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If You Will Be Moving To Sunnyside, VMRC Or Bridgewater Retirement Community, We Should Talk Sooner Than Later |
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 We are fortunate in this area to have many wonderful retirement communities, such as Sunnyside, Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC), Bridgewater Retirement Community, and many others. So, if you have lived in this area for a while, and are of a stage of life where your next move might be to one of these retirement communities, we should probably talk sooner rather than later. While your move to a retirement community might seem (and might be) well off into the future... it also might sneak up on you faster than you suspect. Once you are "on the list" at one or more of these retirement communities, you will start to receive periodic calls to let you know that a home or apartment is opening up -- with the big question of whether you want to make the move now. Oftentimes your answer might be "no" - but sometimes "just the right place" will become available at the retirement community, and all of a sudden you will be ready to make the move - and, likely, you'll need to move forward pretty quickly with getting ready to sell your home. So... if you are thinking you might move into one of these retirement communities over the next few years (or even sooner) then let's talk sooner than later to discuss what preparations you do or do not want to start making to be able to sell your home when the time comes. | |
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Sometimes It Makes Sense To Just Adopt The Timetable The Seller Prefers |
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 In a seller's market, which we are in... Sometimes It Makes Sense (for a buyer) To Just Adopt The Timetable The Seller Prefers Conversely, in a buyer's market, which we are not in... Sometimes It Makes Sense (for a seller) To Just Adopt The Timetable The Buyer Prefers Let's get into why... If you are about to make an offer on a house... and the seller prefers to close in 90 days, and you could, but you would prefer not to wait to long to close... sometimes it may make sense to just go with the timetable the seller prefers. After all, it is a seller's market, and if you don't go along with their desired timetable, they may choose to work with a buyer who will. Similarly... If you are about to make an offer on a house... and the seller prefers to close within 30 days, and you could, but you would prefer not to close quite so quickly... sometimes it may make sense to just go with the timetable the seller prefers. After all, it is a seller's market, and if you don't go along with their desired timetable, they may choose to work with a buyer who will. There may very well be costs to you (dollars, logistical headaches, stress) of going along with the seller's timetable -- but if you actually get to buy the house that you want to buy, maybe it will be worthwhile. P.S. Did you enjoy the AI generated image of a "man looking at a wall calendar"? ;-) | |
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Fewer And Fewer Resale, Detached, Homes Selling In City Of Harrisonburg |
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 Just slicing and dicing the data one more time here... this is looking at only the City of Harrisonburg, only resale homes, and only detached homes -- no duplexes, townhomes or condos. A few things to note... We are seeing a steady decline in the number of these homes selling per year over the past three years. The 2024 column (115) is only through yesterday -- so we'll see that number rise by the end of the year, but it's not likely we will end up seeing another decline in annual, existing, detached City home sales this year. The median sales price of these homes keeps on rising... after a 7% increase in 2022 and 2023, the median sales price increased slightly less (4%) thus far in 2024. As I have mentioned quite a few times, I believe this reduction in the number of buyers buying existing, detached, City homes is a result of a reduction in the number of sellers willing to sell their existing, detached, City homes. | |
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The Next Owner Of Your Home Might Love Different Parts Of It For Different Reasons, And That Is OK! |
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 If you built your home -- or if you have made any sort of improvements to it over time -- you are likely proud of your design decisions, the style and character of your home, and so many of the finishes and fixtures you carefully and intentionally chose for your home. But guess what... the next owner of your home might have an entirely different vision for your home... and might change some things or large things that you love about your current home. And... that's OK! Enjoy making your home a comfortable, enjoyable, usable, safe and happy space while you live in it -- and then know that once your home has a new owner, they might make some changes that you would have *never* (gasp!) made yourself. And again, that's OK! Some sellers are delighted to see what a next owner does with a house to make it their own. Some sellers would rather never know. Figure out which camp you're in, for the most part, and let that guide your future decisions about driving past your old home, or visiting it in the future. :-)
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Competition Is Often Fierce For City Homes! |
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 We have seen fewer, and fewer, and fewer home sales in the City of Harrisonburg over the past few years. But this is almost entirely an issue of not enough sellers being willing to sell -- not an issue of not enough buyers wanting to buy. The result is that in the current market, when a City home is listed for sale... there is often a LOT of interest in said home. This is great for home sellers in the City of Harrisonburg...
