Land
 |
 |
Most Buyers Include A Study Period In A Contract For A Building Lot Or Land |
|
 Getting ready to build your dream home? Exciting!!! Did you find the perfect building lot in a neighborhood? Or an ideal 2.5 acre lot in the County where you plan to build? Fantastic!!! You have two options at this point... [1] Continue to do lots of research and planning, and then if it all pans out, make an offer and try to negotiate a deal with the seller. [2] Make an offer with a study period. Most buyers seem to be more comfortable with the second option -- going ahead and making an offer, with a study period. This strategy allows you to make sure you can negotiate a deal with the seller that works for you from a price (and other terms) perspective -- before then spending a good bit of time, and possibly money, on confirming that the lot or land is suitable for your building plans. During your study period (often 30, 60, 90 days or longer - depending on the property type) you will likely... [1] Walk the building lot with your builder. [2] Research details of utility locations and/or availability. [3] Confirm any easements that would affect where you could build. [4] Research how much rock may exist and whether that will affect your building plans. [5] Get pricing from your builder for building your dream home now that you have a proposed site/location for it. These are just a few of the items we might research during the study period in your contract -- all pointing us to a greater understanding of whether your plans for building on the lot will work well for you. If you're ready to explore some land or building lots, be in touch! | |
 |
 |
|
|
Price Per Acre of Land Sold in Rockingham County |
|
 As shown above, the price per acre of 5 - 10 acre tracts has mostly stayed between $13K and $14K over the past four years, with the exception of last year (2019) when it dipped down to $11K. We have seen a steady increase in the number of 5 to 10 acre land sales over the past several years.  The number of 10 to 20 acre tracts selling per year has stayed much more consistent over the past four years (2016 - 2019) with 11, 12 or 13 parcels selling -- though there have already been 10 such sales in the first 7-ish months of 2020. The median price per acre has been generally trending up for this size of parcel, and seems poised to remain around $11K per acre this year.  The median price per dipped down rather low ($4K/acre) in 2018 for parcels of 20+ acre but then rose quite significantly in 2019 to $7K per acre. We have seen around 15 to 20 such sales per year for the past several years but it seems we might surpass that in 2020.  Finally, this (above) is a compilation of the price per acre for each parcel size. As you might expect, the larger the parcel, the lower the price per acre. | |
|
|
|
|
179 Building Lots For Sale in Harrisonburg, Rockingham County |
|
 Where will you build your new home? There are 179 building lots for sale in Harrisonburg and Rockingham priced under $200K. The list below shows the subdivision / location of the lots. If you're interested in further details about any of these lots or locations, let me know! As an aside -- how does 179 strike you? It was more building lots that I thought I'd find when a client asked about this. Of note -- these are lots where "public water" and "public sewer" are available -- there are countless other lots where you would need to drill a well and install a septic system.  | |
|
|
|
|
Price Per Acre of Land Sold in Rockingham County |
|
 As shown above, the price per acre of 5 - 10 acre tracts has increased over the past several years to a median of $13,264 per acre. We are consistently seeing between 10 and 20 (between 11 and 17) of these parcels selling each year.  The median price per acre of 10 - 20 acre tracts jumped up to $13,184 in 2015, but settled back down in 2016 to $7,669 and has now risen again in 2017 to $9,796. The small-ish number of sales per year in this price range leads to more variability in the median sales price per acre depending on which particular tracts sell in any given year.  We saw almost 20 sales over 20 acres this year -- but the median price per acre fell from $6,949 (last year) to $5,496. | |
|
|
|
|
Mountaintop Retreat with Cabin, Canyon, River, on 46 Acres in Craigsville, VA |
|
 I have spent many a fun filled weekend in this cabin located just under an hour south of Harrisonburg off of Route 42, in Craigsville, VA -- and now you have the opportunity to form your cherished family memories on this amazing property. This mountaintop retreat features a recently built two bedroom cabin with a finished loft on 46 wooded acres with a trail through the property to a canyon and river, both also on the property! Enjoy hunting, fishing, hiking, bird watching, and much more in a peaceful setting within an hour of Harrisonburg and Charlottesville. This custom built cabin features a great room with vaulted ceiling, two bedrooms, a full bathroom, a large loft area, a covered porch, and features hardwood floors and beautiful wood trim and finishes throughout the home. Enjoy fishing in Little Calf Pasture River on the lower section of the 46 acre tract, accessible by hiking down the property, or by driving in on an access maintained by the home owners association.  Can you spot the cabin in the photo above? It is toward the top of the wooded area shown above. This 46 acre parcel is mostly wooded, and not all of it is shown in the photo above.  Fishing anyone? This river runs along the bottom of the property, and is accessible via a trail down from the cabin, or along a separate road that runs along the bottom of this property. A short walk from this river, you'll find a beautiful rock face forming a canyon wall of sorts.  Can you picture the fun times had in this cabin featuring two bedrooms, a full bathroom plus an upper level loft?  You'll find plenty of space for relaxing on the covered front porch of this cabin, complete with swing. Find out more about this amazing property at CraigsvilleRetreat.com. | |
