Old Trail Village continues to out-perform the area market as a whole.  According the Charlottesville Area Association of REALTORS®, the Average Sales Price for the Greater Charlottesville Area is just under $300,000, far below that of Old Trail Village.  The average cumulative days on market (ACDOM) is just 66 in Old Trail – roughly half that reported for the Greater Charlottesville area.  The ratio of sold price to original list price for the Charlottesville MSA is 95% for 2011.  Old Trail Village experienced an increase in this statistic, which was 100% in 2010 to 101% for 2011.  This is due largely in part to the high volume of new home sales (72 of the 84 units), which often experience a slight increase in sales price as buyers select finishes and customize their homes during the construction proce ss.

Another positive note is that the rental market in Old Trail Village remains strong.  With nearly 100% occupancy of the Developer-owned apartments in the Village Center and few available rental units in the subdivision as a whole, investor purchases are again rising as the demand for rental housing continues to outpace supply in Western Albemarle.

Old Trail Village is a mixed-use development located in Crozet, Virginia, Albemarle County.  Designed following the principles of New Urbanism, residents experience life within walking distance of a commercial Village Center offering a coffee shop, restaurants, medical, dental, and a fitness center.  Additional amenities include a County nature park, athletic field, cross country trails, and fishing ponds, as well as the Old Trail Swim Club and the Old Trail Golf Club, both open to the public.

For information on Old Trail, contact Todd today!

Since MLS* listings began being featured online around 1996, the transparency of homes for sale has improved exponentially. Through the use of multiple photos, 360-degree virtual tours, and video, home buyers can go inside each home virtually with all the convenience of choosing a car or a pair of jeans.

So why have an open house? If you’re trying to sell your home, you want to employ all the ways home buyers choose a home. An open house may help, or you may decide it’s not for you.

Here are a few ideas to consider.

Where and how do home buyers shop for a home?

The Internet is the first place home buyers shop for a home. One-third of home buyers start their search for a home online. In 2007, only 4% of first-time home buyers and 5% of repeat home buyers began their search by visiting open houses, according the 2008 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.

However, as buyers get deeper into the home buying process, open houses become more important. Of all home buyers who purchased a home in 2007, 48% used open houses as a source of information, and 40% of all home buyers found open houses to be “very useful,” said the study.

But you’re not here to educate buyers, you want to sell your home. How can an open house be right for your marketing plan? The study found the answer in buyer follow-up behavior.

In 2007, 15% of home buyers found the home they purchased from a yard sign or open house sign, unchanged from 2001. Meanwhile, 32% of buyers found their home on the Internet, up from 8% in 2001. But when they picked their home online, 77% of them drove by the home, and 63% of them walked through the home.

While the information doesn’t explain how they walked through the home – either by appointment or at an open house, it does make clear that home buyers use the Internet as a selection tool, but they usually make their choice in person.

Risks and rewards of open houses

An open house is an invitation to neighbors and strangers to walk through your home. You might not like your privacy invaded, and sometimes you might find small items missing after an open house, like drugs from the medicine cabinet, or small collectibles.

The upside is that it’s a chance to showcase your home to potential home buyers who may have seen your home online and want to take the next step. An open house could seal the deal.

Open house do’s and don’ts

1. Clean the home thoroughly, so that the home looks and smells terrific.
2. Clear out clutter. Clean tabletops and neat bookcases makes the home appear roomier.
3. Empty medicine cabinets. Lock away jewelry, collectibles, and your personal papers, including credit card and utility bills to prevent identity theft.
4. Depersonalize. Don’t leave out mementoes. Home buyers want to imagine themselves as the occupants.
5. Don’t leave pets on the premises. Make sure their beds, bowls and boxes are put away for the open house.
6. Make sure your listing agent doesn’t conduct your open house alone. Having two people, one to show the house and one to take information from open house visitors, which discourages “lookie-loos” and petty thieves.
7. Don’t hang around the open house. Owners discourage buyers from making honest comments.
8. Make sure your listing agent collects contact information from people who have visited your home for feedback.
9. Be willing to act upon the feedback you receive. If some number of potential home buyers said they hated the paint colors, prepare to repaint.
10. Use the Internet and open houses together. If you make a change to the home, such as a lower price and new improvements, announce the changes online, and those previous open house attendees may come back with an offer. Your listing agent can also email the attendees with any new information.

