Buying
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Harrisonburg & Rockingham County - Market Overview |
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The graphs below are an excerpt from my 2008 Annual Real Estate Report on Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. These figures reflect all residential sales reported through the Harrisonburg / Rockingham Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service. If you're interested, e-mail me for a full copy of the report, which includes a break down of Harrisonburg City, five sections of Rockingham County, and Page, Augusta and Shenandoah Counties. I will post more of this data here in coming days.      | |
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Foreclosure: 80 Shotgun Spring Road, New Market |
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 Property To Be Sold: 80 Shotgun Spring Road, New MarketDate/Time of Sale: Friday, February 29, 2008 at 8:00 a.m. Original Principal Amount of Deed of Trust: $90,000 Assessed Value: $130,300 Last Sale: $66,500 (November 30, 2000) Deposit: 10% of sale price For Information Contact: Bierman, Geesing & Ward, LLC, attorneys for Equity Trustees, LLC 4520 East West Highway, Suite 200 Bethesda, MD 20814 (301) 961-6555 www.bgwsales.com Per the Daily News Record, February 12, 2008 | |
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Foreclosure: 7110 Rocky Bar Road, Elkton |
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Property To Be Sold: 7110 Rocky Bar Road, Elkton Date/Time of Sale: Friday, February 22, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. Original Principal Amount of Deed of Trust: $92,800 Assessed Value: $155,700 Deposit: $5,000 or 10% of sale price, whichever is lower For Information Contact: Stephen B. Wood Friedman & MacFadyen, P.A. 1601 Rolling Hills Drive, Ste. 125 Richmond, VA 23229 804-288-0088 Ref# 213234 Per the Daily News Record, February 6, 2008 | |
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Foreclosure: 7415 Lilly Square, Dayton |
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Property To Be Sold: 7415 Lilly Square, Dayton Date/Time of Sale: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at 9:40 a.m. Original Principal Amount of Deed of Trust: $35,000 & $61,000 Assessed Value: $155,700 Deposit: $10% of sale price. For Information Contact: Hill & Rainey Attorneys 2425 Boulevard, Suite 9 Colonial Heights, Virginia 23834 (804) 526-8300, Ext. 124 Per the Daily News Record, February 6, 2008 | |
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Foreclosure: 3291 Barrington Drive, Harrisonburg |
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 Property To Be Sold: 3291 Barrington Drive, HarrisonburgDate/Time of Sale: Thursday, February 21, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. Original Principal Amount of Deed of Trust: $262,000 Assessed Value: $369,000 Currently For Sale: $379,900 (more details here) Deposit: $26,000 or 10% of the sale price For Information Contact: Glasser & Glasser, P.L.C. Crown Center Building, Suite 600 580 East main Street Norfolk, VA 23510 Fiel No. 61932 757-321-6465 (call between 10a and 12p) Per the Daily News Record, February 8, 2008 | |
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Foreclosure: 202 Kensington Drive, Elkton |
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Property To Be Sold: 202 Kensington Drive, Elkton Date/Time of Sale: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. Original Principal Amount of Deed of Trust: $292,500 Deposit: $12,000 or 10% of the sale price For Information Contact: Draper & Goldberg, PLLC 803 Sycolin Road Leesburg, VA 20175 703-777-2448 http://www.drapgold.com Per the Daily News Record, February 8, 2008 | |
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Five Years Of January Consistency --- Out The Window |
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For the past five years, January real estate sales have been rather predictable and consistent in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. Between 2003 and 2007 we have seen January home sales counts of 75, 64, 78, 79, and 76. But January 2008 marked an end to that consistency --- with a surprisingly low 48 home sales.  The Details: The graph above shows the number of sales per month as reported by the Harrisonburg/Rockingham MLS in all of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County | |
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No surprise here . . . Supply Is High! |
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I've changed things up a bit this month --- I'm starting to break down sales into four price ranges (as seen below) instead of three price ranges. Several people mentioned that the $200k-$350k was rather large and encompassed too many types of housing.  As can be seen here --- the only price range that could be described as having a close-to-normal balance between supply and demand is of properties valued under $200,000. All others are significantly oversupplied, with January 2008 sales that aren't too encouraging! | |
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Foreclosure: 2388 Hopkins Drive, McGaheysville |
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Property To Be Sold: 2388 Hopkins Drive, McGaheysville Date/Time of Sale: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at 9:45 a.m. Original Principal Amount of Deed of Trust: $450,000 Assessed Value: $338,300 Terms of Sale: A deposit of $20,000.00, or 10% of the sales price, whichever is lower, cash or certified check, will be required at the time of sale with settlement within fifteen (15) days from the date of sale. For Information Contact: Samuel I. White, P.C. 5040 Corporate Woods Drive, Suite 120 Virginia Beach, VA 23462 757-457-1460 Call between 9:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. 0512-08/CONV Per the Daily News Record, February 4, 2008 | |
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The Most Popular Properties --- At Least Online . . . |
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 If you're reading my blog in a browser, as opposed to in a rss reader, you'll always see a property in the upper right corner of my blog. It is labeled as a "Top Property" with a number beside it --- and several of my blog readers have asked what this is all about. Now you'll know . . .Coldwell Banker Funkhouser Realtors operates over 60 web sites with property listings --- this includes our company web site, and a web site for each agent in our company. Each day, consumers perform thousands of property searches on all of these sites combined. We keep track of which properties are being viewed, and each night we sort through all of the properties on the market to find the 100 properties that consumers have viewed most frequently in the most recent 30 days. Curious to see how these properties rank? Visit my blog, and click on the  button next to the "Top Property" section. You'll be able to see a list of the top 100 most viewed properties. Enjoy! | |