|
|
|
|
New Developments Coming Soon? |
|
 Three parcels of development land (see below) are now under contract. Perhaps we'll be seeing some new developments taking shape in and around Harrisonburg soon?  2112 SUNNY SLOPE LN, ROCKINGHAM, VA - 16.91 ACRES - $1,039,000 This nearly 18 acre tract of land is just outside the City of Harrisonburg and offers an opportunity to develop for residential and/or commercial use, subject to rezoning. The property is located on Route 42 with about 450 feet of road frontage near WalMart and beside Harrisonburg Construction. There are three parcels, two currently zoned A2 and one zoned R2. Water & Sewer is available. The property includes a 3,000 sf ranch style residence with a basement and was built in 1960. UNDER CONTRACT SINCE 3/2/2017.  9447 MCGAHEYSVILLE RD, MCGAHEYSVILLE, VA - 21.76 ACRES - $1,250,000 Temporary Price Cut for an Early April Closing! Extraordinary Opportunity! A fully approved Residential Subdivision in McGaheysville and ready to be developed. The site is approved for 84 units (6 single family & 39 duplex lots). It can be constructed in Phases. Full views of Massanutten and the Blue Ridge Mountains. The subdivision includes a roundabout, internal loop road for walking, and riding, a shared access pond/park area. County water & sewer. UNDER CONTRACT SINCE 7/5/2017.  TBD BOYERS ROAD, ROCKINGHAM, VA - 26.27 ACRES - $2,365,000 Prime Development Land. 26 + Acres Zoned R3 on the east side of Harrisonburg on Boyers Road across from Sentara RMH Hospital. Property borders the Massanetta Springs Camp & Conference center property on the east and also has a pond that has water in it most of the year. Could be a great duplex or townhouse development. There is a small barn on the property. UNDER CONTRACT SINCE 9/11/2017. | |
|
|
|
|
Dirt is moving on Reservoir Street for the construction of the Retreat at Harrisonburg |
|
 click here for a larger version of this aerial image If you have driven along Reservoir Street lately, you would have noticed the massive area on the hospital side or Reservoir Street where trees have been cleared for a new housing development. This site will soon be home to 700 college students in a new development called "The Retreat at Harrisonburg", being developed by Landmark Properties out of Athens, GA. The developer has acquired 36.81 acres for $5.71 million in August after the land was rezoned in May to allow for this community to be developed. This same developer is (per their website) also currently developing The Retreat at Blacksburg, a student housing community for 829 students. Read more about this purchase and development in this Daily News Record article.... Student Housing Developer Buys County Land August 30, 2016 Here is the intended site plan....  Per documents submitted to the County, we know the following about this potential student housing community....
 | |
|
|
|
|
After a weird dip last year, land is back to selling for around $14K per acre |
|
 I'll take a look at how these prices per acre vary within different acreage ranges soon -- but for now, know that all 1+ acre lots that are selling in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County are selling at a median of $14,025 per acre. Last year's median of $9,932 was an odd departure from the previous several years. | |
|
|
|
|
Unique opportunity to build a home adjacent to Hillandale Park |
|
 Location, location, location. Build your new home in the Keister school district, immediately adjacent to Hillandale Park, where hiking and biking and other recreational opportunities abound. You will be in close proximity to the JMU campus and downtown Harrisonburg. Three lots are being sold, as shown above....
| |
|
|
|
|
A single family home is now a permitted use in A1 zoned land in Rockingham County |
|
 If you are hoping to build a new single family home on a scenic hilltop (or in a rolling pasture) in Rockingham County, your options have recently expanded. Building a single family detached residence is now a permitted use in A1 zoned land in Rockingham County. Prior to the recent change in the zoning ordinance, you would have been required to file for a special use permit to build a single family home on A1 zoned land. Thanks to Todd Rhea for the hot tip on this change in the zoning ordinance. | |
|
|
|
|
Median Price Per Acre in Rockingham County |
|
 As shown above, the price (per acre) of land sales in Rockingham County is starting to improve in several price ranges.
Read on for more details on the pace of land sales....
As shown above, the pace of sales of 5 to 10 acre parcels is (slowly) increasing.
As shown above, the pace of sales of 10 to 20 acre parcels is also slowly improving.
| |
|
|
Scott Rogers
Funkhouser Real
Estate Group
540-578-0102
scott@funkhousergroup.com
Licensed in the
Commonwealth of Virginia
Home Search
Housing Market Report
Harrisonburg Townhouses
Walk Through This Home
Investment Properties
Harrisonburg Foreclosures
Property Transfers
New Listings
