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!
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The One Million Twenty Fifth customer. So close! |
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 As mentioned last week, Dave's Downtown Taverna was coming up on a huge milestone --- having served 1,000,000 customers! I had lunch at Dave's this past Friday, and wouldn't you know, the one millionth customer was sitting just a few tables away. IF ONLY I had come 30 minutes earlier! Ah well --- congratulations to Dave's for over 14 years of great food and service in downtown Harrisonburg! | |
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Breaking Economic News: Rosetta Stone to go public? |
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 Rosetta Stone Inc., one of several prominent Harrisonburg-based technology companies, filed to raise up to $115 million in an initial public offering on Tuesday (9/23/2008).Of note from the MarketWatch report: "Rosetta Stone rang up net income of $2.9 million on revenue of $83 million in the six months ended June 30, compared to net income of $399,000 on revenue of $59.5 million in the year-ago period." Wow --- what an improvement in net income! This is likely to be great news for our local economy! Read more details/commentary at hburgnews.com. | |
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Mortgage rates are down --- if you're buying, lock in now! |
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If you have been holding off to lock in an interest rate on your purchase or re-finance, now may be the time! In a report released by Freddie Mac last Friday (9/12/2008), 30-year fixed-rate mortgages now average at 5.93%. That is a significant drop from the prior week's average of 6.35%. Yes, rates could go lower, but we're below 6% again --- which I hadn't thought we'd see for quite a while. If you have any questions, please e-mail me (scott@cbfunkhouser.com) or call me (540-578-0102). I'd be happy to talk things through with you, or to connect you with a qualified lender. | |
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"First Time" Home Buyers --- Act Now! |
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 If you haven't owned a home in the last three years, you have a unique opportunity if you buy a home in the next 11 months (before July 1, 2009).The new Housing Bill signed into law by the President this week provides a $7,500 tax credit to first time home buyers (anyone who hasn't owned a home in the past three years) with income up to $75,000 for single people and up to $150,000 for married couples. When do I get the money? A $7,500 credit will be applied to your income taxes for the year in which you close on your new home. This doesn't reduce your taxable income by $7,500 (a tax deduction) --- it reduces the taxes that you pay by $7,500 (a tax credit). I've heard I have to give the money back? Yes --- the $7,500 must be paid back over 15 years, starting two years after you take the tax credit. This is an additional tax liability of $500 per year for those 15 years. So if I have to pay it back, why is this tax credit so exciting? In essence, you are being provided with a $7,500 interest-free loan. This can be the needed advantage for first time buyers to know that they can make a home purchase work for them. The $7,500 will certainly make up for what you paid for closings costs (in most loan programs) and even part of your down payment. If you have more questions, check out this list of frequently asked questions. | |
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$7500 interest-free loans, and other perks of the housing bill |
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The president is expected to sign a new housing bill today (July 29, 2008) that may have significant implications for current and hopeful homeowners. Here are a few highlights:
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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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Wall Street Journal: "The Housing Crisis Is Over" |
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"The dire headlines coming fast and furious in the financial and popular press suggest that the housing crisis is intensifying. Yet it is very likely that April 2008 will mark the bottom of the U.S. housing market. Yes, the housing market is bottoming right now." The article goes on to make some very interesting observations based on housing market data and historical comparisons. It's worth a read! | |
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Yesterday (May 6, 2008), the Wall Street Journal ran an opinion piece entited " |
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"The Recession That Never Was is Now Over" -- Briefing.com |
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 Thanks to a client of mine for pointing me to this great economic commentary entitled "The Recession That Never Was is Now Over" from Briefing.com.Some interesting thoughts from the article in regards to whether we have been or are experiencing a recession . . .
And touching on why everyone seems to think we're in a recession . . .
Again, be sure to read the full article here, from Briefing.com. | |
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What Is The Big Economic News in Page County?? |
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I received this letter today. Does anyone have any insight into Thursday's announcement? | |
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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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Groundbreaking: East Rockingham H.S. & River Bend E.S. |
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Late notice, I know, but on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. the groundbreaking will take place for East Rockingham High School and River Bend Elementary School. The location (14652 Rockingham Pike, Elkton, VA) is indicated below. View Larger Map Due to a schedule conflict, I will not be able to attend. If anyone makes it, let me know how it goes, or e-mail me some photos! | |
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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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A Glimpse Into The National Real Estate Market |
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 We constantly hear national statistics and and stories on the news about the national housing market. On this blog, I endeavor to provide helpful analysis of our local housing market --- since it often is characterized by very different trends than other parts of the country.But, at least for a day, I will be abandoning my local focus . . . Tomorrow, I will have the opportunity to learn firsthand about the national housing market, and where we may be headed. Along with four other Virginia Realtor bloogers, I will be having lunch with Dr. Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, who was recently named (by USA Today) as one of America's top 10 economists. | |
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Daily News Record >> Getting Local With Real Estate |
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 I applaud Dan Wright (pictured to the right), and the Daily News Record (DNR) for running some local stories on our real estate market, such as today's "Feeling The Ripples" article on foreclosures.In contrast to today's story about our local market, the DNR will often run AP stories --- which are written from a national perspective, and about markets that are usually quite different than the Shenandoah Valley. As a quick aside --- if it's not immediately apparent whether the article is local, check the "dateline" --- the city that precedes the article. And yet, despite my excitement for seeing a local article today, I can't keep from commenting on a few interesting parts of this story . . .
