Welcome! This blog tracks the real estate market in the Central Shenandoah Valley, featuring market data and analysis, an exploration of common buying and selling questions, and candid commentary on all things real estate.
Known as "Coffee with Scott", this blog is almost always authored while drinking coffee, and I offer an open ended invitation to my readers to free coffee. If you are interested in discussing any of the topics on this blog, or the details of your specific real estate situation, call or e-mail me --- I'll treat you to a cup of coffee at your favorite coffeeshop!
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High gas costs are keeping (some) buyers closer to Harrisonburg. |
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 Back in April 2008, I asked the question of whether high gas costs should affect buyer behavior. I'm back to report that gas costs indeed seem to be affecting where people are willing to live. Over the past two weeks, I have had three separate buyer clients who have decided not to pursue a home (or homes) in a particular neighborhood or town because of the distance it would put them from their place of employment. All three work in Harrisonburg, and have decided to primarily look at properties located in the City. | |
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Selling Building Lots via Auction |
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Stone Spring Manor is a newly developed subdivision in the City of Harrisonburg featuring 19 building lots. Prior to July 2008, seven of these building lots had sold, several of them having homes built on them. The lot sales included sales prices between $58,000 and $79,800. The home sales included sales prices between $262,000 and $292,000. Yesterday (7/16/08), the remaining 12 building lots were to be sold at auction. The auction generated a quite a bit of interest, with close to 30 or 35 people present. Much of the draw was likely a curiosity of the price at which these lots would sell. So, how did it go down?  The plat above and the chart below show the order in which the six lots sold at auction, and their prices. Lot Sale #1 Lot 14 $46,000 Lot Sale #2 Lot 15 $38,000 Lot Sale #3 Lot 16 $39,000 Lot Sale #4 Lot 3 $34,000 Lot Sale #5 Lot 11 $33,000 Lot Sale #6 Lot 9 $38,000 The remaining lots are for sale with asking prices between $46,500 and $64,400. | |
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Foreclosure Sale --- 101 years old --- $52k of possible equity! |
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 The property pictured to the right (506 Virginia Avenue) was purchased 18 months ago (January 2007) for $185,000. The first mortgage, with an original loan amount of $148,000 is scheduled to be foreclosed upon on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 at 11:00 a.m.The house was built in 1907, and offers 2,514 finished square feet, 3 bedrooms, and 1 full bathroom. The property is currently assessed at $200,700 --- thus (potentially) offering a $52,700 equity opportunity. Do you have questions about this foreclosure sale, or about the foreclosure process in general? Feel free to ask (scott@cbfunkhouser.com, 540-578-0102). Or review the notice in the Daily News Record. | |
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Can I search for homes on your blog? |
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 I have had several people ask me this lately --- people who are planning to move to the Shenandoah Valley, and have been reading my blog to better understand the local real estate market. These two blog readers asked whether they could search for properties for sale on my blog.Can you? You bet! From my blog, you can click on the "Searching" tab on the top menu bar. (Or, since you're reading this post, you can click on the search image to the right). My hope is that you'll find that searching for homes in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County has never been easier. We give you quite a few search options: sdfs
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At the close of the first half of 2008, here's another look at the Harrisonburg housing market. |
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Here is a quick overview of the current state of the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County housing market:
Click on the chart for a printable PDF, or click here for some additional analysis of the Harrisonburg housing market in the first half of 2008. | |
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Housing supply remains steady in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County (except those high-priced homes!) |
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This past week, I overheard someone at the grocery story telling their friend "Can you believe how many homes are coming on the market? I don't know when they'll all sell!?!" Many seem to share this sentiment. You might find it interesting, then, that housing supply is actually remaining rather steady (compared to demand) in all but the highest price range. Click on the graph below for a printable PDF, and read below the graph for more information on how I calculate these values.  The number of houses on the market at any given time is only relevant within the context of how many people are buying. If 100 houses are for sale and 100 houses are being bought each month, we have a very different market condition than if only 10 houses are being bought each month. Thus, to compare housing supply and demand in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, I use the following process: 1. Calculate the average number of sales per month over the past 12 months. 2. Calculate the number of houses currently for sale. 3. Divide the number of houses for sale by the average sales rate per month to find out how many months it would take to sell the current inventory. The numbers you see in the graph show the results of these calculations. Let me know if you have any questions, or suggestions for additional analysis. | |
