News
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State of the Union |
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 Don't forget to watch the State of the Union tonight at 9PM. And let's take this opportunity to see how our local real estate market is doing as compared to where we were one year ago.
Stay tuned this evening for an update on the state of our nation, but our local housing market seems to be much improved over the past year. | |
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January Inventory vs. Full Year Home Sales |
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 As Todd Rhea so eloquently said in a comment on my blog post yesterday.... "This inventory analysis is a big deal for the local market. In 2009-2011 the local market entered the year with more gross inventory than homes that were sold in the following 12 months. This year for every inventory unit entering the year, there will likely be 2 sales in 2014. The impacts on price from Supply and Demand have never been repealed. With lower supply (inventory) and modestly growing demand, days on the market should continue to fall, and prices should increase in 2014."I agree wholeheartedly with Todd....
** Please note: The 2014 home sales shown in the graph above are a projection, not a promise. :) | |
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2013 Year in Review shows 17% Increase in Home Sales, 1% Increase in Sales Prices |
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Wow! What a year! 2013 has now drawn to a close, and we witnessed some exciting milestones in our local real estate market.....
 As noted above, in 2013....
 Home sales were solid through the year, finishing out (1,013) well above 2012 home sales levels (864). It seems likely that we will see somewhere between 1,050 and 1,100 home sales in 2014.  Inventory levels continue to decline, which is typical for this time of year, though we are now seeing the lowest inventory levels we have seen in over 5 years. This has several effects:
 While we are still seeing more foreclosures (222 in 2013) than is historically normal for this area (50-100 per year), it is encouraging to see foreclosures starting to decline at the same time that home sales are increasing. This should result in greater market stability on into the future.  Sellers -- you ought to be encouraged that you may need to negotiate less in 2014 (depending on how your property is priced) -- buyers only negotiated an average of 4.2% off of the (final) list price of properties in 2013, as compared to 5.3% in 2011.  An astonishing 37% of homes that sold in 2013 closed within 90 days of having first been listed.....and an additional 29% sold in the following three months. This lead to an overall median of 120 days on the market for those homes that did sell in 2013 -- this does not account for homes that were listed in 2013 but did not sell. There is a LOT more the full report, so click here to download the full January 2014 Harrisonburg & Rockingham County Real Estate Market Report. An Important Caveat: Yes, our overall housing market is improving. But no, that does not apply equally to all price ranges, locations and property types. We can chat about your specific property to see whether that segment of the market is performing better or worse than the overall market. And 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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Video Overview of new iPhone and iPad Apps |
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  As announced yesterday, Funkhouser Real Estate Group has just launched mobile apps (iPhone, iPad, Android) to make your home buying experience even easier! Watch the videos above, or click the link below to learn more about the apps or to download them today.  | |
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Funkhouser Real Estate Group launches Mobile Apps for Real Estate in the Shenandoah Valley |
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 I am thrilled to announce that you can now download our brand new mobile apps for exploring real estate in the Shenandoah Valley. These beautiful, easy to use apps were just released, and should make your real estate searching experience even easier and more fun than ever before. Our new app is available for the iPhone, iPad, and Android devices! Enjoy features such as.... GEO Location Search: GEO Location Search uses your phone's built in GPS device to search for properties around you. Refine your search using property or community filters to find the property you are looking for. Journey Search: Journey Search allows you to view properties within close proximity of your current location while you're on-the-go! This search will continue to update available properties as you travel. Perimeter Search: Through the Perimeter Search feature, using only your finger you can draw boundaries on the map view, showing available homes within the drawn area. Scope Search: Using the phone's built in camera and and an augmented reality engine, Scope Search displays property around you by simply pointing your phone in the direction of the property. In addition to the interactive search functionality, this app also syncs to your account with Funkhouser Real Estate Group ensuring saved data is accessible on your mobile device as well as Funkhouser Real Estate Group's website. Here are a few screenshots of the app in action on my iPad....   Have fun with our new mobile apps, and feel free to email me with any feedback or questions. | |
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The Reserve at Stoneport seemingly one (significant) step closer to reality |
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 Per my prior reports, The Reserve at Stoneport may be one of the first new residential developments close to the new hospital location. Original indications were that The Reserve at Stoneport would consist of 396 apartment homes on 21.8 acres. On the last day of 2013, 11.166 of those acres transferred from the land development company (Stoneleigh Associates, LLC) to what would appear to be the developer who will build this community (The Reserve at Stone Port I, LLC). This 11.166 acre parcel sold for $1,500,000 --- or $134,336 per acre. Click here for a larger version of the map shown above. Click here for the Owners Consent that shows the specific location of these 11.166 acres. The image shown below is a rendering of The Reserve at Stoneport that was available as of October 2012. Stay tuned for updated information as it becomes available.  These were the prior details of The Reserve at Stoneport that are no longer available on the Stoneport web site, but are likely still indicative of the general direction that this development will take....
