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HarrisonburgTownhouses.com updated with 2013-Q1 sales data |
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Wondering about property values in your townhouse community? Or considering purchasing an investment property? Whatever the reason for your interest in townhouses in Harrisonburg, you will likely find the information you need at HarrisonburgTownhouses.com, including (for each townhouse community):
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Downtown Harrisonburg featured in national publication, Main Street Now |
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Downtown Harrisonburg has seen some major growth over the past eight years and there are exciting projects on the horizon. Perhaps that's why Downtown Harrisonburg was recently featured in the national publication pictured above, Main Street Now. In fact, the magazine actually features a lengthy case study highlighting the successes in downtown Harrisonburg, with quotes from Eddie Bumbaugh, Barry Kelley, Andrew Forward and John Sallah.... Click here to download the Jan/Feb 2013 issue of Main Street Now to read the full story about how Downtown Harrisonburg has been transformed in recent years. | |
Do you have spots on your driveway? Call Spotless! |
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BEFORE.... AFTER.... If you have spots on your driveway, or just a general layer of dirt / grime / filth, consider calling Spotless Cleaning Company (540.434.1292) located here in Harrisonburg, VA. They can take care of your spots, and even more! | |
36% fewer homes for sale under $200K, 18% more sales! |
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There are fewer and fewer homes for sale under $200K (shown above) but there are more and more buyers (see below). These crossing trends (fewer sellers, more buyers) helps to balance the under-$200K segment of our local market, and since many of those sellers will move up to $200K-$300K sales, it can slowly, positively impact the remainder of our market as well. | |
Harrisonburg Home Sales Up 19% YTD, Median Prices Up 6% |
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I just published my monthly housing market report for Harrisonburg and Rockingham County (download here) and good news abounds in many/most segments of our local housing market. (Beautiful Cover Property: 1920 Marigold Circle, Harrisonburg, VA) As shown above, there are many positive trends in the local housing market....
Even if March was a bit slower with home sales (+1.5%) the pace of contracts skyrocketed to 114 contracts during March 2013. This marks an astonishing 31% increase over last March, and is the highest pace of monthly contracts since April 2010 which was nearly the last opportunity for a buyer to take advantage of the home buyer tax credit. As shown above, despite this being the spring selling season, inventory levels have dropped again --- with only 599 homes currently listed for sale. This marks a 15% decline in inventory level over the past 12 months. Here are a few other tidbits to entice you to download the full report....
Also, here are a few other articles of note from the past month....
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. | |
Harrisonburg Real Estate Taxes To Increase 6% in 2013? |
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Per the proposed 2013-14 budget, real estate taxes in the City of Harrisonburg may increase from $0.63 per $100 of assessed value to $0.67 per $100 of assessed value. Above you'll note that Harrisonburg real estate taxes continue to be quite low compared to other Virginia localities. Review the entire budget here: 2013-14 Proposed Budget. Read an article from the Daily News Record here. A public hearing for the budget is planned for April 23rd. Of note, we're not yet setting new records for historical high tax rates.... | |
Do you want a climbing gym in Harrisonburg? Head over to Clementine on Wed, April 24 at 8PM. |
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There seems to be some talk of trying to establish an indoor climbing / training facility in Harrisonburg. I'd love to see this happen, as would my son, Luke. Connect with Harrisonburg Climbers on Facebook. Head over to Clementine on on Wed, April 24 at 8:00 PM where the local climbing community will be coming together to gauge interest in the project and begin a discussion. | |
Make plans to attend the SVBA Home & Garden Show this Saturday or Sunday |
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Make plans to attend the Shenandoah Valley Builders Association Home & Garden show this Saturday or Sunday at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds.
In addition to a wide variety of home and garden companies that can talk to you about building, renovating or improving your home, this year you will also find....