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June 2008 home sales in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County close out lower than historical trends would have predicted |
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Here's my monthly graphical representation of our real estate market in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County to give you a feel for where we are. June 2008 home sales (this is all single family homes, townhomes and condos) were a bit lower than I expected (108 transfers per the HRAR MLS). We did see the typical seasonal increase in closings, but not nearly as high as I expected. Click the graph below for a printable PDF...  | |
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Seller: "C'mon -- do your job -- convince those buyers to buy!" |
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 If only it were that easy!When I am representing a homeowner in the sale of their property, I am:
The reality is that I often don't have that opportunity! Most buyers these days are working with a Realtor and thus have someone representing their interests. I can talk the ear off of their Realtor to try to convince them of the merits of the house that their client has viewed, but I don't have the ability to directly affect the buyers' decision making. Alas, in a market where sales are much slower than previous years, most homeowners really wish that I (or their Realtor) could make that connection with the potential buyers --- and somehow, somehow, convince them to buy! | |
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Wondering what my real estate blog is all about? |
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 Click the image above for a bit more clarity. You'll need a JAVA plug in on wordle to view the image. Or make your own from the RSS feed from your blog, at wordle.net. | |
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"Foreclosures are rising faster in Virginia than almost anywhere else" -- what does it mean for Harrisonburg and Rockingham County?? |
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This morning the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that Virginia is 11th in foreclosures. This new ranking was based on a report released yesterday by RealtyTrac Inc.
So....what does this mean for homes and homeowners in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County? It depends on when you ask....
So, here's my (elementary) executive summary for you:
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What are the PRICES of new construction single family homes being sold in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County? |
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Over the past 18 months (January 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008) 138 single family homes have been built and sold in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, as reflected in the HRAR MLS. | |
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What are the SIZES of new construction single family homes being sold in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County? |
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Over the past 18 months (January 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008) 138 single family homes have been built and sold in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, as reflected in the HRAR MLS. The sizes of new construction homes that are selling might be of interest to home buyers, home sellers, builders and developers...  Click on the graph above for a printable PDF. | |
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Get some insight into Harrisonburg's demographics... |
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From two articles from this past Monday's (7/7/2008) Daily News Record... | |
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Please tell me --- are home values in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County DECLINING? |
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Here's the methodology, for those who are interested: 1. Gain or Loss = Sale Price 2 - Sale Price 1 2. Time Increment (Years) = Sale Date 2 - Sale Date 1 / 365 3. Appreciation Per Year = Gain or Loss / Time Increment 4. Percentage Appreciation Per Year = Appreciation Per Year / Sale Price 1 As you may be able to tell, this isn't an automated report (at all!) -- so I probably won't be reconstructing this analysis too often. I had to sort through all 4,209 home sales and manually match up double sales, etc., etc. Does anyone know an undergraduate statistics student who would like an (unpaid) internship? :) | |
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In some parts of the country, they definitely are! But since all real estate is local, I'm really more interested in what is happening with home sales prices in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. |
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Here's a bright, spacious, updated home in Massanutten Resort -- for sale priced at only $179,000! |
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Enjoy this slideshow via photobucket -- my first such effort... | |
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We're halfway through 2008 -- how do this year's home sales compare to previous years? |
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We've seen this same scenario for awhile now in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County --- the number of home sales is declining, but median home sales prices are climbing. Click on the image below to view the report as a PDF.  | |
