Subscribe!Welcome! This blog tracks the real estate market in the Central Shenandoah Valley, featuring market data and analysis, an exploration of common buying and selling questions, and candid commentary on all things real estate.
If you are interested in discussing any of the topics on this blog, or the details of your specific real estate situation, call or e-mail me!
Harrisonburg
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Things To Do in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County |
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Are you new to the area, and trying to find out about local activities and events in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County? Here are some online resources to get you started, each of which has an events calendar of sorts....
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Get some insight into Harrisonburg's demographics... |
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From two articles from this past Monday's (7/7/2008) Daily News Record... | |
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Urban Exchange - Done Digging, Now Building UP! |
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After MANY weeks of digging down (down, down, down), the foundation for Urban Exchange is finally coming up out of the ground!  For those of you who are not familiar with the project, Urban Exchange is a new construction project in downtown Harrisonburg to feature condos, apartments and retail space. Check out more photos of the construction process here! | |
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Trends in Harrisonburg Housing Supply |
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For some time now, I have provided monthly updates on the months of supply of housing available in four price ranges. (see May's update) Per Andy's request, I will now also graph the trends in these supply indicators.  How it works . . . Months supply is an measure of the relationship between our market's supply and demand in four price ranges. The numbers represent the months of supply of properties available in each month based on average demand per month during the past twelve months. | |
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April 2008 Home Sales In A Historical Context |
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 This month's sales (April 2008) were a bit of a surprise to me. Throughout March and April I have heard about a LOT of homes that have gone under contract. I had thought we would start to see that show up in April closings, but perhaps it won't be until May or June. It is fascinating to me to see how closely most years follow the same month-to-month trend lines. The black (hollow) circle at the end of the purple line shows the 78 home sales that took place in April 2008. We saw the same April dip this year (compared to March) as we saw in 2003, 2006 and 2007. Perhaps that is because 2004 and 2005 were the years that really bucked the trends as home sales skyrocketed. Whatever the reason, home sales continue to trend as they have over the course of the past several years. Sales are happening at a slower level as compared to 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 --- but March and April of this year (2008) showed sales counts higher than in 2003. | |
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Harrisonburg / Rockingham County Home Sales Report - May 2008 |
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 Some observations:
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New Harrisonburg Townhomes -- Quite The Upgrades! |
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For the past seven years, Coldwell Banker Funkhouser Realtors (the company where I work) has represented the builder/developer of Beacon Hill Townes. Up until the most recent six months, the townhouses that have been built have been of high quality, with several exciting standard features such as hardwood floors on the main level.  Now, everything has changed! All of a sudden, the builder has decided to throw in even more upgraded features as standard components to the townhouses currently being built. Gone are the standard "builder's brass" light fixtures, door knobs, etc. Now, you'll find exciting (and contemporary) features such as decorative lighting and plumbing fixtures, upgraded cabinetry, decorative door hardware, and more. Why, you might ask? Was the change made to try to eek a little bit more profit out of each townhouse sale? Actually --- the prices have remained some of the most competitive (low) prices of all new construction townhome subdivisions in Harrisonburg. One reason for the upgrades is to finish out the last section of Beacon Hill with the most exciting units yet, to keep the excitiment for the subdivision high all the way to the end. Whatever the reason --- the new townhouses being built are quite stylish, and give a wonderful impression to buyers who have been shopping around and looking at other new construction townhomes. I'm curious to see how long it will be until other new townhomes in Harrisonburg start to include some of these stylish upgrades. Soon, I hope --- as it certainly benefits Harrisonburg townhome buyers! | |
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Should High Gas Costs Drive Buyer Behavior? |