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Two Days To Hit 1000 Home Sales |
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 With two days to go (Dec 30, 31) it seems likely that the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County residentiall real estate market will close out the year with an exciting milestone -- meeting or exceeding 1,000 home sales in a year. This would be a 16% improvement over the pace of home sales last year, and the first time we would have seen 1,000 home sales in a year since 2007. | |
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Make plans to attend First Night 2014 in Downtown Harrisonburg |
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 Where will you be on New Years Eve? Consider Celebrating New Year's Eve in Downtown Harrisonburg.... Ring in the New Year with thousands of your friends and neighbors at First Night Harrisonburg 2014 on December 31st. Activities and performances will begin at 6:00 p.m. and continue until Midnight in downtown Harrisonburg. First Night buttons are available for only $6 in advance and $8 on the day of the event. Children 5 and under are admitted free of charge. The button serves as your admission pass that grants you access to every performance and every venue throughout the night. That's more than 30 performances in 15 venues! All of the venues are alcohol-free, and are within easy walking distance. And, at the stroke of midnight, we celebrate the dawning of a new year with a spectacular fireworks display that can be seen from the Municipal Parking Lot and Turner Pavilion in downtown Harrisonburg. Click here to see this year's entertainers. Click here to connect with First Night on Facebook. | |
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Update on Hotel Madison |
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 A 205-room hotel and 21,000 SF conference center might be built on South Main Street between Grace Street and Cantrell Avenue through a public-private partnership. This $40 million project could result in over $1 million in tax revenues for the City during its first year of operations per a feasibility study recently provided to the City. The City of Harrisonburg is being asked to pay for $10 million of the project, which would cover the cost of the conference center. The developer would build the hotel and conference center on JMU-owned land in the location described and shown above. As a side note, this is being described as a downtown hotel and conference center --- though the corner of Cantrell Avenue and South Main Street doesn't quite seem downtown to me --- or to the creators of the downtown maps. Read more about this project....
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Preston Lake developer seeks approval for expansion, higher density |
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 Preston Lake, a large mixed use development east of Harrisonburg began selling homes in 2008, was foreclosed on by Wells Fargo in 2011, and was then acquired by a developer out of Maryland in 2012. Tomorrow night, the developer will present a proposal to the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors to make several changes to the community, including most notably:
[1] Proposed Addition of 336 Apartments As shown below, the corner of the property that is bisected by the new Southeast Connector Road is proposed to change from being single family homes and townhouses, to being two large apartment buildings.  [2] Proposed Addition of 76 Quads As shown below, the intended soccer field and walking trails are proposed to be replaced by 76 quads --- single level villas. The location of the park would then be adjusted as well. This expansion/revision utilizes a portion of the adjacent property already owned by the developer.  [3] Proposed Reconfiguration of Townhouses As shown below, the townhouses intended to be built along Massanetta Springs Road are proposed to be rearranged a bit, and expanded from 55 townhouses to 66.  [4] Townhouses and More Townhouses As shown below, additional townhouses are being proposed adjacent to the already expansive townhouse section that surrounds the large Village Green. This expansion/revision utilizes a portion of the adjacent property already owned by the developer.  [5] Expanded Single Family Home Section As shown below, an adjacent property owned by the new developer is proposed to be added into the overall Preston Lake development.  Here are some pertinent documents that I obtained from the County that will be presented and discussed at the public hearing....
