell your house for as low as $2,995, HomeSell offers to do the job for $1,500, C-Ville By Owner will list it on their website and in print for $200, and Help-U-Sell has a sliding scale.
Checking properties
CHARLOTTESVILLE
Assessment data can be found online or by phoning or visiting the City Assessor's Office on the top floor of City Hall. 970-3136.
The deeds are located a few blocks away in the clerk's office in the basement of the Circuit Court at 315 E. High St. 970-3766
Circuit Court Clerk: Paul Garrett
ALBEMARLE
Assessment data can be found online or by visiting or phoning the County Assessor's Office in the County Office Building. 296-5856
The actual deeds are located on the second floor of the Courthouse Annex by Jackson Park in Court Square. 972-4083
Circuit Court Clerk: Debra Shipp
-->>For more info on neighborhoods, check out our Newcomer section.
First-time buyers
Free home-buyer classes-- The Piedmont Housing Alliance offers free three-hour seminars to first-time home-buyers twice a month. 817-2436
Information on low-interest loans can be found from various local sources, but a good starting point is the Piedmont Housing Alliance (817-2436). This private non-profit shares information on various assistance programs including the Albemarle Housing Program (296-5839) and Jimmy Carter's favorite house-building charity, Habitat for Humanity. 293-9066.
Building and renovating
So you wanna build?
ALBEMARLE-- The rules can be obtained from the Community Development Office in the County Office Building. 296-5832
CHARLOTTESVILLE-- Taking a cue from Albemarle, the City also consolidated its zoning, building, and neighborhood offices into Neighborhood Development Services in City Hall. 970-3182
So you wanna dig?
Call "Miss Utility" at 800-552-7001 at least 48 hours before you plan to dig, so you don't hit an underground pipe or wire and kill yourself and/or others.
"I saw the sign"
When Albemarle County developers request a zoning change, officials put up a beige sign with a code number to alert neighbors about an upcoming public hearing. Besides checking the number online, interested citizens can call the zoning office (296-5832) for sign numbers 1-25, which typically indicate a variance issue or an appeal to the Board of Zoning Appeals. The Community Development Office (296-5832) handles sign numbers 26-99, which generally concern special use permits or rezonings.
ACE Program
ALBEMARLE- In its quest to keep a little bit of land undeveloped, the County began in 2002 buying development rights through its Acquisition of Conservation Easements (ACE) project. With the County budgeting $1 million per year for the program, perhaps you'll want to sell yours? 296-5832
Proffers!
What's a proffer? There's no secretive or dirty trick involved; it's basically an above-the-table bribe from a developer to the County to get a zoning amendment. You can see all the proffers dating back to 1979 on Albemarle's website.
Relief for elderly/disabled
ALBEMARLE-- If you're over 65 and/or permanently disabled, make less than $25K, and have a net worth under $80K (excluding your house), you may be eligible for rent relief. 296-5851 x3117
CHARLOTTESVILLE-- Similar situation. The City offers a "wealth" of relief measures for disabled and elderly homeowners and renters including a package adminstered by the Commissioner of Revenue that offers tax relief (20-100 percent of property taxes), free trash stickers, and several hundred dollars off one's annual utility bills. 970-3160
Welfare for the rich?
Farmette owners are notorious for taking advantage of something called "Land Use Taxation," which means that a mogul with an 8,900-square-foot palace can pay just $976 in taxes on his 50 acres-- about as much as the owner of a one-acre lot in Forest Lakes pays. Defenders of the program point out that the discount fosters agriculture-- or at least open spaces.
The man
Blue Ridge Home Builders Association-- This trade association represents builders and suppliers, and every spring it hosts the three-day "Home Show" and the newly minted "Earthcraft House Tour," which features resource and energy efficient homes in various phases of construction. Every fall it sponsors the "Parade of Homes." 973-8652
Watchdogs
PEC-- The Piedmont Environmental Council, although based in Warrenton, has a strong presence here as a voice for moderating growth. 977-2033
ASAP-- Advocates for a Sustainable Population goes farther than PEC; ASAP actually wants to stop growth. 974-6390
SELC -- The Southern Environmental Law Center is a multi-state organization headquarted on West Main Street. The organization tries to work from within all branches of government to conserve and sustain. 977-4090
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