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NPR Is Right On --- The Potential Real Estate Standoff |
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 Perhaps Jonathan Clements, a personal finance columnist at The Wall Street Journal, has been reading my blog? Unlikely, however he speaks of a possible real estate standoff in a recent NPR interview, making many of the same observations as I made a few weeks ago.In the interview, Jonathan ponders . . . "are we going to see prices drop, which will encourage buyers to step up to the plate and purchase, or are we going to continue with the standoff, where sellers are reluctant to cut prices and buyers are reluctant to commit?" He then makes some other great observations about selling in today's market:
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Where, Oh Where, Has 100% Financing Gone? |
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 A few months ago, most lenders stopped offering "80/20" loans --- an 80% first mortgage combined with a 20% second mortgage.Last week, VHDA suspended their 100% loan programs! I have always sent first time buyers to lenders that offer VHDA financing programs. These programs offer below-market rates for first time home buyers, with flexible financing up to 103%. However --- as of April 1, 2008, these 100% loan programs will be suspended (i.e. not available) until further notice. The explanation, in an e-mail from Michele Watson (Director of Homeownership Programs, VHDA) was that it is "...an effort to best utilize our resources, maintain adequate long term funding for our loan programs and to mitigate the risk to our borrowers and VHDA..." There are still some 100% options, but as the number of programs dwindle, it will become increasingly harder to finance a home purchase, especially for first time buyers. Some remaining options include:
And if you're looking, below are several lenders I would recommend that you talk to, about 100% financing, or otherwise:
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Correction - - - High End Homes Actually ARE Selling! |
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 Last week an article ran in the Daily News Record stating that only eight "high-end" homes are selling per year. Unfortunately, I think many people read that portion of the article and thought "yeah, I knew people really aren't buying those expensive homes..."The Good News: The eight / year statistic is not at all correct! The Bad News: This still doesn't mean that high-end homes are selling quickly. I'm not sure how the eight per year figure was derived, but when searching in the Harrisonburg/Rockingham Multiple Listing Service for homes sold in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County during 2007 with sales prices of $500,000 or higher, I'm finding 27 properties! This changes the context of the story quite a bit. If 8 homes sold per year, the current inventory of 72 homes (66 at the time of the DNR story) would take 9 years to sell. With the actual figure of 27 homes selling per year, it would take 2.67 years to sell the active inventory. And thus the bad news becomes clear --- even with the corrected data on the rate at which these homes are selling, there is still an oversupply of homes on the market in this price range. I rarely meet a homeowner who hopes that it will take 2+ years to sell their home. One further correction . . . time to sell has not increased . . . The article implies that these high end homes often sit on the market for nine months, where as in a more normal market they would only take six months to sell. In actuality, the 27 homes that sold in 2007 took (on average) 6.6 months to sell. And in contrast (or lack thereof), in 2005 (a very active market), these high-end homes took (on average) 5.8 months to sell. One last clarification --- I am in no way indicating that it is easy or fast to sell a high-end home priced above $500,000 in the current market. However, if you need to sell such a home, it is important to know the facts to help you make the best home selling decisions. The property pictured above is that of Jack Miller, who was featured in the Daily News Record article. He says he is ready to sell --- any takers? | |
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The Effect of Immigrant Buyers |
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| NPR's All Things Considered ran an interesting story today about immigrant buyers. Per the story (listen here) . . .
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In Virginia, All Real Estate Is Local |
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Last week, the Virginia Association of Realtors released the 2007 Year-End Market Report, which creates a context for year end market data throughout the state of Virginia. Along with providing insight and analysis into the many local, state and national issues that affected this Virginia's real estate market this year, the report also points out that market conditions vary considerably in different areas of the state.
However, despite the decrease in number of real estate transfers this past year, sales prices remained relatively flat as compared to 2006. Median Prices were up 1.2 percent in 2007, and average prices were down 3.1 percent. Overall, the report is hopeful . . .
In April, we will see more great analysis and insights from the George Mason University School of Public Policy, whose staff will be continuing to provide these reports for each quarter of 2008. | |
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Condos Are Coming To Downtown Harrisonburg! |
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Urban Exchange, an exciting new mixed-use development, will be built with frontage on East Market Street and Mason Street --- within walking distance to downtown Harrisonburg and JMU campus.  The six-story structure will be comprised of (196) 1, 2 and 3 bedroom condos / apartments, as well as approximately 12,000 s.f. of retail space -- to house tenants such as a coffee shop, restaurant, and other retail operations. These brand new, upscale units will be available both for sale or for lease. Amenities will include on-site parking, free internet and phone service, a state-of the-art fitness center, public space and an outdoor courtyard. Demolition on the existing structures will begin this month, and the entire project will be complete by Summer 2009. For more information about Urban Exchange, visit http://www.ueharrisonburg.com. | |
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Scott Rogers
Coldwell Banker
Funkhouser Realtors
540-578-0102
scott@cbfunkhouser.com
Licensed in the
Commonwealth of Virginia