News
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Harrisonburg Area Home Sales Up 2%, Prices Up 1% |
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 Learn more about this month's Featured Property: 3339 Deavers Lane I just published my monthly report on the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County real estate market. Jump to the full online market report, or download the PDF, or read on for highlights....  First, the big picture trends of what has been happening this year in our local housing market are quite positive, even if not yet to the magnitude that some homeowners would prefer....
 We will certainly be seeing fewer buyers per month over the next few months, however, as shown above, there will be fewer sellers in the market hoping for those buyers to commit to their properties. Inventory levels are up 3.4% year over year, but are amidst what is a typical seasonal decline during the late Fall to early Winter months.  Why are we a seeing steadily increasing sales pace, and (slowly) increasing sales prices? One main reason is that we are seeing fewer and fewer distressed sales -- foreclosures, short sales, etc. As shown above, home sales have been steadily increasing for several years, and the rate of foreclosures has been steadily decreasing. If you are buying or selling now, or will be soon, I encourage you to become a student of the housing market. Learn what has been happening recently, what is happening now, and what is likely to happen next. Being informed will allow you to make better real estate decisions. You can continue your studies by reading the entire December 2014 market report online, or by downloading the PDF. Also, as always, if you're interested in talking to me about buying a home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County.....or if you are interested in selling your current home.....just drop me a line by email (scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com) or call me at 540-578-0102. | |
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Top 5 Articles in November 2014 |
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 Here are the articles from the past month that your peers enjoyed (or at least read) most....
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Top 5 Articles in October 2014 |
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 Here are the articles from the past month that your peers enjoyed (or at least read) most....
Stay tuned for more fun in November 2014, and if you have ideas or hot tips, feel free to email me at scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com. | |
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Revamped HarrisonburgTownhouses.com now features aerial images and live analysis of sales trends |
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A few years ago, I created HarrisonburgTownhouses.com, a website providing comprehensive information about the main townhouse communities in and around Harrisonburg, Virginia. Today, HarrisonburgTownhouses.com has been revamped and relaunched with an entirely new format and now featuring an aerial photo of each community and live analysis of sales pace and price trends. Take a look, and let me know what you think, or if you have any recommendations for further improvements.  This is a sampling of some of the information you will find for each townhouse community....  Explore more at HarrisonburgTownhouses.com. | |
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Mortgage interest rates below 4% for the first time in 2014 |
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 For the very first time in 2014, the average mortgage interest rate is below 4% for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage. The national average as of yesterday was 3.97%. The last time we saw interest rates in the 3%'s was in June 2013. | |
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September Sales Surge (+33%) Shows Continued Strength of Local Housing Market |
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 Featured Property: 1207 Three Springs Road, McGaheysville, VA I just published my monthly report on the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County real estate market. Jump to the full online market report, or download the PDF, or read on for highlights....  As shown above, August home sales were a bit deceiving. It appeared that after record high sales in May, June and July, that August was an indication that the strong home sales market would not continue through 2014. September sales, however, certainly provides new hope that in fact our year to date sales will end up about the same place as they were in 2013.  As shown above, given the strength of September sales, this year's year-to-date sales (773) have almost caught back up to where we were at this time last year (780).  The next question on most people's minds is how home prices are doing. As shown above, we have seen slow (slow!) gains in median home sales prices over the past several years. The stability (not a decline) is good, but I think most homeowners wish property values would start to increase a bit more quickly.  If you are planning to put your house on the market this Fall, it is important to look at trends in your particular price range. As shown above, inventory levels are increase for homes under $300K, but are decreasing for homes over $300K. If you are buying or selling now, or will be soon, I encourage you to become a student of the housing market. Learn what has been happening recently, what is happening now, and what is likely to happen next. Being informed will allow you to make better real estate decisions. You can continue your studies by reading the entire October 2014 market report online, or by downloading the PDF. Also, as always, if you're interested in talking to me about buying a home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County.....or if you are interested in selling your current home.....just drop me a line by email (scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com) or call me at 540-578-0102. | |
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Top 5 Articles in September 2014 |
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 Here are the articles from the past month that your peers enjoyed (or at least read) most....
