Conveniently located slightly east of Charlottesville in the Pantops region of Albemarle County, Fontana homes offer breathtaking mountain views and easy access to major shopping and employment centers like Peter Jefferson Place, State Farm Insurance, and the new Martha Jefferson Hospital. A variety of builders, including Southland Homes, Barry Meade Homes, and Hauser Homes, built the single family homes in Fontana. Neighborhood amenities include trails, community pool, clubhouse, playground, and tennis courts.
Fontana is located approximately 3 miles east of Downtown Charlottesville in Keswick/Eastern Albemarle. The closest vineyard, Keswick Vineyards, is about 6 miles away.
In the early to mid part of the decade, sales were extremely brisk in Fontana. Between 2004 and 2006, there were 70 sales in Fontana (an average of about 23 per year). During that time, new homes sales were still making up a large percentage of those sales (40), while re-sales made up less than 40% (30 total sales). The final new home in the current section of Fontana closed just last year in 2008.
As with most neighborhoods in Albemarle County, sales began to slow in late 2006 and the drag has continued since. After peaking with 26 home sales in 2006, 2007 brought a drop of 38% down to 16 sales. And 2008 fell another 44% to just 9 sales. 2009 has proven to be a particularly slow year with just 4 closings to date. There are just 2 homes currently on the market as I write this…3 others were on the market for extended periods of time and have been withdrawn from the MLS.
Home prices in Fontana have taken a slightly harder hit than the average Albemarle County detached home. In 2004, the average price per square foot of a Fontana home was about 6% less than the average price per square foot of a detached home in Albemarle County ($144/sf vs. $135/sf). At the end of 2008, the average price per sf in Fontana was about 8% less than the average Albemarle County home ($168/sf vs. $154). At Fontana’s peak, homes were selling for more per square foot than other single family homes in Albemarle County. So, Fontana’s prices definitely ran their way up quickly during the boom years…but they’ve settled back over the last few years.
Moving forward, several new neighborhoods surrounding Fontana are detracting from some of the natural views and surroundings that encompassed Fontana in the past. The Pavilions at Pantops – town homes built by Ryan Homes and Southern Development – represents the largest amount of development just next door. Eventually, Fontana is planned to connect with the Pavilions at Pantops…which will most likely increase traffic through the neighborhood. On the back side of Fontana, we’ve heard that Southern Development will be building single family homes on half-acre lots. Site grading is well under way on this development.
On the upside, the transition of Martha Jefferson hospital from Downtown Charlottesville to Pantops will help long term Fontana real estate values. Fontana will be one of (if not the) closest neighborhood of single family homes with amenities to the new hospital.
Click here to see the current homes for sale in Fontana…
Other similar neighborhoods include: Redfields, Foxcroft, Lake Reynovia, Forest Lakes, and Western Ridge.
Charlottesville and Albemarle homes for sale in Fontana school districts: Stony Point, Burley Middle School, and Monticello High School.