This is not quite as great for home buyers in the City of Harrisonburg...
But alas, the City of Harrisonburg remains a popular place to live. Until and unless we start to see some new construction (for sale) housing in the City of Harrisonburg, we will likely still see lots of competition for City homes when they are offered for sale. | |
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Contract Activity Increasing, Inventory Levels Decreasing, In Harrisonburg And Rockingham County |
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 Happy Crisp, Cool, October Wednesday To You! This is a fantastic time of year... one of my favorite times of the year... we'll often have both pleasantly cool and pleasantly warm temperatures in the same day... the leaves are changing colors... I get to have a ton of fun coaching middle school volleyball and watching Emily's volleyball matches... cheering for the Dukes at plenty of JMU football games... not to mention my birthday later this month. ;-) And, let's not forget another October highlight... the Harrisonburg Half Marathon...  "Funny" story... last year, I ran in the Harrisonburg Half Marathon after having been sick for a few days... and only made it through the first 10 miles before worrying all those around me by semi-collapsing. Oops! This year, at least a dozen people shouted out to me as I ran - "hey Scott, don't forget to finish this year!" - real funny guys, real funny. But yes, I did finish this year. Maybe I won't get the same jokes next year? Let's hope. :-) Before we get into the latest trends in our local housing market, each month I offer a giveaway for readers of my market report. This month I'm giving away a seasonally appropriate $50 gift card to Showalter's Orchard in Timberville. Let this be a reminder to you to go pick some apples, enjoy some apple cider donuts, and get into the Fall season! Click here to enter to win the gift card. And now, on to the real estate data. Charts first, graphs second.  Above you'll find a snapshot of the overall market in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, showing... [1] Despite a small (3%) drop in home sales in September (101 down to 98) we have seen an 8% increase in home sales when comparing the first nine months of this year to the first nine months of last year. Home sales are on the rise. [2] The median sales price of those homes that sold in 2024 has been "only" 5% higher than it was a year ago. I say "only" because we have seen multiple years of 10% increases in the median sales price, so this 5% increase is a smaller increase than we have otherwise seen in recent years. Interestingly, we see slightly different trends if we focus in on only detached homes... excluding townhomes, duplexes and condos...  [1] Compared to the market-wise 8% increase in home sales in 2024, we have only seen a 5% increase in detached home sales. We're not seeing the number of detached homes selling bounce back quite as much as we are seeing that in the overall market. [2] The detached home sales market is outperforming the overall market when it comes to sales prices. The median sales price of a detached home has increased 11% (from $350K to $390K) over the past year as compared to the 5% increase seen in the overall market. Thus, you likely won't be surprised to see the opposite trends in the attached home sales report which includes townhomes, duplexes and condos...  When looking just at attached home sales we find... [1] There has been a much larger increase in the number of these sales that are taking place with a 14% year to date increase, compared to the 8% increase in the overall market. [2] The increase in median sales price has been a smidge smaller (4%) than in the overall market (5%) thus far in 2024. Next, let's take a quick peek at one smaller segment of the local market... the City of Harrisonburg...  If you're looking to buy a home in the City of Harrisonburg, you likely won't have that many options. After seeing 335 home sales in the first nine months of 2022, that dropped to 241 sales last year, and has now fallen to 210 home sales this year. These declines in home sales are not a result of fewer buyers wanting to buy -- it is almost entirely (or entirely) a result of fewer sellers being willing to sell -- and little to no new home construction taking place in the City. In contrast, in Rockingham County...  Home sales are booming (+15% YTD) in Rockingham County, due in large part to new home communities springing up almost entirely in the County rather than in the City. While we aren't back to 2022 sales levels, we have seen a solid increase in County home sales activity in 2024 as compared to 2023. Finally, a synopsis of those new home sales that are a significant part of the local housing market in a time when many homeowners do not want to sell their homes...  