The Nest Realty Q4 Nest Report was picked up yesterday by two local news stations.  If you haven’t read our report, check out these quick snippets…and then touch base with your favorite Nest Realty agent to get a little more of a recap.

Overall, we’re using the two words: CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM.  For the first time in years, there is actually a string of positive news in real estate.  It’s a combination of positive national news and positive stories locally from the real estate trenches.  Want a great story ‘from the trenches’?  This past weekend, one of our Nest agents, Janice Kavanagh, hosted an open house and had 33 visitors.  Yes, 33!  That’s a sign that buyers are beginning to look.

Here’s the story and video from Charlottesville’s NBC 29.

And here’s one from the Charlottesville Newsplex.

Stay tuned for more analysis on the Charlottesville real estate market in coming days.  We’re really working hard to dig through the numbers so that our agents and clients have a better take on what’s happening in the market.

If you are intrigued, give us a shout and we’ll shoot you over some more info.

Special thanks to Marijean Jaggers of Jaggers Communications, Barbara Hutchinson of CHO, Ron Morse of Baja Bean, and ACAC for their help.

Nest Realty is proud to announce 2 exciting additions to our Charlottesville office.  Robert Russo and Janice Kavanagh have both joined Nest and we couldn’t be happier to have them on our team.

You can get to know Robert and Janice a little better by checking out their bios on our web site.

If you do know them, I think everyone will agree that they are tremendous real estate agents that represent their clients and the Nest brand very well.

Welcome to our ‘nest’, Robert and Janice!

A report from the Daily Progress yesterday projects that there is a chance that the partially-built Landmark Hotel in Charlottesville may start moving forward again in 2012.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Landmark Hotel saga…here’s a quick recap with some additional story links from The Hook.

Though there still is obviously confusion around this ‘he said – he said’ story, it’s exciting that this project could potentially be re-kickstarted with a completion date in sight.  We can see The Landmark from our Charlottesville Nest office and it’s actually kind of depressing.  With so much vitality and excitement on the Downtown Mall, the current state of the Landmark puts a bit of a damper on the Charlottesville landscape.

We’re looking forward to see how this story unfolds over the next several months…

A quick look at life in Charlottesville.  It’s impossible to capture the true essence of Charlottesville in less than 4 minutes, but this is a start.  We hope you enjoy…

Overall, the November 2011real estate market in Charlottesville performed about as we expected.  Overall, total year-over-year sales were down (from 174 to 150). Median sales prices in the Charlottesville MSA were also down…by about 3% from November 2010.

There was some positive news, though: the three-year total sales trend is now slightly positive…meaning that sales in recent months are trending higher than what we’ve seen, on average, over the last 3 years.

From the report…

Regional year-over-year total sales dropped in November as compared to 2010. Total sales over the last 12 calendar months (2279) are relatively flat to the prior 12 month period (2327). That, in and of itself, is a victory in today’s market.  Overall median prices in November did drop about 3% from November 2010. Days on Market for sold properties has remained relatively steady over the last 12 months – typically hovering in the 100 to 120 day range. Inventory levels for the entire MSA increased from 14.81 in November 2010 to 16.84 months. While total inventory levels did drop slightly, the drop from 174 to 150 total sales forced the Months of Inventory up approximately 15%.

Even with the drop in sales during November, the three-year sales trend is now slightly positive in Central Virginia. Total sales in all six areas dropped as compared to last November. Notably, Albemarle County sales dipped from 73 to 69 and Charlottesville City sales fell from 21 to 20. In addition, contracts written in Albemarle fell from 94 in 2010 to 75 this past month. Charlottesville City contracts increased from 25 to 26. On a positive note, condos and attached home sales in the MSA increased 40% year-over-year and Months of Inventory fell 21% to 12.97 months.