Fantastic Custom Home Loaded with Upgrages!

Starting with the bare basics, home buyers choose homes based on:

Price – their lenders tell them what they can afford
Location – they know where they want to live and why
Condition – they want homes that are well-maintained and move-in ready
They look at the available inventory – your home and its competition.  The greater the inventory, the more room they have to negotiate terms.

They narrow their choices to a short list, based on what they perceive to be the best value.

They buy according to what’s most important to them – price, neighborhood, and/or condition. For example, a buyer who wants a certain neighborhood may choose a home in less than perfect condition, but only if the price is right.

What you should consider before you price your home

Your market

When home sales volumes increase, prices go up, and inventories of homes for sale fall below about six months on hand, (meaning it would take six months or less to sell all the homes for sale on the market to zero on hand) the market is said to be a “seller’s market,” because the market’s conditions favor sellers. 

When sales volumes decrease, prices decline, and inventories of homes rise above about six months on hand, conditions favor the buyer, making it a “buyer’s market.”

To sell your home in the current market, you have to consider the market’s conditions.
You may adjust your price and terms accordingly.

Your competition

Your competition is not only other similar homes in your area, but what buyers can get if they buy brand-new.  Your buyer is comparing size, number of bedrooms and baths, amenities, updates, views, landscaping, and décor. You can’t put a price on many features, but some qualities, such as fine workmanship, room flow, and convenient storage are simply worth more money to buyers. 

Your urgency

If you’re relocating or have another reason to be in a hurry, you don’t have time to test the market. You have to price your home to get immediate and serious offers to buy.

What’s not relevant to home buyers

Your emotions

If you’re sentimental about your home, remember your buyer hasn’t formed the same attachments. Your buyer may appreciate your home, but will still compare it to other available homes in terms of price, location, and condition before weighing emotion. 

What you paid for the house

Many area home prices have receded as much as five to ten years. Sellers who paid high prices for their homes, purchased too recently to build equity, or took out second liens or equity loans may find that what they paid is not what the home is worth in today’s market. Buyers are only concerned with what they can afford.

What you paid for improvements beyond ordinary maintenance

Your swimming pool may be beautiful and add some value to your home, but some buyers may not want the upkeep or the insurance liability, so they’ll tend to offer less for the home than a buyer who really wants a pool.

What buyers expect is for homes to be properly maintained. Even if a home is in the most desirable of neighborhoods, it will never sell for as much as similar homes if it is in poor condition or lacking updates comparable to newer homes in the area.

 New listings were down 20.3% from the same period last year. 

Top three areas for sales in 2011 were Albemarle, Charlottesville, and Fluvanna counties. 

Photo: Will May

Belmont, Charlottesville, VA

Then: One of the nation’s earliest planned neighborhoods—born in the 1890’s and raised around the local woolen mills—it declined precipitously when the industry shut down in the 1960’s.

Now: Converted riverside mills, restored Victorian bungalows, and a central location primed this historic district to be the city’s hottest new hood. Más restaurant’s open-air deck and Spanish tapas like creamy croquetas de jamón first lured crowds from nearby downtown in 2001.

Don’t Miss: Organic dinners, live bluegrass, or your pick of 130 microbrews at Beer Run.

Americas Best Secret Neighborhoods- Slide 9 – Slideshows | Travel + Leisure.

New Year

2012!!!

My best wishes for a happy and healthy new year for you and your family.  Thank you to all of the clients and associates who made 2011 such a fantastic year.   There are fantastic opportunities in our Charlottesville Real Estate market.  If you are considering a move please contact me for assistance.  Sellers I represented in 2011 sold their homes for an average of 97% of their list price.  Buyers I represented saved thousands.   Let me put my skill set to work for you!