Stay tuned for more fun in October 2014, and if you have ideas or hot tips, feel free to email me at scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com. | |
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Jobs coming to Harrisonburg, Rockingham County |
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 The Harrisonburg and Rockingham County area should see plenty of new jobs over the next few years, according to a presentation by Brian Shull (Harrisonburg's Economic Development Director) and Dennis Burnett (Executive Director of the Shenandoah Valley Partnership). Read all about it in this Daily News Record article that was a follow up to Brian and Dennis' presentation to earlier this week. An excerpt follows.... The health care and social assistance sector is poised to add about 700 jobs through 2016, Brian Shull, the city's economic development director, told members of the Rotary Club of Harrisonburg at their Monday meeting. | |
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No Grocery Store? Yes, Conference Center? Ruff Ruff! |
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 PROPOSED GROCERY STORE ON HOLD Per today's Daily News Record, the grocery store proposed to be built on the corner of North Main Street and Mt Clinton Pike may not be built after all -- or at least, the rezoning request has been put on hold. Read more in today's Daily News Record. DOWNTOWN HOTEL & CONFERENCE CENTER DISCUSSED AGAIN Plans for a Hotel and Conference Center intended to be built for downtown Harrisonburg as a partnership between a private developer, JMU, and the City of Harrisonburg may be coming back to life. The matter will be discussed anew at Tuesday's City Council meeting. Here's the history of this topic, including an article from last Friday....
CITY DOG PARK OPENS Stop by Smithland Road to visit the new City Dog Park, or read all about it in last week's Daily News Record article. | |
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Data Center on North Main Street Sold for $59MM |
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 A large data center on North Main Street in Harrisonburg has been sold for 59 million dollars. Read the Daily News Record article for some context for the sale. Here is a summary of the recent history of this property....
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Mortgage rates hold relatively steady just above 4 percent |
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 Average mortgage interest rates (for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage) are hovering around 4.1% -- the lowest we have seen this year.  And looking back even further, we can be even more grateful for this low cost of mortgage money. | |
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Restaurant, Apartments, Wine Tasting Room (?) Coming to Downtown Harrisonburg |
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 Per the Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance facebook page, the enormous hole in the ground at the corner of East Market Street and Mason Street (beside Urban Exchange, Rocktown Bicycles and an abandoned gas station) will soon be a much more exciting destination, including....
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Despite the overall decline in sales, the market is not totally lackluster |
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 As shown above, despite a decline in the number of home sales in this area, and a tiny decline in median sales price, we may actually be seeing an increase in home values as explored through changes in price per square foot. Read the entire Daily News Record article about our local housing market for further commentary and perspective. Hot July Housing Market Cooled In August Daily News Record, September 9, 2014 | |
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Median Sales Prices Stable Despite 5% YTD Decline in Home Sales |
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 Featured Property: 3273 Barrington Drive, Harrisonburg, VA I just published my monthly report on the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County real estate market. Jump to the full online market report, or download the PDF, or read on for highlights....  If you can sort through all of the lines and arrows above, you'll note that August 2014 home sales (101) fell short as compared to August 2013 (112). After three great months in a row (May, Jun, Jul) it seemed that August was going to push us over the top and catch us up in 2014 to last year's pace of home sales. Not so. Maybe in September??  There is, in fact, some cause for optimism. As shown above, there was a 19% increase in contracts between August 2013 and August 2014 --- and the annual pace of contract signing (1,169) is ever so slightly above where it was a year ago.  Amidst slightly slower home sales, and slightly higher contract numbers, inventory levels (as shown above) are holding steady. We will likely start to see these inventory levels starting to decline as we continue through the Fall.  Despite sales declining (5% YTD) sales prices are staying relatively steady, as shown above. This graph is measuring a "rolling 12 month" value for both the number of and median price of home sales in our area. Care to read about all of the exciting details of this month's market report? You can read it online or download the PDF. Also, as always, if you're interested in talking to me about buying a home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County.....or if you are interested in selling your current home.....just drop me a line by email (scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com) or call me at 540-578-0102. | |
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Top 5 Articles in August 2014 |
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 Here are the articles from the past month that your peers enjoyed (read) most.... 1. Starbucks Truck Coming to JMU Campus 2. Bank Owned Properties in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County 3. Two out of five homes that sell do so within three months 4. How long might it take to sell a home priced over $400K? 5. Local Home Sales Surge to 82 Month High in July 2014 Stay tuned for more fun in September 2014, and if you have ideas or hot tips, feel free to email me at scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com. | |
