Posts Tagged ‘piedmont realty and construction’

One of the basic fundamentals of selling a home in today’s market is online marketing. Just about everyone starts their search online and spends a lot of time reviewing materials to research their options. A quality online presentation is vital to success.  When consulting with homeowners interesting in selling, I discuss professional photography, listing syndication, video, virtual tours, social media and more.  Once you have made your presentation, the key is to get feedback from it. That is, using the data to follow the traffic online and whether or not is causing showings in person.

I’m fortunate to have a very large listing inventory across a variety of price points and areas. This gives me a wide net to cast over the search traffic to look for insight into the market. Showing activity online proceeds showing activity in person.  You need both of these before expecting an offer. Getting your home on the market is just step 1. To be successful, you have to constantly monitor activity and “read” the market.

Here’s a brief interview I conducted with Jeff Gaffney, Chairman of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate III yesterday where I touch on how important our relationship with Better Homes and Gardens has been to our online strategies.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79vdfrl8KSM&feature=email

I have lots of ideas for information I’d like to share via this forum. Sometimes I struggle to find the time or the energy to organize my thoughts and get them posted here. There is a lot going on right now. I wanted to take the opportunity to share some information I have come across networking with agents, builders, buyers and sellers over the last 30 days. Most of my insight comes from client specific analysis rather than exploratory macro analysis. I find it to be much more telling as I attempt to give advice that will help my clients achieve their goals. In no particular order:

1. There are a lot of sellers and agents in preparation mode for the Spring Market. The story of this year will be told by the pace of new listings coming to the market, the pricing of this inventory, and the reception of these new listings (and their pricing) by the buyers in waiting.
2. There is absolutely pent up demand and buyers in waiting. One barometer I use are the statistics provided from the 30+ virtual tours I have living on the internet at any point in time.  Average total views: NOV 131 DEC 100 JAN 315….First week of FEB 602. 
3. I talk to a lot of agents who advise their sellers to wait to list. I advise the opposite. The main reason is that I want my seller clients to be ready so we can hit the market with our best presentation when we want to hit the market. The first showing of your home is online. I am constantly disappointed in the presentation others are making online. Its vital to selling your home in a competitive environment. The online showings start before the in person showings. Be ready.
4. January Contracts 2010/2011  Albemarle 79/91  Charlottesville 31/24  Fluvanna 27/26  Greene 15/15 
5. January New Listings 2010/2011  Albemarle 200/188  Charlottesville 75/49  Fluvanna 102/70  Greene 42/48
6. Sales vs. New Listings is a indicator I will follow closely this year.  Absorption rate may be the most important factor if you are a motivated seller that NEEDS to sell.
7. There have been a similar number of sales in the $1M-$2M range each of the last 3 years. 2008-35  2009-28 2010-31.
8. In the 90 days of NOV-JAN, there were 23 new home (detached) contracts in Belvedere. 15 were with Piedmont. I’m still trying to figure out what this means and keep a close eye on new home sales numbers. In my opinion, the last 90 days have caused upward pressure on new home pricing. I have already noticed “pockets” of increased values in unimproved lot values. Unimproved lot values and new construction leads the way.  This could be seasonal and temporary.
9. Many of the buyers I am meeting are evaluating their options as they pertain to renting vs. buying.
10. With 3 reservations “pre-marketing”, I think the 11 new townhome lots of Belvedere are the best townhome opportunity of the spring market. I think Avinity is going to be well recieved as well.
11. Last year in Western Ridge, roughly 1 out 2 listings actually sold. It’s still a very, very competitive environment to sell a home.

So that’s my update for now. I’m not trying to draw any conclusions here or make any predictions. Understanding this market is an ongoing conversation. Feel free to contact me for a discussion on any topics important to you and your situation.

I have been involved with Belvedere since working from a tent on Rio Road prior to the roads being paved or any homes being started.  I’ve been a huge fan of the overall concept from the beginning.  New urbanist concepts and a commitment to green building practices are very interesting to me and relevant to the market. I was impressed immediately in 2008 by the number of people I met who thought the concept was great, but weren’t in a position to move.  I knew all along and have shared many times that I think Belvedere’s success is only matter of time.  Here’s why:

1. Location. Its in the urban ring. Right now, there are really no new home communities as centrally located to all things  Albemarle and Charlottesville as Belvedere.  The people I am meeting interested in Belvedere now are making a lifestyle decision to give up the larger, rural lot in favor of a location that saves them time and fits their current lifestyle and the quicker pace we all seem to be living these days.
2. Smaller lots and higher density. Its true, many visit Belvedere and are immediately discouraged by the size of the lots. Its definitely not for everyone. However, many are looking for less maintenance in their lives and maybe, more importantly, community. I’ve learned that the deisgn of a community has a direct impact on the relationships that are  formed among the residents. People are choosing Belvedere because they want to know their neighbors and want to interact with them. I’ve never seen a community of new homeowners come together faster than what I have seen at Belvedere.
3. Energy Efficiency. The green building trends we hear so much about are more than just trends. Its a shift in building science that is here to stay. Better practices in home building are leading to better indoor air quality, lower utility expenses, and more comfortable homes.  Every home at Belvedere is Earthcraft certified.  Stonehaus Development should be commended for this. 
4. Home Design. Another side effect of the economic downtown is a shift in consumer demand. Huge houses are out, and smaller, better designed homes are in. Add in zoning that allows homeowners to earn income with legal residences or businesses over their garage, and you have a recipe for success.
5. Walking Trails. People still want to get outside and exercise. This is an exceptional component, not to mention the future with SOCA and more recreational space.

Watching what has occurred in 2010 at Belvedere, I’m starting to get the feeling the time for Belvedere has arrived. With 31 homes put under contract in 2010, the answer may be obvious. The last 60 days of 2010 saw 12 contracts and the activity hasn’t slowed since. There are now just 33 available detached home sites in Phase 1 remaining.  The new apartment complex (The Reserve at Belvedere) is set to break ground next month. The conversation regarding the town center makes it seem like its time may really be here as well, with unofficial estimates for a late 2011 ground breaking.

There are now 5 builders actively marketing and selling homes in Belvedere:

1. Piedmont Realty and Construction
2. Stonehaus Residential
3. Gibson Homes
4. Southern Development Homes
5. Eagle Construction of Virginia

Home prices start in the $200′s and there is a variety of home styles and types available. There are currently 7 detached “spec” homes for sale. Later this spring, Piedmont will be offering 11 newly developed townhome sites on the Village Green. If you are in the market for a towhome in 2011 and appreciate the concept of Belvedere, these may be the best opportunity of the year.

If you are interested in Belvedere and the prospect of building a new home, I would welcome the opportunity to share my experience and insight to your process to determine if Belvedere is right for you, and if so, how to choose the right builder fit for your budget, timeline, and needs.

If you are interested, one of the original residents is a blogger. Check out her blog here.

There’s a new community just under way in Albemarle County just outside of the city limits of Charlottesville. Its called Avinity and it will feature 100 townhomes located on Avon Street adjacent to Cale Elementary. Site work has started. I visited the site this morning to get a feel for the progress of the site work and the surroundings. Check it out.

Check out the site plan here.

I’ll be in charge of sales for Piedmont Realty and Construction. Currently I am working out of  The Piedmont Model Home at Poplar Square. (Located just off Ivy Road behind the Kluge Children’s Rehabilition Center) These townhomes are very similar to what will be built at Avinity. Feel free to contact me or stop by to learn more about Avinity at your convenience, Tuesday-Sunday from 12-5.

Subscribe to my blog above for future updates on the progress of Avinity.

I’ve always believed having a solid understanding of the new construction market was vital to understanding the over all market.  One can capture important insights into marketplace demand and trends from following new developements, builders, and even meeting people working a model home. I’ve compiled some data on what occurred this past year in the Charlottesville Area and will share as Part 1 of an over all analysis of the new home market. All data is as reported to the CAAR MLS. While this data is accurate enough to tell the story, historically all new home sales are not reported to the MLS.

The Top 5 – Community Sales – Albemarle

1. Pavilions at Pantops -51
2. Old Trail-47
3. Belvedere-29
4. Montgomery Ridge-14
5. Liberty Hall-12

There are a  few things that are interesting to me when looking at the list of communities and where the sales occurred.  The Pavilions at Pantops represents the majority of attached housing sold and benefitted greatly from its location, price point, and the first time homebuyer tax credit.  However, it is important to note that detached home sales exceeded attached home sales in 2010. This was not the case in 2009. Attached sales in Albemarle dropped from 131 to 108.  In they city the year over year change was 33 in 2009 to 7 in 2010. Significant change. Detached  new home sales were up 64% in Albemarle. (Up from 75 in 2009 to 123 in 2010)

Overall, Albemarle and Greene saw increases in new home sales, while Fluvanna and Charlottesville saw a decline. Here are the top sellers in each of the following localities:

1. Charlottesville : Rock Creek Village 20
2. Fluvanna: Sycamore Square 31
3. Louisa: Spring Creek 20
4. Greene: Greenecroft 12 and Holly Hill 11

Another interesting development was the pace of new home sales in Montgomery Ridge. This is a roughly 60 home community of half acre lots with sidewalks and cul de sacs in the 29N corrider. You have to go to Crozet to find a comparable lot size and value to serve this segment of the market. These 14 sales ranged from the mid $400′s to the high $600′s.  My theory for the sales here is that the builders, led by Piedmont Realty and Construction, were able to adjust there offering to fit the market demand and look better than the resale options on the market.  The opportunity to customize the home and energy efficiency were major considerations.