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Foreclosure: 9212 Rawley Pike, Hinton |
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Property To Be Sold: 9212 Rawley Pike, Hinton Date/Time of Sale: Friday, February 22, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. Original Principal Amount of Deed of Trust: $179,100 Assessed Value: $180,700 Terms of Sale: A deposit in the form of certified funds in the amount of $15,000.00 or 10% of the successful bid, whichever is lower, is required of any bidder at the time of sale. Closing within fifteen (15) days of sale. For Information Contact: Stephen B. Wood Friedman & MacFadyen, P.A. 1601 Rolling Hills Drive, Ste. 125 Richmond, VA 23229 (804) 288-0088 Ref #213213 Per the Daily News Record, January 30, 2008 | |
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Foreclosure: 388 Ridge Court, Timberville |
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 Property To Be Sold: 388 Ridge Court, TimbervilleDate/Time of Sale: Monday, February 11, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. Original Principal Amount of Deed of Trust: $125,600 Assessed Value: $121,100 Most Recent Sale: $157,000 (1/6/2006) This property is currently on the market for $169,000. Terms of Sale: A bidder's deposit of $12,500.00 or 10% of the sale price, whichever is lower, will be required in cash, certified or cashier's check. Settlement within fifteen (15) days of sale, otherwise Trustees may forfeit deposit. For Information Contact: Professional Foreclosure Corporation of Virginia C/O Shapiro & Burson, LLP 13135 Lee Jackson Highway, Suite 201 Fairfax, VA 22033 703-449-5800 Per the Daily News Record, January 30, 2008 | |
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Buy vs. Rent --- Harrisonburg Townhouse on Vine Street |
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 There are many perspectives on whether it is better to buy or rent --- let's pick one property type, in one imaginary buy vs. rent scenario, and start with a monthly cash flow perspective . . .The townhome pictured to the right, located at 904 Vine Street in Harrisonburg, is listed for sale with a price of $149,000. Since homes sell on average at 97% of their asking price, we'll assume that it may sell for around $144,530. We'll also assume that one might be able to rent it for around $825 per month.  If we just consider monthly cash flow, we will discover that it takes a $17,000 down payment (plus closing costs) to keep the monthly mortgage payment in line with the projected $825 per month rental payment. Many buyers of townhomes in this price range do not have $17,000 to put into the transaction --- some only have the closing costs ($3,000 - $4,500). Let's take that angle --- which increases the monthly mortgage cost to $922 per month, or $97 extra each month. So why might someone consider purchasing this townhome rather than renting it? Let's assume, for a moment, that the conflicted buyer-tenant will stay in the townhome for three years. Here's the comparison: 1. The buyer pays $3,492 extra in monthly housing costs ($97 * 36 months) 2. The buyer pays down their mortgage $6,176 during the three years. 3. The buyer pays $23,366 of interest, which saves them approximately $5,841 on taxes (assuming 25% bracket). So far, the buyer is ahead of the tenant by $8,525 by the third year. If we then include a modest 3% per year appreciation, the buyer has gained an additional $13,402. (They don't get this until they sell). Thus, by buying, rather than renting, the net gain comes out to be: - $4,000 purchase closing costs - $3,492 extra monthly housing costs + $6,176 principal reduction + $5,841 tax savings + $13,402 appreciation --------------------------------------------------- + $17,927 net gain after three years One important note --- if the buyer then decides to sell after three years, some portion of their gain will be expended in seller closing costs. | |
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Does Real Estate Always Increase In Value? |
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Yes and no . . . As an overall trend, real estate (almost) always increases in value. The graph below shows the "Four-Quarter Percent Change in Virginia House Price Indexes," based on data from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.  Each quarter, the OFHEO releases the House Price Index, which is described as "...a broad measure of the movement of single family house prices." The figures represent the amount of increase or decrease in housing prices in a particular market, based on a repeat-sales index. They derive their data based on repeat sales of the same property, or refinances of the same property. Since 1975, there have only been eight quarters (out of 127) when the house price index has declined. The graph below shows the value trend that would have existed for a home valued at $100,000 in 1975 --- using the OFHEO's house price index to determine growth in value.  But don't forget -- all properties do not follow overall trends during all time periods. Some buyers have mistaken the trend described above to mean that all properties will increase in value during all time periods of ownership. However, it is essential to remember that the trends are based on a market as a whole --- in the case of my examples, the entire state of Virginia. So while real estate values as a whole (in Virginia) seems to (almost) always increase, that will not necessarily be the case for all individual properties in Virginia. | |
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How and Why To Buy Property At A Foreclosure Sale |
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 Buying a property at a foreclosure sale (a.k.a. trustee sale) can be a great opportunity to acquire a property under market value, but there are risks that accompany any potential for reward.The Risks:
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Modular vs. Stick-Built . . . A Blind Test |
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 A few weeks ago some of my clients were interested in viewing both a stick-built home and a modular home, and agreed to look at both in a blind comparison test. First, according to Wikipedia, a stick-built structure is "one constructed entirely or largely on-site," as opposed to a modular home that is "divided into multiple modules or sections which are manufactured in aremote facility and then delivered to their intended site of use." Before we get to the results of the blind test, it is important to note that there are mixed opinions on modular homes. For example, some would suggest that . . .
