If You're Buying A Big Or Expensive Home, Will It Be In The City of Harrisonburg, or Rockingham County?


If You're Buying A Big Or Expensive Home, Will It Be In The City of Harrisonburg, or Rockingham County?
By Scott Rogers • August 26, 2009
Every five years (or so) the Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority conducts a detailed analysis of City housing. In 2005, S. Patz & Associates, Inc conducted the analysis, available here: Citywide Housing Analysis for Harrisonburg, Virginia. One interesting "housing issue" that is identified as affecting the City of Harrisonburg was identified in the 2000 analysis, and re-confirmed in the 2005 analysis: "The loss of new construction of higher price new homes to sites in Rockingham County, while the City continues to attract only more modest single family detached and attached homes." I had never considered that this might be occuring --- that most higher price new homes were being built in Rockingham County instead of in the City of Harrisonburg --- but it makes sense, because undeveloped land is generally quite scarce in the City of Harrisonburg. To confirm (or reject) this conclusion, let's take a look at the homes that have sold each year since 2000, that were built within 3 years of when they were sold (thus, new-ish homes).... First, here's the break down of where all of these homes sold.... You'll note that the majority of the new-ish homes that were sold (and thus purchased) where in Harrisonburg, as opposed to in Rockingham County with a Harrisonburg address. Now, let's look at "large" new-ish homes, those with 2500+ square feet.... Here we do indeed find the phenomenon that the report described --- almost all of the large (and thus expensive) homes were built just outside Harrisonburg, and not within the City limits. Of note --- the City of Harrisonburg identifies this phenomenon as an "issue" because.... "An objective for the City is to help support development of higher priced/higher rent housing to provide a better mix of housing types and income levels in the City." For even more reading, read the full housing analysis! Receive Updates by Email Recent Articles: There Are Plenty Of Types Of Houses That Exist That Just Are Not Available To Purchase Home Sales By Price Range In The City Of Harrisonburg Are You Compromising On Aspects Of Your Next Home That You Can Or Cannot Change Later? How Much Slower Are The Winter Months In Our Local Housing Market? Rockingham County and New Home Sales Drive Surge in Area Housing Market Find The Balance Between Optimistic And Realistic Home Pricing Room Size Is Difficult To Understand Solely From Real Estate Photos How Much Would You Value Not Having To Prepare Your Home For Showings? One Out Of Four Homes Is Taking Longer Than A Month To Sell Consider The Cost Of Your Planned Renovations When Planning Your Offer
Have any questions? Contact Scott Rogers at 540-578-0102 or scott@funkhousergroup.com
Based on information from the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Association of REALTORS® or its MLS, for the period Jan 1, 2000 through Nov 21, 2024 (unless otherwise noted).
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