Old Trail was also a top story of 2010 with 47 sales ranging from the mid $200′s with townhomes, detached homes starting just under $300k, and larger lots for homes in the $500k+ range. A wide range of home types and prices is one consideration, but I think the real story was the arrival of some more infrastructure of the master plan of the community. The golf course has been there, but the pool and towncenter pushed it over the top. People can very easily get a feel for what  this major development might feel like long term. Add the gorgeous environment, more commercial development anchored by Harris Teeter, fabulous public school reputations at all three levels, and lack of development elsewhere in the county, Crozet became attractive to even folks commuting up 29N for NGIC and DIA positions.

Another community I’ve had a relationship with since its inception is Belvedere. Belvedere had a better year than I think most would have predicted.  Still in its infancy in regards to community and master plan infrastructure, zoning that allows legal rental apartments over the garage and green building show that there is demand for this type of community. Energy efficiency is a major trend, and I think all homeowners should be evaluating their homes and considering improvements in this area. Most are amazed at the difference in comfort and cost to operate. However, all trends aside, its the central location of Belvedere that will make it successful at the end of the day.

There are many ways to slice and dice the data. If you are interested in more analysis of the new home market, feel free to contact me. I really enjoy getting to work in the new home market and my relationships with the local builders, developers and trades.  If you are considering a new home purchase, my expertise is helping buyers understand the new home landscape, evaluate their choices, and find the best builder “fit” to get the home they want.

Looking ahead, I’ll share some information on which builders were the most active in our market in 2010 and after that, I’ll outline what’s on the horizon for 2011.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. I had a great trip with the family to Disney World and guess what? I’ve been extremely busy. November and December are usually a little quiet for me and offer the opportunity to focus on planning for the year ahead. I also like to try and take advantage of more family time as well. Not this year. Something is going on in the market and I have not been able to get my brain around it. I just took a minute to try and quantify what I was “feeling” about the market by pulling some stats.

First, here are some anecdotal events that shape my feelings:

1. Piedmont Realty and Construction had 10 new home sales in November and 8 so far in December.

2. I had a client lose out on a home they wanted last month in a multiple offer situation.

3. I helped a client get under contract today on a home that had been on the market 182 days. There were 3 offers on the table.

4. I am talking to many in the business who are “feeling” this spike in activity.

I pulled some quick year over year contract stats to see what story they told.  Just looking at Albemarle and Charlottesville, October was significantly down. But confirming my “feelings”, this is what I found for November and MTD December:

Albemarle County  NOV 2009 64 vs.  NOV 2010 91   MTD DEC 2009 24 vs. MTD DEC 2010 47

Charlottesville  NOV 2009 20 vs NOV 2010 25  MTD DEC 2009 9 vs MTD DEC 2010 13

I realize the numbers for Charlottesville aren’t startling, but its been a while since there has been a year over year increase in sales in the city. I think the uptick in Albemarle is definitely noteworthy. Its hard to pinpoint why this may be occurring, but I think whenever the market is supressed for long periods of time it creates pend up demand.  There’s no doubt it’s there.  Maybe its a fluke. Maybe its those watching interest rates realizing they can’t stay down forever and really aren’t heading below 4 percent. I had one person speculate today it was confidence over talk about tax break extensions. I’ve always thought if the circumstances were right, the winter was a great time to buy. There are often less buyers in the market and usually more motivated sellers on the market, as many pull their homes off for the holidays.  “Thinning” the herd of the less motivated participants in the market may have cleared the way for the most motivated to do business.

The end of the year is near and soon it will be time to take a look at 2010 vs 2009. I look forward to digging a little deeper. I also intend to update the stats I have been keeping on the distressed sales in our market place to identify potential trends as well.

If you’d like to have a conversation about your real estate plans in 2010, feel free to contact me. I enjoy the conversation.

Energy efficiency continues to be a topic that more and more home buyers are discussing.  The way new homes are being built and insulated in order to achieve energy efficiency is an important topic.  In my opinion, when considering a purchase,  energy efficiency may be the #1 reason to consider building a new home. This is a major trend in housing that is generating momentum on a variety of levels.  We talk about “sealing the envelope” and a better insulated home with higher R-values.  Those are relatively simple concepts. Just as important is the HVAC component of this converstation. Its the engine of the car, if you will allow the analogy.