Two things to note here... [1] While the overall market has seen only an 8% increase in the number of homes selling in the City and County, we have seen a (much larger) 28% increase in the number of new homes selling this year compared to last. [2] Despite a 5% increase in the median sales price of the entire market, we are only seeing a 3% increase in the median sales price of new homes. And again, let's not be too surprised by the opposite indicators in the resale market...  Looking just at resale homes, or existing home sales... [1] There has only been a 1% increase in the number of existing homes selling this year... compared to an 8% increase in the overall market. Thus, that 8% increase in overall home sales is almost entirely due to new homes being built and available for sale. [2] The median sales price of existing homes has risen 7% over the past year, at a slightly higher rate than the overall market where the median sales price has only risen 5%. And now... moving beyond the words, to some graphs...  On the graph above, you can see that the months of May (144), June (128), July (131) and August (113) all out performed the same months last year when it came to the number of home sales that went to closing in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. But... we saw fewer home sales this September (98) than last September (101) so maybe home sales are slowing down a bit? Hold that theory for a few more graphs and we'll see if it is reinforced by recent contract activity. While we're holding that thought, let's see where nine months of home sales have taken us thus far in 2024...  Home sales are on the rise! We've seen 1,003 home sales in the first nine months of last year, which is solidly above where things stood last year (933) though is still well below the number of home sales we were seeing in 2022. At this point it seems very likely that we will finish out 2024 with more home sales than last year (1,206) but we seem very (very) unlikely to rebound back to the 1,571 home sales seen in 2022. And here are those long term, slow moving, trendlines that are important to monitor over time...  The green line above shows that while the median sales price is still steadily increasing in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County... the pace at which is increasing is... slowing. After a few years of 10% annual increase in the median sales price, we seem likely to only see a 5% annual increase in 2024. But... as shown by the blue line... home sales are rising again. A few graphs from now you'll see that mortgage interest rates hit their 20+ year high in October 2023, and lo and behold, once those rates started drifting back downward again... home sales started to rise again. Now, contract activity. Remembering back a few graphs, we were wondering if a slight decline in September home sales meant that we would see an overall slower Fall sales season. Per this graph, I'm going to say no...  Two things to note above... [1] July through August contract activity generally fell last year (blue line) while it has been rising this year (red line) indicating we should see stronger home sales over the next few months. [2] Contract activity *really* fell last October and November... likely due to the highest mortgage interest rates in 20+ years. We are not seeing those same high rates this year, so contract activity seems likely to be well exceed last year's figures in October and November. And... a slow rise in contract activity over the past few months has resulted in...  Lower inventory levels! Over the past two months we have seen small but steady declines in the number of homes listed for sale (that are not under contract) as compared to a steady increase between last June and October. We seem unlikely to see a rapid rise in inventory levels this October and November, as last year's increase was likely directly related to 7.5%+ mortgage interest rates that (thankfully) just lasted for a few months. This next (and second to last) graph has become more interesting of late...  The big question... is seasonality back when it comes to "median days on market" in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County? Over the past two years we have seen this median days on market metric increase in the Fall and Winter and decline in the Spring and Summer. Will we see that happen again as we roll through November, December, January and February? Stay tuned! Finally, we've talked about mortgage interest rates a half dozen times thus far, so let's see what they have been doing...  Mortgage interest rates have been falling for the past five months to a low of 6.08% at the end of September... down from 7.31% a year ago. These lower mortgage interest rates have progressively lowered mortgage payments for actual buyers and would be buyers and has likely brought more buyers back into the market at many price points. And there you have it folks, in summary...
