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Are You Interested in Downtown Streetscape Improvements? |
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Are you interested in downtown streetscape improvements? The City has scheduled a pre-construction public information meeting next week. Read more via the Daily News Record or the City website, or review the Downtown Streetscape Plan. | |
Finding Bank Owned Homes in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County |
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Looking for bank owned homes in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County? You can find all active listings at HarrisonburgREO.com. If you're interested in receiving email updates of new listings of bank owned homes, just drop me a line at scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com and I will set that up for you. Also, you can find out about upcoming foreclosure sales at HarrisonburgForeclosures.com. | |
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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JMU to purchase 60 acres of land previously intended to be privately developed as student housing? |
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It would seem that JMU will be buying this 60 acre parcel on South Main Street that was originally intended to be privately developed as student housing. Per the Daily News Record (June 7, 2014).... James Madison spokesman Bill Wyatt said that while the university has no immediate plans for the property, the board is buying it to add flexibility to shuffle the school's auxiliary, nonacademic services away from the center of campus, and create space for future facilities.Read the full DNR article here. Read about the 466 apartments that were originally going to be built on this land here. | |
How many home sales should we expect each year? |
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It wasn't normal to have 1,600+ home sales per year --- but we did, at the peak of the housing boom. It wasn't normal to have < 800 home sales per year --- but we did, at the valley of the housing bust. Now, the question is --- what is a normal or typical amount of homes to be sold in any given year in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County? 900? 1000? 1100? 1200? Last year, our market raced up to an annual sales pace of over 1,000 home sales per year. It seemed that we would continue to see this annual pace of home sales accelerate --- perhaps to 1100/year or 1200/year. Thus far in 2014, however, we have not seen than 1000+ trend continue. Perhaps we're looking around 950 home sales this year, and then back up to 1000+ territory in 2015? | |
Was 2013 a new trajectory, or an abnormality? |
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OK -- this is as clearly as I can put it....
It could have been the new trajectory --- and perhaps 2014 home sales will catch back up later this year, after having been slowed down by wintry weather early in 2014. Or perhaps, 2013 was an abnormality --- and the pace of home sales in 2014 will not catch up to the fast pace of 2013. Only time will tell.... | |
Small May Sales Surge Might Mean Market Still Mostly Stable |
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Featured Property: 2944 Crystal Spring Lane, Harrisonburg, VA I just published my monthly report on the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County real estate market and things are starting to look slightly rosier, but it's still not as wonderful of a year of sales as we saw in 2013. Click here to read the entire report online -- or click here to download the full PDF -- or read on for some highlights.... The good news, as shown above, is that there were 99 home sales in May --- which is ever so slightly more (+2) than last May. Even with this slight improvement in the month of May, 12.6% fewer homes have sold thus far in 2014 as compared to 2013. After a strong market recovery last year, many (most?) people assumed we would see further market recovery this year --- both in the pace and price of sales. One theory is that the abnormally cold and snowy winter created a slower start to the year. We'll have to wait to see if that theory holds water as we move through the rest of the year. If that were to be true, I believe we would have seen more of an improvement in May, but I'm willing to patiently (?) wait to see what June home sales will show. Another theory is that a backlog of buyers (many more than normal) bought in 2013, and that the pace of home sales in 2014 is returning to the trend we were otherwise seeing in 2011 - 2012. Also in the "pretty exciting, but don't order the party bagel from Mr. J's yet" category -- the 99 home sales we saw in May was actually the strongest month of May sales in recent history. That's good news, even if it does beat the old record of 97 by only two home sales. There is good and bad news when examining the pace at which contracts are being signed this year....