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 This was an interesting question posed by a friend a few weeks ago, and we took some time to do some rough analysis, which seemed to indicate NO. Here's the logic:Historically, some people who work in Harrisonburg have chosen to live outside of Harrisonburg where housing is somewhat more affordable. Two classic examples of this are Weyers Cave (14.4 miles away) and Broadway (12.9 miles away). Both Weyers Cave and Broadway have offered home buyers housing at somewhat lower prices, within a reasonable commute to Harrisonburg. But with gas costs going higher and higher, could (or should) this buyer behavior change? The distances above (14.4m, 12.9m) were city-center to town-center. We'll round up, and say the one-way commute for a fictitious commuter is 15 miles. We'll assume a somewhat gas-hungry vehicle that will drive 20 miles per gallon of gas. With current (4/29/2008) gas costs around $3.60, the one-way commute has a gas cost of $2.70. Driving both ways to and from work, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year, equates to an annual cost of $1,350. If someone lived in Harrisonburg instead (and still worked in Harrisonburg), their commute might be 3 miles, which would equate to an annual cost of $270. Thus, the cost savings in gas consumption (relative to the work commute) of living in Harrisonburg instead of Broadway or Weyers Cave is approximately $1,080 per year. That $1,080 per year, or $90 per month, if used to allow the home owner to afford a larger mortgage payment, would allow for a home purchase of $13,500 greater. That is to say that a $200,000 home ($40k down, 6% rate) would have an $1,100 monthly payment, and a $213,500 home ($40k down, 6% rate) would have an $1,190 monthly payment. So, the question then becomes, does a $200,000 home in Broadway or Weyers Cave cost $213,500 in Harrisonburg, or more, or less? Broadway: 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 1517 SF, circa 2007, garage, $199,900 http://60755.scottprogers.com Weyers Cave: 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1584 SF, circa 2003, $199,000 http://64154.scottprogers.com Harrisonburg: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 1360 SF, circa 2002, garage, $214,900 http://62949.scottprogers.com Though the data in my example is limited, it seems that even accounting for the commuting cost of living in Broadway or Weyers Cave, you can still buy a (somewhat) larger, (somewhat) newer house in those communities as opposed to Harrisonburg. | |
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Real Property Tax Semantics (City of Harrisonburg) |
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Currently, property owners in the City of Harrisonburg are taxed at a rate of $0.59 per $100 of assessed value. In other words, a $225,000 home is a tax liability of $1,328 per year. Thus, since real estate values almost always increase in Virginia, unless the City lowers its tax rate, taxes will also almost always increase! And so, this year (2008), the City of Harrisonburg finds itself going through the process of notifying Harrisonburg property owners that they are proposing a real property tax increase. No, they aren't increasing the tax rate ($0.59), but the effective taxes will increase because of increased property values. Here are the details of the changes in the City:
Do you have questions or opinions about this tax increase? You are welcome to voice them here on my blog, in the comment section. Additionally, a public hearing will take place on May 13, 2008 at 7:00 PM in the Harrisonburg Council Chambers located at 409 South Main Street, Harrisonburg, Virginia. | |
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Now May Be The Best Time To Sell |
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That doesn't mean that it is particularly easy or fast to sell your home right now -- but compared to the last six months, and the coming twelve months, now may be the most likely time that your home will sell. Here's why . . .  Despite lower sales in 2008 than in 2007, and lower sales in 2007 than 2006, sales in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County have continued (in large part) to follow normal month-to-month trends. October-November of 2007 was a bit of an abnormality, but otherwise, you'll see that month-to-month, buyers are coming into and out of the market at the same (proportional) rate as in previous years. This means, that in June, July and August, we will likely have the largest number of closings for the year -- which shouldn't come as any surprise to you. I mention this, however, because some people hear the national news (sales down, prices down), or the local news (sales down by 20%, prices up by 5%), and assume that the month-to-month sales are rather flat, and that it is always a terrible time to sell. Not so. Your home is much more likely to be purchased in the next few months (contract in April, May or June with a closing in June, July or August) than any other time of the year. I'm certainly willing to be proven wrong -- sales during the next few months could defy prior years' month-to-month trends -- but I doubt that will occur. | |
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Buy A Home, While Supplies Last! |
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OK --- perhaps that wasn't the most fitting title --- supply continues to be very high in several price ranges in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.  The graphic above is an illustration of the relationship between our market's supply and demand in four price ranges. The numbers (6, 10, 13, 22) represent the months of supply of properties currently available based on average demand per month in each price range, during the past twelve months. Source: Harrisonburg/Rockingham Association of Realtors | |
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Print It, Pocket It, Prove Those Skeptics Wrong! |
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Have you been hearing whispers (or shouts) of "home prices are plummeting" or "real estate is a terrible investment" lately? Prove them wrong! Click on the graphic below to download and print my April 2008 Harrisonburg & Rockingham County Home Sales Report.