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Cool Aerials from Google Maps: Massanutten WaterPark |
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See that tangled web sticking out the left side of the building? Those are some very exciting water slides. And check out the super long (and super high) outdoor slide on the lower center section of the image above. If you haven't visited the Massanutten WaterPark, you should! It's a great time for the whole family. Check out this interactive map of the Massanutten WaterPark. Previous Cool Aerials from Google Maps:
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THE ICE HOUSE, an innovative mixed-use redevelopment project in Downtown Harrisonburg is officially underway |
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Local developers, Barry Kelley and Andrew Forward, are at it again -- transforming a downtown structure into an inspiring new space. Some of Barry and Andrew's past projects include City Exchange, Urban Exchange and The Walton Hotel. VISION - Some of the ideas that have been discussed for The Ice House include:
LOCATION - The Ice House will be a transformation of the former Cassco ice plant located at 217 S. Liberty Street. As you can see, it's not a very exciting sight right now.... ZONING - The City of Harrisonburg has approved a rezoning request for 217 S. Liberty Street and the adjacent building, 115 W. Bruce Street. HISTORICAL TAX CREDITS; GRANT - One of the only reasons that this project is able to move forward is because of the historical tax credits available for the project. INDUSTRIAL REVITALIZATION FUND GRANT - Harrisonburg received a $500,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development's Industrial Revitalization Fund. This grant is effectively a low-cost loan that will be available for the development of The Ice House. COMMERCIAL TENANTS - Conversations are ongoing, but James Madison University has confirmed that they will occupy some of the space in The Ice House. One of the JMU offices that will relocate to The Ice House is communications, marketing and public affairs. Additional current plans for the commercial space include a restaurant, a mint operation and a yoga studio. SCOPE, TIMING - The transformation of this 80,000 square foot building is estimated to cost $10 million and the aim is to have it substantially complete by the end of 2014. STATUS - A detailed master plan is currently being developed to include 217 S. Liberty Street, 115 W. Bruce Street, as well as a 104-space parking lot on a parcel diagonally across West Bruce Street. | |
Rosetta Stone eliminates 48 positions in Harrisonburg, opens TX and CA tech centers, buys Livemocha for $8.5M |
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Rosetta Stone, which was founded in Harrisonburg, VA and is now a publicly traded company, has been making some rapid moves over the past few weeks to transform themselves as a company.... March 12 - Rosetta Stone eliminates 48 jobs in Harrisonburg, VA Rosetta Stone Press Release, WHSV, Washington Business Journal, Washington Post March 12 - Rosetta Stone opens tech center in Austin, TX and San Francisco, CA Rosetta Stone Press Release, Austin Business Journal April 2 - Rosetta Stone Acquires Livemocha for $8.5M Rosetta Stone Press Release, Geekwire, Washington Business Journal The GOOD NEWS for Harrisonburg is that Rosetta Stone has been a significant part of our diverse local economy for many years, and likely will be for many years to come. The BAD / CHALLENGING NEWS for Harrisonburg is that as Rosetta Stone evolves as a company, it seems that they may have to find more and more of their talent in markets outside Harrisonburg, and even outside the DC metro area where their corporate headquarters are located. | |
The Spring housing market has arrived, so inventory levels are probably popping up as fast as the daffodils, right? |
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Inventory levels are remaining low, even though we are definitely into the start of the Spring housing market. This is great news for sellers, as you still have less competition (from other sellers) that you have seen in several years. For buyers, however, the situation is not idea. There are definitely segments of the market (based on price, property type, location) that are significantly undersupplied, leaving buyers feeling like they don't have many (if any) options. If you are considering selling your home some time this Spring or Summer, let's set up a time to talk soon --- it may be advantageous to list your house sooner rather than later. | |
Get to know me, via video. |
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If you are considering working with me to buy or sell a home, you might want the opportunity to get to know me beyond the articles I write on this blog about our local housing market. Now, you have that opportunity. Click here to view a variety of videos I have created, introducing myself, and talking a bit about the home buying and selling process. Are these professionally produced videos? Nope! Do I take myself way too seriously in the videos? Probably! Do these videos run the risk of scaring away potential clients? Undoubtedly! Enjoy! :) | |
Where Do Buyers Find The Home They Buy? |
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This certainly has some implications as to where we should and should not be focusing our marketing efforts! | |
Don’t Be a Bashful Buyer |
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My article below was published in the Shenandoah Valley Business Journal yesterday. Apparently, it was somewhat controversial, as I received some very passionate responses from a few people telling me that they disagreed with my perspective. I welcome your perspective as well, in the comment section below, or by email at scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com. Sometimes home buyers in the Shenandoah Valley are too polite for their good. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful that we have such a congenial local culture where most people show others decency, respect and kindness. But when it comes to purchasing a home, buyers need to be willing to be bold with their offering price or they may find themselves sitting on the sidelines, missing the best opportunities. Ask yourself this, would you be willing to make a $175,000 offer on a house that is listed for $200,000? Most buyers in this area would not be willing to make such an offer. Last year, homes in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County sold for an average of 5.2% below their last list price. This means that a home last listed for $200,000 would have sold for $189,600. As you think of what offer you might make as a potential buyer of this home, you should quickly realize that if you hope to be an average negotiator and get to that $189,600 price, you likely need to start with an offering price lower than where you hope to end up. Perhaps that means an initial offer of $180,000 in order to aim towards a final price of $189,600. One other perspective that buyers often forget about is that if a buyer doesn't come along soon, the seller of any given home may very well adjust their list price downward to attract a new set of buyers. Thus, if someone does not buy this $200,000 house soon, it might then be reduced to $195,000 or $190,000. Combining these two ideas above, we should