And if those words didn't jump off the page at you and give you hope and enthusiasm for the weekend ahead, then take look through the full report that offers lots of colorful graphs that are bound to inform and entertain. You can read it online here or download the PDF here. 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. | |
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. | |
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. | |
Upscale New Townhouses Selling Fast in Blue Stone Hills |
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Townhouses are selling fast in Section II at The Townes at Bluestone -- with only one townhouse remaining for sale in the first building of townhouses (Lots 94-97) with garages. Next to hit the market will be a building of seven townhouses with walkout basements (Lots 125-131) that will start at $184,900. Learn more..... If you have been secretly planning to buy one of these townhouses, let me know, so I can alert the builder of your interest. | |
Enjoy the LOWEST mortgage interest rates thus far in 2014 |
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Fixed mortgage interest rates (30 year) continue their downward trend towards 4%. The average rate right now is an astonishingly low 4.12%. If you're buying now, or soon, today would seem to be a GREAT day to lock in your interest rate! | |
Contracts in May 2014 Almost Sets New Record |
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May 2014 nearly set a new record for the number of contracts signed in a single month in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. As shown above, there were 136 contracts --- just shy of last year's 143 contracts in May 2013. Hopefully, this will help the somewhat slow start to the 2014 housing market. | |
Steps to Preparing an Offer to Purchase a Home |
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How, you might ask, do we go about getting from the point of wanting to make an offer --- to actually making the offer? Here's a brief overview....
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Understanding the 2015 City of Harrisonburg Budget |
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Are you curious about how the City of Harrisonburg spends their money -- and where it comes from in the first place? Check out this very helpful illustration on Old South High -- graphic by Elwood Madison, commentary by Old South High. | |
Recently built, one level homes in Harrisonburg under $200K |
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Guess what, they largely don't exist....with one exception. If you were a home buyer looking for a home under $200K with everything on one level.....and you wanted something built in the past 20 years so you wouldn't have too much maintenance, you wouldn't find many options. Nearly all of the properties built in the past 20 years for less than $200K (with 2+ beds and 2+ baths) are two-story townhouses. The one exception.... Founders Way Condominiums. These brand new 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condos offer an open floor plan with upgrades including hardwood laminate flooring, granite countertops and more. Check out some photos here and here. Check out pricing and availability here. | |
Five Questions Every Home Seller Should Ask Their Realtor |
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1. How should my home be priced? 2. How long will my house be on the market? 3. What should I do to my house before we list it? 4. What is your fee? 5. What will you be doing for your money? | |
Temperatures Rising, Mortgage Interest Rates Falling |
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This is a great time to lock in your interest rate if you haven't already done so! Mortgage interest rates have fallen over the past several weeks, and are now approaching 4%. | |
East Rockingham Recreation Association Pool |
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I serve on the Board of Directors for the East Rockingham Recreation Association Pool, a membership based pool on Shen Lake Drive. If you live in the County and are considering how you'll spend your hot summer afternoons and evenings, consider joining ERRA Pool. Last night we were packing up the pool cover and continuing to prepare for opening day, which is this Saturday. You can join ERRA Pool online here. (click on the images above for larger versions of the photos) | |
Investment Property in Close Proximity to JMU Campus |
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click here for a larger version of this image Attention Investors and Parents of JMU Students - This four bedroom house within walking distance of JMU campus (particularly West Campus) offers the unique opportunity to purchase an investment property with a solid track record of strong financial returns. This property is leased through June 26, 2015 for $1540 per month. Your tenants will enjoy a short walk to Memorial Hall, Anthony Seeger, Duke Hall, and the entire Bluestone Area of campus, plus a large lot with ample parking behind the house, and an area for a garden or outdoor activities. This property has been consistently and readily leased by the current owners to college students for the past eight years, and for many more years by the previous property owner. View more details here: 332OldSouthHighStreet.com | |
30.4 Acres on Boyers Road Sold for $1.05 Million |
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click here for a larger version of this map Massanetta Springs, Inc. sold 30.4 acres on Boyers Road last week for $1,050,000. I have not yet heard of how or when this land will be developed, but it was purchased by the owner of several other development properties....
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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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