All that said, this is all much more nuanced in any particular segment of the market based on property type, size, age, location, etc. So... If you are thinking about selling your home this Fall, let's dive into the trends for your corner of our local real estate market to determine the best pricing strategy for your home. If you are thinking about buying a home this Fall, go ahead and get pre-approved and let's start looking at new listings of interest as they hit the market, as they likely won't last long. Feel free to reach out anytime with questions or to set up a time to meet. You can contact me most easily by phone/text at 540-578-0102 or by email here. Until next month... enjoy Fall... and may you not forget to finish whatever race you are currently running... literally or figuratively. ;-) | |
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How Will You Value Logistical Ease When Selling Your Home? |
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 For anyone who is selling a home and buying a home at the same time, there are some logistics we'll have to work through... If you are using the proceeds from your home sale to purchase the next home, there might be some wrinkles as to the closing and occupancy timeline. Do you move everything out of your current house on Wednesday, close on Thursday on both the sale and purchase and move into your new house on Thursday? That sounds simple enough, but it would likely be much easier if there were some overlap of occupancy of the two houses. What if you could move into your new home a week before closing? What if you could wait to be completely out of your current home until a week after closing? The buyer of your current home, or the seller of your new home, might be willing to participate in making the moving logistics easier for you... but that logistical ease might come at a cost. Would you be willing to sell your current home for $5K less, or buy the new home for $5K more if you could have the logistical ease of having access to both houses to aid in the move from one to the next? How much value does this logistical ease have to you? | |
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Just When You Were Not Expecting It, The Perfect House Came On The Market! |
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 Sometimes, it really does happen! You've been searching for just the right home for months, or even years, and it seems like you might never find the right house. You're convinced the right house is out there, but the seller or such a house must just not be ready to sell. But then... one day... just when you were not expecting it... the perfect house came on the market! Are you ready to move quickly? 1. Can you go see it on the first day it is on the market? 2. Do you already have a lender letter in hand to be able to submit an offer right away? 3. Have you looked at enough other houses recently to know whether the home is priced well? If it's been a while (or forever) since you have seen a listing that would work for you -- when you do see that perfect fit, I hope you are ready to make a move! | |
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953 New Townhomes, Apartments, Detached Homes Proposed On 161 Acres At Quarry Heights |
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 download a larger version of the concept plan here A sizable new housing development is being proposed in the City of Harrisonburg, to include up to 953 new housing units on 161 acres just west of downtown Harrisonburg at the site of Frazier Quarry, which would be transformed into a 30 acre lake. The new development would be located on the north side of West Market Street generally across from Thomas Harrison Middle School and would border Waterman Drive.  click here for a larger version of the area map Here are some basics on the types of housing that are proposed for this new housing development:
Of the 653 townhouses and detached homes, approximately 48 housing units are estimated to be detached homes. This proposed new housing development is similar in size to Preston Lake, which is just east of Harrisonburg, located in Rockingham County. The conceptual layout shown above is not proffered, so that could change. The developer has outlined an extensive list of proffers, including:
Of note, the developer who is seeking the rezoning would not build the housing. They might build the apartments - but they would be partnering with a builder or builders in the future to build the townhouses and detached homes. A representative of the developer indicated that the following price ranges would be likely for the housing types that are planned for the development:
The Villas described above would be high end attached homes on the highest ridge of the development with eastern and/or western views. You can find links to additional documents related to this proposed development on the City website here. City Staff recommends approval of the rezoning and special use permits required for this development. A public hearing for Quarry Heights will take place at the Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, October 9 at 6:00 PM. | |