Nest Report Charlottesville: November 2011

For the last several years, we’ve looked at market data and tried to grasp onto something that could help lead housing out of the doldrums.  A few years ago, many hoped the homebuyer’s tax credit would lead to a recovery.  Wrong.  That actually hurt more than it helped by artificially pumping up sales (and prices) for a short stint.  Over the last 18 months, others thought historically low interest rates would serve as a boost to buyers.  And while the interest rates have clearly not hurt the market, they haven’t been enough to turn the Virginia real estate market (specifically Charlottesville and Blacksburg) around.

Interest rates are at historical lows.  Inventory levels are unbelievably high so buyers have plenty of options.  There are some positive signs in the economy with improved unemployment and a bit of stabilization.  And prices are down from their 2007 (0r 2008, depending on where you live) peaks.

So, what’s it going to take to lead housing back?  What about rental prices?

Think we’re crazy?  Here’s our take on it…

Intrinsically, we believe that most people want to own a home.  Yes, there are hassles – fixing leaky faucets, replacing rotting soffits, installing new hot water heaters – that can be expensive.   But people want to have a home that’s theirs.  A place where they can paint a pink bedroom if they want, where they can create a man cave in the basement, or where they can decorate and hang pictures without having to worry about their landlord.  There’s just something about owning your own home that makes us happy…and proud.

But that sense of pride hasn’t changed.  People still want to own their own home.  The problem we’ve run into recently is the financial fear that buyers have.  First of all, buyers are scared of declining home prices.  No homebuyer wants to live in the fear that they are in the hole within 3 months of purchasing their dream home. In addition, if I had a dollar for every time I heard ‘it’s cheaper to rent’ over the last 8 years, I’d be typing this from a beach in Hawaii.  But, we completely understand that thought process.  And we’ve actually told plenty of potential buyers they should NOT buy.

For a while, rental rates did nothing…actually, there was a brief period during 2007 and 2008 where rental rates actually began to drop.  Those rental decreases were a direct result of Americans tightening their wallets and if they could find a way to save $50 or $100 per month by chopping their rent.  We had numerous instances where tenants were calling their landlords and trying to negotiate their rents down in the middle of their lease – it was a definite trend in Charlottesville.

But things changed.  As more potential buyers jumped out of the buyer pool and into the renter pool, demand increased and rental inventory decreased.  And, voila, rental rates started to rise.  In some pockets of our region, rental rates have increased 10-15% in the past 18 months.  Homes that were renting for $1200/month have popped to $1400/month or more.  The NAR claims that, nationally, rental rates increased 3% year-over-year in Q3.  So, either way you look at it, rental rates are on the rise.

As rental rates continue to creep upwards, the rent vs. buy decision for prospective purchasers will become more and more interesting.  And at some point, more and more purchasers will decide they don’t want to keep paying their rising rent bill and instead want to buy a home of their own.  In addition, investors are definitely beginning to see the trend of rising rental rates and high occupancy rates…and they are jumping at deals where they can see quick cash flow.

While inventory levels, buyer demand, and consumer confidence are still the leading indicators of a housing recovery, let’s be sure not to forget rental prices.  It will be interesting to watch rents in 2012 and how they affect purchasing decisions.

- An interactive area map of the most popular regions of the New River Valley

- Over 150 neighborhood descriptions and the ability to search for homes by neighborhood

- Search for the most recently listed homes in the New River Valley

- Search for homes with price reductions

- Great information about life in Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and the entire NRV

So, what’s coming next?

- Keep your eyes out for some regional market reports and analysis in the coming weeks

- Over the next few months, we’ll be adding some more content, videos, and images to help you learn about and understand the region even more.

But, in the end, there’s no substitute for great New River Valley real estate agents…and we’ve got those, too!

The simple answer is that there are a lot of similarities between Charlottesville and Blacksburg.  They’re both small towns.  They’re both college towns.  Both populations have an extremely intelligent resident base.  I could go on and on.

But I think that the biggest similarity is that residents of both Charlottesville and Blacksburg ‘care.’  They care about local businesses.  They care about their schools.  They care about their community.

So, it’s not surprising that Business Week just named Blacksburg as the ‘Best Place in the Country to Raise Kids.‘  You can also check out Blacksburg real estate expert Jeremy Hart’s take here.

Congrats, Blacksburg!