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Local Home Sales Surge to 82 Month High in July 2014 |
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 Featured Property: 4105 Kaleb Drive, Penn Laird, VA 22846 I just published my monthly report on the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County real estate market and July 2014 showed incredibly high sales that ALMOST caught the 2014 YTD pace of home sales up with last year. Jump to the full online market report, download the PDF, or read on for highlights....  First, of course, the leading story of the day --- July 2014 home sales (120) marked the highest number of homes sales in a single month seen anytime in the past 82 months. The most recent month when there have been more than 120 home sales was....August 2007!  Looking a bit further (above) at our usual monthly indicators, it is important to note that despite strong sales in July, the year-to-date pace of home sales in 2014 (564 sales) is still 4% behind where we were at this time last year (587 sales). This is likely a result of a slow start to 2014 with a particularly cold and blustery winter, though strong May, June and July home sales are helping the YTD numbers improve. Also shown above, median sales prices are staying steady (-0.36%) and homes are selling more quickly than last year with an 11% decline in median days on market.  Inventory levels continue to trend upwards, with a 4.3% year-over-year increase -- though we are likely to start seeing the number of homes for sale start to decline in the next 30 to 60 days.  Median sales prices have remained relatively stable over the past few years, but as shown above, home values might secretly be increasing, as the median price per square foot has been quietly sneaking up towards $110/SF. Further treats you'll find in my full market report (online or PDF) include....
Also, as always, if you're interested in talking to me about buying a home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County.....or if you are interested in selling your current home.....just drop me a line by email (scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com) or call me at 540-578-0102. | |
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Local Housing Market Heats Up in June 2014 |
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 Featured Property: 7894 McGaheysville Road, Penn Laird, VA I just published my monthly report on the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County real estate market and the local housing market started heating up in June 2014. Jump to the full online market report, download the PDF, or read on for highlights....  As shown above, there were several encouraging signs in June 2014....
Care for some even more exciting news?
June 2014 home sales (108) were the highest month of June home sales seen anytime recently. Thus, the record high number of home sales in May and June is starting to make up for the disappointingly low number of home sales in March and April. Care for some even MORE exciting news?
A record number of home buyers signed contracts in June 2014 -- marking an astonishing, surprising, remarkable 51% increase over June 2013.  As shown above, despite strong sales in May and June, we're still tracking 7% behind the pace of 2013 home sales. We'll have to wait and see if the remainder of 2014 (spurred on by strong contracts in June 2014) can help us meet and/or surpass last year's count of 1,014 home sales. Further treats you'll find in my full market report (online or PDF) include....
Care to read about all of these juicy details (and more!) in my full 30-page market report? You can read it online or download the PDF. Also, as always, if you're interested in talking to me about buying a home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County.....or if you are interested in selling your current home.....just drop me a line by email (scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com) or call me at 540-578-0102. | |
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Will Hotel Madison ever be built in Harrisonburg? |
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 If Hotel Madison is built in the location shown above, it is likely to be without any financial support from the City of Harrisonburg. A private developer, JMU and the City of Harrisonburg have been negotiating for months on details of a potential partnership between the three entities to build a hotel and conference center on the site shown above -- but that deal has now apparently fallen apart. The developer was asking for $10 million towards the conference center construction, which would be a part of the overall $40 million cost of the entire project. Per today's Daily News Record article, after nearly every detail was in place, the City made a few changes to the draft memorandum of understanding, and the JMU Foundation could not agree to those changes. The developer indicates that the project will not be able to move forward without the now unlikely private-public partnership. Read more in today's Daily News Record article, or catch up on how this all played out....
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Sentara to open Primary Care Facility in Bridgewater? |
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 Sentara may soon open a primary care facility in Bridgewater, and they have an option to purchase an 8 acre parcel of land owned by the Town of Bridgewater located on Dinkel Avenue as shown above. Town Council will hold a public hearing Tuesday on the potential sale at its regular meeting, which will be held at 7:30 p. m. at 201 Green St. Read all the details in the Daily News Record article. | |
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New grocery store in the works for northern City limits? |
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 The north end of Harrisonburg may soon (eventually) have a new grocery store, located at the intersection of North Main Street and Mt Clinton Pike. Read the full Daily News Record article for further details. | |
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Scott Rogers
Funkhouser Real
Estate Group
540-578-0102
scott@funkhousergroup.com
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Commonwealth of Virginia
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