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A Two Story House With One Story Above Grade Is Not The Same As A Two Story House With Both Stories Above Grade |
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 In other words... Ranch With Finished Basement ≠Two Story Colonial With No Basement Certainly, this is sort of a statement of the obvious. The structure of these two houses is different. More specifically... 1000 SF ranch with 1000 SF finished basement ≠2000 SF Colonial with no basement A few thoughts and observations related to some differences in these two types of homes... 1. An appraiser will look at these two homes quite differently... when evaluating the size (SF) of a home they are typically starting by looking only at the above grade square footage. 2. Non main level bedrooms are often seen differently by many prospective buyers. A ranch with one bedroom on the main level and three more in the basement will not be seen in the same way that a two story home with one bedroom on the main level and three more on the upper level is viewed. Technically these are sort of the same... one bedroom on the main level and three bedrooms on a different level... but most buyers don't find these two types of homes to be similar enough from a bedroom perspective. 3. Oftentimes the below grade space will be darker and sometimes damper. Having half or more of the foundation walls of a basement in the ground reduces the number of walls that can have windows, and creates some opportunity for moisture in a basement depending on the age and construction materials of the home. When it comes down to specific value... most buyers will pay more for a home with 2000 SF above grade (and no basement) than they will for a home with 1000 SF above grade and 1000 SF finished in the basement. As such, it is typically best to use structurally similar homes in a market analysis, most particularly where it relates to where the finished living space is located. | |
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Will You Remove Contingencies From Your Offer In A Multiple Offer Scenario Regardless Of Whether The Competing Offers Have Those Very Same Contingencies? |
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 A house comes on the market, and you like it, and it is priced reasonably. You make a full price offer on the house with a home inspection contingency. Then, you get notified that another offer has been received on the house. Since the time that you made the offer, you have decided that you don't just like the house you LOVE it. You don't want to miss out on this one. So, do you remove the home inspection contingency? You don't know whether the other competing offer has an inspection contingency. You also don't know what other contingencies exist in that other offer. You could leave the inspection contingency in place if you are not comfortable buying this home (or any home) without conducting a home inspection. You could remove the inspection contingency to try to make your offer as competitive as possible - though if the other offer also had an inspection contingency, maybe you didn't need to remove it? Or, trying to hit the middle ground in some ways... perhaps you add language to your home inspection contingency to only keep the contingency in place if the competing offer does not have an inspection contingency. Side note on this last strategy... If you offer $400K with an inspection contingency -- and your inspection contingency includes language to only keep it in place if the competing offer does not have an inspection contingency... And if the competing offer was $402K with an inspection contingency... Then you might lose out on the house - because both offers had an inspection contingency and your offer was at a slightly lower price - whereas your offer might have been selected if you had removed your inspection contingency from your offer that was at a slightly lower price than the competing offer. A single best way to navigate this issue - when to include or remove contingencies - does not exist. But, it is important to keep in mind the myriad of contingencies that competing offers may or may not have when you start to modify your offer terms based on a competing offer with unknown terms. | |
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Most Buyers Will Want You To Move Out Of Your Home By The Closing Date |