What I’m sharing comes from working with Piedmont Realty and Construction, because that’s where a lot of my knowledge on this topic originates. I have had a lot of conversations with Drew Holzwarth and his contractors on this topic.  The #1 point I would make for prospective purchasers is that you want to make sure you get a home that has the right size system for the space. If you don’t, the rest won’t matter.  Piedmont accomplishes this by having their HVAC contractor perform a “j-calc” for every home they build.  Its very common for builders to take the “one size fits all” approach to HVAC.  That is, each time they build “Model A” they have the HVAC contractor install the same system, regardless of modifications to the plan.  Whenever you change a plan size or shape or even move/add/delete windows you have impacted heating and cooling considersations. Windows impact natural heat transfer. All this needs to be considered in the sizing of the system.  I’m not sure why more builders don’t do this other than its extra work and costs money.

There’s a lot to learn on this topic. I found this handy resource on system sizing, SEER, airflow, ductwork and how it all relates to efficiency. Check it out here.

If you are considering a new purchase, ask the right questions. Make sure you are working with a builder that has a philosophy and team that is committed to building a better home.  Piedmont Realty and Construction does and that’s why I live in one of their homes.

As a Realtor who has spent much time trying to understand our local new construction market, I have spent a lot of time watching the builders in our area. I have also represented several over the years. One of the key things I have learned along the way almost never comes up.  Two builders can take the same materials and build the exact same home and the end result can be very different. The difference. Supervision. I would argue the project manager in charge of the construction of the home may be the most important component of all.

Once its time to start construction, lots can go wrong and surprises are everywhere.  A good project manager knows how to schedule, supervise, communicate, and hold sub-contractors accountable to their standards. Let’s look at each component.

Scheduling. If this is not done efficiently, all sorts of things can go wrong. The sub-contractors might not work together well, things have to be done and re-done because the home was not ready for a particular trade, and utlimately the delivery date could fall by the wayside.

Supervision. The project manager has to be present and in charge to prevent problems and catch mistakes. I see way too many homes get built by subs who are basically unsupervised.

Communication. Some of the worst experiences I have witnessed home buyers have over the years could have been solved by a project manager that was responsive and communicated. Without this the frustration mounts, trust is broken, and the entire experience can turn sour. Its just not necessary.

Accountability. Last but not least, if the project manager does not effectively communicate the standard of finish and make the subs get it right or do it over, the home will not stand the test of time. The subs are there for one component. If all of the components are not done well and don’t complement each other, it will show in the long run.

Here’s my advice.

1. Ask questions about the builder’s organization and their process. Find out who will be your point of contact throughout the process.

2. Ask questions about construction practices. Make sure you get to see detailed construction specifications. Asked about fasteners, sheetrock finish, plumbing materials, and HVAC equipment.

3. Ask about policies for visiting the home, selection appointments, planning appointments, inspections, and walk through.

4. Ask about change orders and how flexibile their process is to help you get exactly what you want.

There’s much more to this but hopefully you get my point. I see too many people get caught up in comparing builders based on cosmetic finishes like flooring and counter tops. All of the best finishes available won’t much matter if the home is not put together well.

We have several quality home builders in our market. I’ve gotten to know the Piedmont Team well and find their project managers to be exceptional. Check out their resumes here. A good project manager can make all of the difference in the world.

If you come into contact with Piedmont Realty and Construction,  you’ll learn one of the core components to all of their homes is a great kitchen.  I spent some time with Amy Hart of Reico Kitchen and Bath yesterday. One of the exciting elements of working with Piedmont is designing your own kitchen and working with someone like Amy. I’ve attached a brief video below in which I interview Amy to share some of what makes the Piedmont kitchen  great and hear from an expert.  We walk through three different kitchens illustrate this concept. (I should point out early in the video, Amy indicates Piedmont’s standard kitchen is the best of any builder in our market.  I appreciate her enthusiasm but cannot be 100% sure that is true. I can say that their standard offering is exceptional and superior in many ways.)

Each year the Blue Ridge Homebuilder’s Association hosts the Parade of Homes.  The builders that participate make their homes subject to judging across a variety of categories. This Thursday evening the awards will be announced at the King Family Vineyards during their annual banquet.

Parade Homes will be open to the public from 12-5 on Saturday and Sunday October 9th/10th and 16th/17th.  The homes will also be open for Realtor previews from 10-2 on Tuesday, October 12th and Thursday, October 14th.

Check out the Daily Progress Parade Insert here.

Piedmont Realty and Construction has three entries:

1. The Edinburgh at Spring Creek

2. The Addison in Belvedere

3. The Chatham in Poplar Square.