The stick-built home had higher quality interior finishes, a more practical layout, higher quality flooring, and seemed somewhat more solid --- but --- had more of an echo, and had several lower quality finishing selections that didn't convey quality construction. The modular home had higher quality framing and higher ceilings, and the marriage wall was not noticeable --- but --- there were more oddities in the floor plan and the floor joists seemed more shoddy. Both homes had great drywall work and seemed to be very structurally sound. | |
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Foreclosure: 338 Louisa Street, Broadway |
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Property To Be Sold: 338 Louisa Street, Broadway Date/Time of Sale: Wednesday, February 6, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. Original Principal Amount of Deed of Trust: $180,400 Assessed Value: $193,800 Most Recent Sale: $190,000 (1/20/2005) Terms of Sale: A deposit of $15,000.00, or 10% of the sales price, whichever is lower, cash or certified check, will be required at the time of sale with settlement within fifteen (15) days from the date of sale. For Information Contact: Samuel I. White, P.C. 5040 Corporate Woods Drive, Suite 120 Virginia Beach, Virginia 23462 757-457-1460 (call between 9:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.) Per the Daily News Record, January 28, 2008 | |
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Foreclosure: 3210 Danbury Court, Harrisonburg |
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 Property To Be Sold: 3210 Danbury Court, HarrisonburgDate/Time of Sale: Wednesday, February 6, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. Original Principal Amount of Deed of Trust: $460,800 Assessed Value: $394,100 Most Recent Sale: $512,000 (11/17/2006) Terms of Sale: Cash: A deposit of $20,000.00, or 10% of the sales price, whichever is lower, cash or certified check, will be required at the time of sale with settlement within fifteen (15) days from the date of sale. For Information Contact: Samuel I. White, P.C. 5040 Corporate Woods Drive, Suite 120 Virginia Beach, Virginia 23462 757-457-1460 (call between 9:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.) Per the Daily News Record, January 28, 2008 | |
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Foreclosure: 16958 Sundance Forest Road, Broadway |
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 Property To Be Sold: 16958 Sundance Forest Road, BroadwayDate/Time of Sale: Monday, February 11, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. Original Principal Amount of Deed of Trust: $154,000 Assessed Value: $101,500 Most Recent Sale: $154,000 (8/17/2006) Terms of Sale: All Cash. A bidder's deposit of $15,000.00 or 10% of the sale price, whichever is lower, will be required in cash, certified or cashier's check. Settlement within fifteen (15) days of sale, otherwise Trustees may forfeit deposit. For Information Contact: Professional Foreclosure Corporation of America C/O Shapiro & Burson, LLP 236 Clearfield Avenue, Ste 215 VIrginia Beach, VA 23462 757-687-8777 Per the Daily News Record, January 25, 2008 | |
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Buying Acreage To Build A Home |
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Recently, one of my blog readers asked a variety of questions about buying land for building a home. Let's delve into a few of the related questions and issues!  What is the average price per acre in Rockingham County? The cost per acre of land varies across Rockingham County, mostly depending upon the size of the tract, and the property location. For example, in 2007 land in Rockingham County north of Route 33, with tract sizes of 1-10 acres sold at an average rate of $33k/acre. These 22 sales, however, ranged in price per acre from $5k to $220k. When a buyer starts considering a particular property, we would then start looking at average price/acre for tracts most similar to that property. Does land appreciate? Almost always, yes --- because we have a fixed supply of land, as opposed to housing which can continue to be built. However --- it often doesn't appreciate as quickly as land with a house built on it, since land sales do not comprise as active of a market as home sales. When evaluating a particular property, what should I consider? It is imperative to investigate many aspects of a piece of land before purchasing. Some, but not all, of these include:
Do you have to build immediately in a subdivision? Each subdivision is a bit different in their expectations, but those expectations are almost always spelled out in the same document -- the covenants and restrictions. Rarely does a subdivision require that building start within any given time frame, however, many subdivisions will require that construction be completed within a certain amount of time after it has begun. Buying land can be somewhat complicated, but is an exciting process. There's nothing like being a Virginia land owner! | |
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Scott Rogers
Funkhouser Real
Estate Group
540-578-0102
scott@funkhousergroup.com
Licensed in the
Commonwealth of Virginia
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