Lots of caveats:
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(False) News Alert - 20% Down Payment Required |
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 If you read this past Friday's Daily News Record article entitled "National Trend Local, Too", you might think home buying is in your distant future. The article states:"Mortgage requirements have been tightened to about the same standards that were in place 10 years ago. That is, borrowers are required to put down 20 percent and prove that they are able to repay the loan." (Source: Daily News Record, April 11, 2008) Wait a minute! What was that?? A 20% down payment is now required to buy a home?? As much as some fear that we are headed in that direction, that is not at all the truth. While 100% financing is harder and harder to find, that is not an indication that a 20% down payment is now required on all purchases. There are quite a few programs that only require a 3% - 5% down payment. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not encouraging financing more of your purchase than is necessary --- if you have a 20% down payment, that's fantastic! However, don't be mislead by the Daily News Record article and think that you must now save up a 20% down payment before buying a home. | |
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Harrisonburg / Rockingham Home Sales Report: 4/8/2008 |
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 A few observations about the current state of our market:
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Harrisonburg, Rockingham County Home Sales Increase in March |
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In March 2008, Harrisonburg and Rockingham County home sales took a big jump up, to 91 sales, as compared to 51 in February, and 50 in January.  While it is exciting to see a strong increase in home sales in March 2008, it is also important to realize the larger context:
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Going Green, With Fine Earth! |
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 It shouldn't be a surprise that a landscaping company would be a good source of information about living green --- but despite that, I was delighted to find some good reading about green living in Fine Earth's most recent newsletter. Fine Earth is one of many landscaping companies in Harrisonburg, and according to their web site, they are in the business of "creating outdoor solutions that complement your lifestyle." Click here, or on the image, to read the full newsletter. | |
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Reservoir Street Landfill? Who knew?? |
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Who new!? I drive by this location several times a week, and never would have known! According to the March 29, 2008 issue of the Daily News Record, sometime between in the 1930-1960 vicinity, a landfill existed near the intersection of Reservoir Street and Myers Avenue. The precise location of the landfill isn't clear, but read the article for a bit more information about the location and history.  | |
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Calling All Harrisonburg Residential Developers |
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The City of Harrisonburg is accepting bids on the two parcels of R-2 land labeled below. The first parcel (labeled "1" below) contains 3.119 acres. The second parcel (labeled "2" below) contains 5.018 acres.  This land, zoned R-2, provides for a great residential development opportunity --- a convenient location close to Route 11, Route 42, Port Republic Road, Keister Elementary, and more. Bids will be accepted until 9:00AM on April 8, 2008, and the bids will be opened at the City Council meeting at 7:00PM on April 8, 2008. View Larger Map | |
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Digging Deep --- Harrisonburg's Downtown Condos |
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I am delighted to be a part of marketing and selling the Urban Exchange project --- an exciting new construction project in downtown Harrisonburg featuring retail space on the first floor and almost 200 apartments and condos. The photo below shows the excavation progress (these aren't just really deep footers, there will be two levels of underground covered parking). See more photos of the progress by clicking here.  | |
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Happy 100th Birthday JMU! |
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As a proud (two-time) JMU alumni, I'm excited to wish JMU a Happy 100th Birthday! More details on the festivities are here . . .  Click the image above for a printable version of this fantastic photo --- formed by several thousand members of the JMU community (students, faculty, staff, administration, etc). | |
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Scott Rogers
Coldwell Banker
Funkhouser Realtors
540-578-0102
scott@cbfunkhouser.com
Licensed in the
Commonwealth of Virginia
At some point I may have to add a separate list of "attractions", but here's one great one ---
Shenandoah Caverns
Thanks Allison! :)
September 18, 2008 7:24 am
More.....
One of the best sources for that is the Virginia.org, the state tourism site. It has a huge database searchable by event, location, activity. Harrisonburg has done a great job entering stuff.
September 18, 2008 10:00 am
Oops, let's make that a link......... Virginia.org
September 18, 2008 10:00 am
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