If these changes to the Preston Lake master plan impact you, definitely plan to attend the Public Hearing tomorrow (Dec 18, 2013) at 6:30 PM to let your voice be heard. | |
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Increasing Sales Plus Increasing Prices Equals |
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 At the request of one of my clients, I decided to take a look at the volume (dollars) of real estate sold in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County over the past few years. As you'll see above, there has been a significant increase over the past two years, from $155MM (in 2011) to $190MM (in 2013) -- and we still haven't closed out 2013 yet. This shouldn't be too surprising, as we're seeing increasing sales (+14% YTD) and increasing prices (+2% YTD) so it is only natural that we'd see an increase in the overall volume of residential real estate sold in this area. Read more about our local housing market online.... HarrisonburgHousingMarket.com | |
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Steady Improvement in the Pace of Local Home Sales |
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 Is the local housing market improving? I'd say so. As shown above, there has been a steady increase in the pace of home sales over the past three years. This year (2013) has shown the most home sales (924) over the past three years --- without even including December sales! Perhaps we'll break 1000 home sales / year by the end of the year? Read more about our local housing market online.... HarrisonburgHousingMarket.com | |
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Home Sales, Prices Rising in Harrisonburg, Rockingham County |
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 Featured Home: 1787 Broadridge Drive, Harrisonburg, VA I just published my monthly report on the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County real estate market -- and despite a slower than expected November, the full year of home sales data is still looking great. Click here to download the 28 page PDF, click here to read the full report online, or scroll down for some highlights.  As shown above, November was a month of mixed indicators....
Contracts declined rather unexpected in October, which could have been a slowing down of our overall housing market after a fantastic first 10 months of the year --- but with a bit more data to now work with, I believe contract numbers were low in October due to buyer uncertainty during the temporary federal government shutdown. As shown above, November contracts bounced back, showing a 57% improvement over last November.
Inventory levels continue to decline in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, with only 584 properties currently on the market --- a 22% decline from two years ago, and a far cry from the 1,000+ properties on the market a year or so before that. These declines in inventory are helping to balance the market between buyers and sellers.  There is a LOT more the full report, so click here to download the full December 2013 Harrisonburg & Rockingham County Real Estate Market Report. An Important Caveat: Yes, our overall housing market is improving. But no, that does not apply equally to all price ranges, locations and property types. We can chat about your specific property to see whether that segment of the market is performing better or worse than the overall market. And 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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Fixed Mortgage Interest Rates Remain Relatively Steady |
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 Fixed mortgage interest rates continue to hover between 4% and 4.5% --- for six months now. This continues to provide buyers with a great opportunity to lock in their housing costs at historically low levels. Over the next 3 - 5 years we are likely to see increases in both home sales prices as well as mortgage interest rates. Source: Freddie Mac | |
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Pickarious, A Video Powered Trading Post for Harrisonburg |
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 Have you checked out Pickarious yet? It's Harrisonburg's video-powered trading post (created by my brother-in-law and others) and offers a unique new way to sell (or buy) some of the things you have around your home or office that you aren't using. Go check it out, via Pickarious.com. | |
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2013 likely to have strongest home sales since 2007 |
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 This has certainly been a strong year of home sales in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County -- in the first 10.6 months of the year we have already surpassed annual sales for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. And with 41 more sales this year, we will have exceeded 2008 home sales as well. | |
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RMH Expanding Hospital Campus Again |
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 The new Rockingham Memorial Hospital (now Sentara RMH Medical Center) recently built the RMH Funkhouser Women's Center and is now expanding again. The Sentara RMH Orthopedics Center and Advanced Imaging Services will be a new, free-standing, two-story, 52,000 square-foot facility that is planned to open in September 2015, located next to the Funkhouser Women's Center. "We are pleased to have an extremely talented staff of medical professionals who are able to offer a comprehensive range of high-quality orthopedic services to our growing community," said Carrie Willetts, program director for Orthopedics, Sports and Spine Services. "The increasing need for these services, and our expansion of staff to meet the growing need for them, led the Sentara RMH Board to approve construction of this new facility."Read more about this exciting addition at RMH here. | |
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New JMU student housing on West Grace Street |
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 Photo Source: Moseley Architects I'm not sure if we call this on campus or off campus housing, but JMU is building a new residence hall on West Grace Street that will feature approximately 507 beds, various student life spaces, classrooms, seminar spaces, administrative offices, and other support spaces. Read more via The Breeze here. | |
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University Fields (1,152 bed student housing community in Harrisonburg, VA) purchased by NY investment firm for $19MM |
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 An auction was scheduled for University Fields back in September -- and now we know who purchased the property. Vesper Holdings, a real estate investment firm in New York City, purchased University Fields for $19 million on October 28th. Five million dollars of capital expenditures are planned including renovating the interiors of the apartments, clubhouse and amenities as well as enhancements to the exteriors of each building and technology upgrades. Pertinent details about University Fields....
Read the entire press release here. Read today's Daily News Record article here. | |
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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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