Market Insights Blog

Uva was once again recognized this year as one of the top Public Universities in the country and if you look at www.bestplaces.net, you will find Charlottesville listed as the #1 place to live in the country and the 13th most secure place for mid-sized cities.  Charlottesville and the surrounding Central Virginia area isn't perfect but it does offer something for everyone which is shown by its placing in the Top 20 of many other surveys of this nature.  The challenge moving forward is keeping a balance as the area grows to ensure the area will continue to be recognized as such a special place.

http://www.caarblog.com/

The end of the year numbers pretty much substantiated everything Roy Wheeler Realty Company has been saying all year.  If you have followed the market over this past year, you know that it looked very bleak due to the miserable last quarter of 2008 but slowly but surely improved throughout the year.  Given that improvement, 2009 finished equal to the home sale numbers of 2008.  The last quarter of 2009 far outpaced the same time period in 2008 with Albemarle and Greene Counties leading the way.   Because of that, look for the 1st quarter market report of 2010 to show a vast improvement over the 1st quarter of last year. Should that happen, one would think and we would hope it would provide momentum which would mean the beginning of a rebound in the local real estate market.  Continued low interest rates, Uncle Sam's tax credit and realistically priced homes should draw buyers into the market place meaning the 2nd quarter sold data will also show improvement.  The wild card in all this is Charlottesville and the surrounding Central Virginia counties still have too much inventory (described as homes for sale) and that doesn't seem to be changing much.  Until the number of homes (both new and resale) decrease by almost 50%, we can't expect for our real estate market to rebound from what has now been a 4 year downturn.

Dr. Teresa A. Sullivan Named 8th President of UVa http://bit.ly/6KxyGl

There is no doubt that the Charlottesville/Albemarle real estate market is fragile and will travel a long road to recovery.  There is some signs of life though which can be seen by reading this article www.tinyurl.com/ylk8y43

Excess inventory of homes is still the #1 problem in the Central Virginia area.  We still have twice as many resale homes on the market as necessary but the new home inventory has shrunk considerably.  Sellers are much more realistic with their pirce than they were even a year ago and banks while still needing to improve, are finally making the short sale process a little less frustrating.  Couple these facts with low interest rates (which everyone says have to go up) and the Home Buyer tax credit of $8,000 for new buyers or $6,500 for move up buyers, and you have legitimate reasons to consider  buying sometime soon.  One tip for those of you who are considering buying a home.  Make sure your mortgage payment is equal to what payment you could expect if you rented the property.  That way if you had to move or wanted to keep the property as a long term investment, you would not be negatively effected financially.

This letter was published in Charlottesville's Daily Progress this morning. http://www2.dailyprogress.com/cdp/news/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/article/community_really_came_together/49937/

Rick DeLuca's Technology Tips for December 10, 2009

More Convenient Then Remembering: Sometimes, we find articles and sites we want

to revisit. Remembering addresses or bookmarking isn't always convenient. Futz.me is a

handy little site. Start by setting up your Futz.me account. When there's something you

want to read later, use your address bar. Enter "futz.me/username" (minus quotes) before

the Web address. Futz.me will e-mail you a link to the page. Futz.me can do more than

that. You can send yourself a reminder via the address bar. You can also send pages and

reminders to your phone http://futz.me/site

Get Auto Repair Estimates: It is difficult to find a mechanic for your car because it is a

challenge to comparison shop. When it comes to repairs, getting the right estimate can be

messy. That's where RepairPal can help. It will provide you with estimates for car

maintenance and repairs. Of course, there's more to RepairPal than estimates. It will also

help you locate mechanics that specialize on your make of car. You can also post your car

questions. Or, visit the Encyclopedia to learn more about cars. http://repairpal.com

Exercising Your Brain Too: Head over to Games for the Brain. You'll find plenty of

games to help you keep your mind in shape. There are fun word games. You can also

play Mahjongg, Sudoku and Chess. There are also some games that you can put on your

Web site or blog. These games are great to give your brain a quick little tune up. But, be

careful! It would be too easy to play for hours!  http://www.gamesforthebrain.com

Add Custom Frames To Photos: Not only for Christmas and other holidays. How

about those photos you send to prospective clients? Why not create your own photo

cards? It is much easier than you think. In fact, you don't need to know anything about

photo editing. HP has a variety of photo frames and borders you can use. And they're

free! Start by picking the design you'd like. Then, upload your photos. You can upload

from your computer. Or, choose a photo hosted on Snapfish. Simply drag your photo

onto the photo frame or border. When you're done, print your card!

http://www.hp.com/hho/hp_create/photo_frames_borders.html

Compare Estimated With Actual Gas Mileage: New car estimated gas mileage is

usually optimistic to actual. So, you may wonder how the actual mileage stacks up. After

all, your driving style and other factors play a role in mileage.That's where Fuelly can help.

This site is useful for anyone who is car shopping. You can see owners' actual mileage.

You'll see just how optimistic the estimated mileage is.You can also use it to see how

your driving habits affect your mileage. Or, it can help you determine when to get your

car serviced!  http://www.fuelly.com

Sharing Ideas That Make A Difference...

We at Roy Wheeler Realty Company are pleased to have been selected by the Albemarle Family Living Magazine readers as their #1 choice when it comes to real estate.  Roy Wheeler's Denise Ramey was also recognized by the readers as their #1 choice when it comes to individual Realtors.  This award ,along with our greater than 99% client satisfaction rating, shows that our commitment to quality service in a professional way is not just a slogan but the way we do business with everyone with whom we have the privilege to serve.

This is an article you will want to read

http://www.nctimes.com/business/article_e0eaadaf-8db7-5aef-bd09-6430cb9b9a40.html

Charlottesville / Albemarle County New Home sales up for the 3rd consecutive month. New Home sales in October higher than 2007 and 2006 and the NAR released stats showing that existing home sales nationwide went up 10.6%

see attached article for specific details

http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/23/real_estate/existing_home_sales/index.htm