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If you are looking for more details on a property --- don't hesitate to ask --- it's quite simple to send you the detailed MLS datasheet |
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These days, most real estate web sites allow you to view properties listed by any agent or company in the area. My web site works this way --- when you are searching for properties, you won't just find properties being marketed by Coldwell Banker Funkhouser Realtors. But what you see on a Realtor's or Brokerage's web site is a subset of the information that is in the MLS (multiple listing service). Here's an example of what you would see for the property located at 409 Diana Court --- a spacious, like new duplex with 1900+ square feet on the south end of Harrisonburg.  But perhaps you would like more information about a property that you are looking at online. If so --- just e-mail me (scott@cbfunkhouser.com) or call me (540-578-0102), and I'd be happy to provide you with the fuller report on the property available through the MLS. Here's what that looks like...  The information you find on my web site, or any other public web site, is limited to the fields that our local Realtor association allows us to display on a public web site. The other details can certainly be helpful, so please e-mail (scott@cbfunkhouser.com) or call (540-578-0102), if you'd like to see the full report. OH --- and if you're looking for even MORE information, don't forget about the many online resources for researching properties in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. | |
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Looking to buy a Taylor Spring townhome? This foreclosure sale could afford you $62,900 of savings! |
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 2991 Taylor Spring Lane is a three-level townhome in Taylor Spring subdivision with three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, and a half bathroom. In addition to the 1400 finished square feet above ground, the home has a 700 square foot unfinished basement. Oh --- and as is evident from the photo on the right, this is an end unit with a brick facade!The property was originally purchased in March 2004 for $126,540. The deed of trust that may be foreclosed upon is dated August 30, 2004 and is in the amount of $135,000. Thus --- even if the principal balance had not been reduced at all by regular monthly payments --- a $62,900 opportunity may exist. This equity gap is based on the current assessed value of $197,900 and the original principal balance of $135,000. If you're interested, the trustee sale will take place on July 15, 2008 at 4:30 p.m. at the Rockingham County Circuit Court. A few other articles that might be helpful for understanding the foreclosure process include:
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Taylor Spring townhome foreclosure offers a possibility of $29,300 of equity |
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 The townhome located at 2979 Diamond Spring Lane (pictured to the right) may soon be sold at a trustee sale. The property was originally purchased for $200,345 on July 31, 2006. The mortgage that may be foreclosed on had an original principal amount of $160,000. This townhome (circa 2006) features three bedrooms, two full baths, a half bath, and over 1500 finished square feet. The current assessed value of the property is $189,300 --- thus, compared to the original principal amount of the deed of trust, an opportunity exists for at least $29,300 of equity. Click here to view other townhomes currently for sale in Taylor Spring. The trustee sale is scheduled for July 16, 2008 at 3:30 p.m. at the Rockingham County Circuit Court. A deposit of $15,000 (cash or certified check) will be required at the time of the sale. To learn more about foreclosures, you might consider reading these articles:
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"Price Reduced" - Are Most Asking Prices Headed Down? |
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 Driving around town, you might see quite a few "Price Reduced" riders on real estate signs. Have you ever wondered whether most sellers are holding fast, or reducing their asking price? Let's take a look....In Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, there are currently 953 residential properties on the market (single family, townhome, condos) without a contract on them. In the past 30 days (June 2008), 134 of those properties had a price change (that's 14% of the active inventory). I'm going to assume most of those were price reductions, although some could have (??) been price increases. (It isn't possible via our MLS to see en masse whether the prices went up or down). In the past three months (April, May, June 2008), 293 of these properties had a price change --- that's 31% of the active inventory. And if we look at all of the listings to see how many have, versus have not EVER had a price change, here's what we find: 384 listings have had a price change (40%) 569 listings have NEVER had a price change (60%) This is rather interesting (in my view), as I suspected that most owners may have reduced their price at some point while it has been on the market. But in fact, most home sellers (60%) have NEVER reduced their asking price. Here are some other interesting stats looking at how long properties have been on the market. | |
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Scott Rogers
Coldwell Banker
Funkhouser Realtors
540-578-0102
scott@cbfunkhouser.com
Licensed in the
Commonwealth of Virginia
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