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 So, you're getting ready to sell your home... but you're also buying a home... and you're wondering how this will all work out if you have to be out of one house by the closing date and can't move into the new house until that same closing date. Indeed, a good question. I'll start by pointing out that... Most Buyers Will Want You To Move Out Of Your Home By The Closing Date It's certainly possible that some buyers for your home might be willing to let you rent back for a few days or even a few weeks after closing... but that isn't likely to be most of the buyers. Most buyers will actually want to have access to the house as of the closing date... and will want you to be out of there at that time. Given that most buyers will want you to have moved out of the house by the closing date, what is a seller/buyer to do? The typical options would be... 1. Ask your buyer again, really, really nicely, if they'd let you stay in the house for a few days (or more) after closing. 2. Ask the seller of the home you are buying if they would let you move into the new house a few days (or more) before closing. 3. Move everything out of your current house and into a moving truck the day before closing, close the following day, move everything into your new house later in the day on the closing day. Yes, stressful. 4. Move out of your house, put things in storage, move into your new home a few days or weeks later depending on when that closing take place. Etc., etc., etc. Point being... you can't necessarily assume, as a seller, that you will be able to stay in your home any later than the closing date for the sale of that home. It will be awesome, of course, if a buyer will allow you to stay in the house after closing, but don't expect it or count on it. | |
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Rockingham County May Start Limiting The Pace At Which New Home Communities Can Be Built |
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 The Rockingham County Planning Commission will meet this evening to discuss a potential change to the Rockingham County Zoning Ordinance to limit how quickly new home developments can be built. In summary -- the Planning Commission is considering a change that would only allow developments to obtain (30) building permits within any (12) month period. Thus, if a new 240 home development were proposed... this new limit would only allow 30 such new homes to be built a year, stretching out the development over eight years in this example. This change is being proposed for the R-1, R-2 and R-3 zoning classifications in Rockingham County. This change, if approved, would seem likely to have a few significant impacts on the local community... 1. Fewer homes would be built. 2. Assuming that demand continues to grow, home prices would likely rise due to constraints on how quickly new developments can be built. 3. Fewer new housing developments would be proposed given the limit to the pace at which such a new home community could be built. The proposed changes to the Zoning Ordinance to note that a developer can request a special use permit to exceed this limit of (30) building permits a year. If you are interested in hearing more about this proposal, the Planning Commission meets this evening at 6:30 PM at the Rockingham County Administration Center at 20 East Gay Street, Harrisonburg, VA. | |
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Every Home Seller Must Find The Appropriate Balance Between Optimal Preparation And Optimal Timing |
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 Some homes need more preparation than others before they would be ready to go on the market -- but there is always something that could be done. Whether it is a bit of painting, or rearranging, or de-cluttering, or mulching, or repairing, there are almost always preparations that can be undertaken in order to best prepare your house for the market. But... most home sellers don't have an infinite amount of time (or money) to make those preparations prior to listing their homes for sale... depending on quickly they hope to have their home on the market for sale. As such... Every Home Seller Must Find The Appropriate Balance Between Optimal Preparation And Optimal Timing If you want to move sometime in the next few months, but you're not in much of a hurry at all... you might prioritize the preparations of your home, going a bit further than some sellers to make sure everything is "just so" before photos are taken and your house hits the market. If you want to have your house under contract as quickly as possible, preferably yesterday, then you might optimize timing, and get your house on the market sooner rather than later instead of continuing to make further updates to your home. As or after we walk through your home together, we will discuss both the preparations you might make... and your ideal timeframe for having your house on the market... to try to find an appropriate balance between these two priorities. | |
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Will The Unique Features Of Your Home Broaden Or Narrow The Buyer Pool? |
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 When you are getting ready to sell your home, we'll need to think about how large the pool of buyers will be who will consider your home. Clearly, the more buyers who can and will consider your home, the better. A variety of aspects of your home will limit the size of that pool of potential buyers for predictable reasons...
