Looking for some great Holiday Lights this year?  Let Charlottesville’s most innovative real estate brokerage save you a little bit of time.  Our Realtors done some legwork by scouting out some of the best neighborhoods in the Charlottesville area for Holiday Lights.  We’ll spotlight a few ‘Best Of’ lists over the next several days, but we’ll get things kicked off with Crozet. 

Honorable Mention: Grayrock

Grayrock is a beautiful single-family home community located along the western edge of Crozet. The first Grayrock homes were started in 1999. Between its two sections, Grayrock and Grayrock North, there are 152 single family homes, two ponds, a series of nature trails, and other amenities such as a gazebo, tot-lot, and basketball court. Grayrock also offers Blue Ridge Views and easy access to Downtown Crozet, the Old Trail Village Center, and King Family Vineyards.

5. Westhall

Westhall is a charming community of cottage-style homes in fresh, inviting colors set against a wooded backdrop in Crozet. All Westhall homes are ideally located within walking distance to Claudius Crozet Park and the community also features its own private tot lot, green space, and sidewalks. Westhall real estate options include town homes and single family homes.

4. Cory Farm

Established in 1997, Cory Farm is a 67 home neighborhood located in Crozet. Cory Farm homes are 8 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive, yet within walking distance to a variety of shops and restaurants, including the new Crozet Harris Teeter in the Blue Ridge Shopping Center.

3. Parkside Village

Located adjacent to Claudius Crozet Park and within walking distance to Downtown Crozet, Parkside Village consists of a combination of single family homes and town homes. With a traditional neighborhood feel, front porches and sidewalks create a friendly neighborhood environment. All Parkside Village homes are an easy stroll to Claudius Crozet Park, which offers a soccer field, playgrounds, baseball fields, and a community pool.

2. Old Trail

Nestled at the base of the Blue Ridge on over 800 acres, Old Trail Village is a traditional neighborhood development (TND) featuring a Village Center, a community pool, Old Trail Golf, walking trails, and acres of parkland. Old Trail real estate options range from townhomes to carriage homes to estate homes. The Old Trail Village Center includes a coffee shop, restaurants, a day spa, and ACAC Fitness and Wellness – conveniently located within walking distance of all Old Trail homes. Whether you are looking to buy an existing home, purchase a home site, or build your dream home, Old Trail is a must see if you are exploring Crozet real estate.

1. Western Ridge

As one of the most popular communities in Crozet, Western Ridge’s tree lined streets, sidewalks, and Blue Ridge views serve as a strong draw for residents. However, Western Ridge homes also offer access to the community pool, fitness center, tennis courts. nature trails, and pond. Social events abound in this neighborly community. Western Ridge real estate options are expanding with the new West End at Western Ridge phase by Craig Builders.

For more information on holiday lights in the Charlottesville area, check out RealCentralVA for an interactive map.

On to the next Crozet neighborhood: Western Ridge.

With homes built by Craig Builders, Gibson Homes, Van der Linde, Wade, and a variety of other local builders, Western Ridge still stands as one of Crozet’s most popular neighborhoods.  Western Ridge features a community pool, fitness center, tennis courts, trails, a community lake, and mountain views from just about every corner. 

Homes in this Crozet neighborhood are divided into three distinct sections: the main section of Western Ridge, Stonegate at Western Ridge, and West End at Western Ridge.  The main section of Western Ridge is mostly built-out – however, there are a few new homes for sale by Van der Linde Homes.  Stonegate at Western Ridge features low-maintenance homes built by Craig Builders.  The newest phase, West End at Western Ridge features brand new homes also built by Craig Builders.  New homes are currently for sale and under construction here.  This will be the final phase of Western Ridge.  An adjacent parcel, part of the Foothill Crossing neighborhood, will be nearby. However, residents of Foothill Crossing will not be able to use Western Ridge amenities.

Let’s take a look at Western Ridge real estate and a recent history of Western Ridge home sales.  Since Western Ridge has the community pool and other great neighborhood amenities, home sales and re-sales have been strong over the last 5 years.  (Other Crozet neighborhoods with community pools include Old Trail and Foxchase)

However, in the same breath, it is important to note than prices are slightly higher than other competing Crozet neighborhoods like Grayrock and Waylands Grant because of those amenities.  And that premium has seemingly started to creep higher over the past few years.  Check out the chart below:

Western Ridge vs. Grayrock Price/SF

As you can see, average price per square foot was slightly higher in 2004 (2.45%).  But in 2008, the average price per square foot in Western Ridge was over 11% higher than Grayrock.  Part of that has to do with the fact that new home sales stopped in Grayrock in 2007 (new homes are historically more per square foot than re-sales).  However, Grayrock had considerably more new home sales than Western Ridge in 2005-2007 (66 to 9!) and price per square foot in Western Ridge was still at a premium. 

Now back to Western Ridge home sales.

Overall, sales have stayed relatively steady since 2004. While sales have backed off since the peak years, the last 3 years saw the number of re-sales steady at 9-8-9 (2006-2008).  In addition, 2008 saw a pop in new home sales due to the start of the community’s final phase, West End at Western Ridge.

Western Ridge Home Sales

It’s also interesting to note that the price per square foot in Western Ridge has stayed steady with that of other Albemarle County homes.  Check out this trend graph:

Western Ridge vs. Albemarle County $/SF

Western Ridge home prices never really got much out of whack from the average sales prices in Albemarle County.  While Albemarle County saw a slight increase in price per square foot from 2007 to 2008, Western Ridge stayed even with the previous year. 

But check out this trend relating to the size of the houses that have sold in Western Ridge.  (Note that this is not just a microtrend in Western Ridge, but a macrotrend in the overall market.  Here is a breakdown of the average size of the homes sold in Western Ridge over the past 5 years:

Avg. Western Ridge Home Size (Sold)

It’s pretty amazing to note that the home sizes have increased by almost 25% between 2004 – 2008. 

But it doesn’t stop there.  Of the 7 homes currently sold or under contract in 2009, the average square footage is 3565.  Wow.  Big houses. 

As of April 20^th, there are 14 homes currently for sale with an average price per square foot of $164 and an average Days on Market of 176.  When you consider, that homes sold in 2009 had an average $/sf of $148 and 2008 was $155, I’d expect some of those list prices to drop as spring turns to summer.

Overall, Western Ridge homes seem to be holding up fairly well in this market and continues to be a popular Albemarle County real estate option.  However, the neighborhood’s inventory of homes for sale is quite high right now (14).  I don’t think that there is enough demand for all of the current inventory to be absorbed in 2009.  Because of the strong competition, I’d expect a few sellers will drop their prices enough to stand out from the rest…and thus, we’ll probably see prices fall a bit more.