quickly realize that if the seller might soon reduce the price to $190,000 at which time an offer of $175,000 would be reasonable, then you might as well go ahead and make that lower offer now. In explaining these concepts to first time home buyers earlier this month they asked why most buyers don't make these low offers, even just to find out whether they can buy a home for a particular price. One reason, it seems, is that some buyers do not want to become emotionally invested in hoping to buy a particular house if it is likely that the negotiations will not work out. Some buyers also hesitate to make low offers because they don't want to insult the sellers and miss out on the opportunity to buy the house at all. Finally, some buyers don't want to deal with the process of determining offer terms, reviewing an offer, and dealing with all of the paperwork required for making an offer. Whatever their reasons, many buyers won't make a low offer that they don't believe a seller will accept. All of this general counsel aside, it is important to recognize that a seller's willingness to negotiate will likely vary based on if their current list price is realistic and/or based on how much they owe on their mortgage and/or how motivated they are to not own their home any longer. But regardless of how much a seller is willing to negotiate, nearly all sellers would rather have more offers rather than fewer, even if some are quite low. And as one final word of encouragement for you to make an offer as a buyer, even if it is low --- let the seller make their own decision about how much they are willing to negotiate, don't assume that you can accurately guess how they are going to respond to your low offer. | |
Is Redcoat Solutions the first spin-off company from SRI International's Shenandoah Valley research facility? |
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Back when SRI International opened a research facility in Harrisonburg (Rockingham County) in 2009 the hope was that this research facility would be a catalyst for new companies being launched in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County based on the research, discovery and innovations at SRI Shenandoah Valley. After all, that is what happened in the Silicon Valley at SRI International's primary research facility. We may now be seeing the first spin-off company resulting from SRI International's presence in Harrisonburg. The full details are in an SRI press release, but in summary, researchers at SRI Shenandoah Valley developed a proprietary bed bug detection technology that is being licensed to a new Harrisonburg-based company called Redcoat Solutions, Inc. "Scientists at SRI developed a rapid, sensitive test that recognizes molecules specific to bed bugs. Redcoat intends to market the device under the brand name RAPID PURSUIT™. Based on preliminary testing, RAPID PURSUIT presents a number of advantages: unlike other detection devices, the test requires no sophisticated equipment and registers a response in minutes, and RAPID PURSUIT is designed to detect only bed bugs, avoiding confusion that could be caused by the presence of other pests."It certainly is exciting to see this first spin off company that will be based right here in Harrisonburg.... "Redcoat Solutions, Inc.'s Chief Executive Officer, John Hall, has drawn upon his knowledge of the bed bug detection and treatment industry in guiding the company toward the upcoming launch of RAPID PURSUIT. "We have assembled an excellent management team, and we have worked closely with SRI to develop a great product that will revolutionize bed bug detection in several industries," said Hall. "We look forward to taking RAPID PURSUIT to market very soon, and we already are at work on new products that we will introduce over the next several months. Redcoat has a great business opportunity, and one of the best things is that it will be based right here in the Shenandoah Valley.""Read more via SRI International's press release. | |
Major shift seen in local real estate market over past two years |
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Comparing today to where we were two years ago in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County....
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Cool Aerials from Google Maps: Massanutten |
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Check out the actual shape (topography) of Massanutten. It looks a bit different from above than when driving by on Route 33. Previous Cool Aerials from Google Maps:
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Working with a Realtor when pursuing a "For Sale By Owner" property in Harrisonburg, Rockingham County |
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Some times, when I am working with a buyer, they or I will become aware of a "for sale by owner" property of interest to them. They almost always have the same question --- how would it work if we wanted to pursue that property? Here's how I see it . . . In Virginia (and in most places) when a homeowner decides to sell, and work with a Realtor in doing so, they typically negotiate a percentage of the purchase price that will be paid as a "brokerage fee" at closing. This brokerage fee (call it 20% of the sales price, for the sake of absurdity, and because there is not a standard brokerage fee) is almost always split between the Realtor (and his/her company) representing the seller, and the Realtor (and his/her company) representing the buyer. So, in my absurd example, 10% to the seller's Realtor and realty company, and 10% to the buyer's Realtor and realty company. An interesting byproduct of this typical business practice is that a buyer isn't counting on "paying their Realtor." As a buyer works with their Realtor to identify, view, evaluate, negotiate and close on a property --- they aren't necessarily thinking "and in addition to buying the house, I'll be paying my Realtor 10% of the sales price." Here, some people would interject to point out that the buyer pays both Realtors, as they are the ones bringing the money to the transaction --- the seller just brings the house. And thus, the questions begin when a buyer client becomes interested in a "for sale by owner" property. As a buyer looks at the sales prices of homes listed by Realtors (for example, $200k), they don't think about having to pay a brokerage fee on top of the price --- since the seller will pay it out of the sales price. But many "for sale by owner" sellers don't plan on paying a brokerage fee to any Realtors, and thus the sales price they would negotiate doesn't accommodate for the buyer's Realtor being paid. So . . . if I have been assisting someone in looking for a home, and they decide they want to buy a "for sale by owner" property, here are the options I make available:
On a related note, a Buyer Brokerage Agreement helps clear up these options and facilitate these discussions to determine how a buyer would want to proceed. | |
Use this Proximity Search tool to find a home close to any address or point of interest |
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Use the Proximity Search tool on my web site to search for homes within a certain distance of your employer, favorite restaurant, etc. | |
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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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