But then, we get to the more unique features of your home... some such features will broaden the buyer pool... and some might narrow it. For example... Every bedroom has it's own bathroom - this would likely broaden the pool of buyers who will consider your home. Custom tile flooring throughout with a bold color palette - this might narrow the pool of buyers. Screened porch and deck and two patios - this would probably broaden the pool of buyers. Elaborate landscaping - this might narrow the pool of buyers if they worry about landscaping maintenance The list could go on and on. Let's make sure to evaluate how large of a pool of buyers be willing to consider your home based on it's relatively routine... and more unique... features. | |
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Farmland Behind Houses Does Not Always Remain Farmland |
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 "I love this house because it backs up to farmland." "The views from this house are great because there aren't any other houses behind it." "This home offers such great privacy without any neighbors behind it - just wide open farmland." All of these are reasonable sentiments, but remember... Farmland Behind Houses Does Not Always Remain Farmland If you own (or are buying) a house in a residential area that currently backs up to farmland... 1. That farmland might remain farmland for as long as you own the house. 2. That farmland might become housing some day. Most farmland is zoned for agricultural use -- so if the farmland behind your house is zoned as such, a potential builder or developer will have to apply to have the land rezoned. Thus, you'll likely get some sort of notice that someone intends to turn that farmland into housing. Buying a home that backs up to farmland is a great idea - you'll likely love having only a farm as a back neighbor - but remember that the farmland might not always remain as farmland. | |
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Sometimes One Offer Spurs On Additional Offers |
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 This dynamic is common with brand new listings and listings that have been on the market for a few weeks. Brand New Listing... Eight showings over the first three days, but no offers. Then, an offer is received, other showing agents are notified, and three more offers are submitted. Few Week Old Listing... Nine showings over the first three weeks, but no offers. Then, an offer is received, other showing agents are notified, and two more offers are submitted. It's almost as if some buyers need to know other people want to buy a house before they are willing to decide they want to buy the house. So... Sellers - Don't despair if you don't have an offer yet - when an offer comes in, it could actually result in more than one offer. Buyers - Who will you be? The first buyer to make an offer, or will you wait until someone else does and then jump in? | |
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Indeed, As Mortgage Interest Rates Decline, More Buyers Will Be Able To Afford To Buy Your Home |
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 Mortgage interest rates have been declining for about five months now... Early May = 7.22% Early August = 6.47% Mid September = 6.09% Will we even see a FIVE-point-something mortgage interest rate soon? Quite possibly. As any home buyer will tell you, these lower mortgage interest rates are GREAT... they are lowering mortgage payments for buyers getting ready to buy a home. And... for the home sellers... these interest rates are also GREAT... they allow more buyers to afford to buy your home! If you're getting ready to buy a home, but haven't talked to your mortgage lender in a few months, you should reconnect with them and ask for an updated estimate of your mortgage payment given these newer, lower mortgage interest rates. | |
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A Reasonable Next Question Is How Much More New Housing Should Harrisonburg Approve |
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 These two stats create an interesting follow up question... 1. Over the past 3.5 years, the City of Harrisonburg has approved 2,866 new dwelling units. 2. Over the past 3.5 years only 25 of those dwellings have been built. The reasonable follow up question is... How Much More New Housing Should Harrisonburg Approve? In conversations, locally, I hear two very different opinions about the answer to that question... 1. The City should keep approving more housing developments so that hopefully, eventually, some of the housing will be built, as there is a shortage of housing in the City. 2. The City has approved so much housing over the past three (+) years that the City definitely shouldn't approve any additional housing. If or when some or all of this approved housing is built the City will have a population increase that will likely result in the need for more schools (and other infrastructure) and thus higher taxes. It will be interesting to see City planning staff's perspective on this, as well as that of the Planning Commission and City Council as future rezoning requests are proposed in the City to allow for additional residential developments. | |
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I Just Decided I Want To Buy A Home. How Quickly Do I Need To Go See That House Over There? |
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 So, you just decided you are going to buy a house. Excellent. The Harrisonburg and Rockingham County area are a pretty great place to live - and if you're buying a house it likely means you plan to stick around for a while. So, back to your question -- how quickly do you need to go see that house over there? Well, it depends, on how long it has been on the market. A popular new listing towards the end of last week had eight (+) offers within just a few days of being listed for sale. So, if the house of interest is a new listing, you might need to go see it immediately to have a chance at pursuing it. But some houses currently listed for sale have been on the market for 30 to 60 days or longer. You should go ahead and schedule a time to go see these houses - but it could probably wait a day or two - you probably don't need to drop everything and go at this very moment to see the house. So, as a new buyer... 1. While not mentioned above, get preapproved with a lender ASAP. 2. Hurry out to see the brand new listings of interest. 3. See slightly older listings (on the market for two or more weeks) with some haste, but it doesn't necessarily need to be with quite as much urgency. | |
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Scott Rogers
Funkhouser Real
Estate Group
540-578-0102
scott@funkhousergroup.com
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