Bob's Charlottesville Real Estate Blog

The Forest Lakes market remains virtually unchanged in the past week. Information from our local CAAR Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors MLS indicates that out of  approximately 1,400 homes in the Forest Lakes neighborhood there are just 23 homes for sale, only 3 of which are deemed distressed properties, and just a scant few for rent. In the past month there have been 5  Forest Lakes homes go under contract, while in the past three months there have been 23 homes go under contract. Could it be that there may be only three months of standing inventory? If you are looking for a great place to live that’s beautiful, clean, safe while being convenient to everything, please give Forest Lakes a look. It’s not only a great place to live and raise a family, it’s a great investment.

The Forest Lakes market remains virtually unchanged in the past week. Information from our local CAAR Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors MLS indicates that out of  approximately 1,400 homes in the Forest Lakes neighborhood there are just 22 homes for sale, only 2 of which are deemed distressed properties, and just a scant few for rent. In the past month there have been 7  Forest Lakes homes go under contract, while in the past three months there have been 22 homes go under contract. Could it be that there may be only three months of standing inventory? If you are looking for a great place to live that’s beautiful, clean, safe while being convenient to everything, please give Forest Lakes a look. It’s not only a great place to live and raise a family, it’s a great investment.

Information from our local Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors MLS indicates that out of  approximately 1,400 homes in the Forest Lakes neighborhood there are just 22 homes for sale, only 2 of which are deemed distressed properties, and just a scant few for rent. In the past month there have been 8 Forest Lakes homes go under contract, while in the past three months there have been 22 homes go under contract. Could it be that there may be only three months of standing inventory? If you are looking for a great place to live that’s beautiful, clean, safe while being convenient to everything, please give Forest Lakes a look. It’s not only a great place to live and raise a family, it’s a great investment.

The question most asked is, "What should I do? Is this the time to buy a home? Is this the time to sell my home?". Well let's take into consideration these facts. Interest rates are dirt cheap. The price of buying money is so low right now that if it were any lower lenders would be paying to have the money taken off their hands. The home price correction has taken place. In some areas the price for homes has started to increase. The on hand inventory or availability is still very high.

Most people are sitting on the sidelines. They have in their minds the home equity they enjoyed just a few years ago and are willing to wait until that price point returns. They are wringing their hands looking for the perfect scenerio, sell their home high and purchase the next home on the cheap. Well there may be a way for some people to do both. Since obtaining a mortgage has become more difficult for many people, who would otherwise purchase, they are being forced to rent. Hence there's now an over all shortage of nice rental properties. One way to take advantage of this unique market is to rent the present home. Let someone else make all the payments. A good part of the rental income can be used as real income when qualifying for the next mortgage. This way a person can enjoy the advantages of these low home prices and mortgage rates by having someone else pay the expenses for the present home.

Most people are soured with the idea of renting out their home. Well to that I say, "It's not your home anymore, it's a rental property, it's someone elses home. Your home is where you will be living.". If the idea of being in the rental business is daunting there are great rental management companies ready to do all the work for you. Their fee is a tax deductable business expense as is every other expense associated the rental.

If after three years the market has bounced back sufficiently to make it advantagious to sell, capital gains tax law require only a residency of two out of the past five years to eliminate the capital gains tax. But also having someone else pay all the expenses until the "rental unit" is paid for in full means a nice steady income for retirement.

This is the time to buy. Figure out a way.

Information from our local Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors MLS indicates that out of  approximately 1,400 homes in Forest Lakes there are just 23 homes for sale, only 2 of which are deemed distressed properties, and just a scant few for rent. In the past month there have been eight Forest Lakes homes go under contract, while in the past three months there have been 38 homes go under contract. Could it be that there may be only three months of standing inventory? If you are looking for a great place to live that's beautiful, clean, safe and convenient to everything, please give Forest Lakes a look. It's not only a great place to live and raise a family it's a great investment.

Not much change since last week. As of today July 17th there are 1,143 homes for sale in Albemarle County. Since July 1st there have been 36 go under contract or about 2 per day. So that means that there is about a year and a half of inventory. I think that's a buyers' market.

However, all real estate is local. Certain areas like the Forest Lakes neighborhood are fairing quite well. Right now there are 21 homes for sale in Forest Lakes, that's out of 1,400 homes in the neighborhood, and 8 have gone under contract in the past month. So that means there is a 3 month inventory. So does that mean that all the current listings in Forest Lakes will be sold in three months? No it doesn't. Condition and pricing still trump inventory.

So if you're looking for a great place to live that's beautiful, clean, safe and convenient to everything, please give Forest Lakes a look. It's not only a great place to live and raise a family it's a great investment.

Ok let's look at the numbers. How is the Charlottesville real estate market doing? As of today July 11th there are 1,140 homes for sale in Albemarle County. In the past thirty days there have been 82 go under contract. I use the past month and not a longer period only because I believe the data would be skewed by the Obama tax credit. That tax credit bump is a false inflationary factor compared to today's reality. So that means that there is about 13.6 months of inventory. Using the combination of the city of Charlottesville and Albemarle county has 1,521 homes for sale and 108 under contract in the past month, which gives 14.1 month inventory.

However, all real estate is local. Certain areas like Forest Lakes are fairing well. Right now there are 21 homes for sale in Forest Lakes, that's out of 1,400 homes in the neighborhood, and 8 have gone under contract in the past month. So that means there is a 3 month inventory. So does that mean that all the current listings in Forest Lakes will be sold in three months? No it doesn't. Condition and pricing still trump inventory. It's still a buyers market and buyers want a deal.

So if you're looking for a great place to live that's beautiful, clean, safe and convenient to everything, please give Forest Lakes a look. It's not only a great place to live and raise a family it's a great investment.

Information from our local Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors MLS indicates that out of  approximately 1,400 homes in Forest Lakes there are just 22 homes for sale, only 2 of which are deemed distressed properties, and just a scant few for rent. In the past month there have been six Forest Lakes homes go under contract, while in the past three months there have been 36 homes go under contract. Could it be that there may be only three months of standing inventory? If you are looking for a great place to live that's beautiful, clean, safe and convenient to everything, please give Forest Lakes a look. It's not only a great place to live and raise a family it's a great investment.

I've been so myopically tuned in to how I can parlay social networking and blogging into expanding my business that I really didn't give a thought as to what the rest of the adult world was doing with it. I recently was exposed to how social networking was being used in the classroom. I found this most interesting because the classroom is the pipe line to the future. Educators are successfully using social media networking tools that were once considered off-limits to inspire and engage their students, build their own knowledge and make professional connections. With the advent of programs such as Twitter, and Ning, an online platform that allows user to create their own exclusive social networks, teachers and students now have easy access to large numbers of their peers not only from nearby communities, but from halfway around the world. Please check out this article from the Massachusetts Teachers Organization. The article starts on page 7 and continues on page 23. Here's a great youtube interview on the subject.

Information from our local Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors MLS indicates that out of about approximately 1,400 homes in Forest Lakes indicates there are just 25 for sale, only 3 of which are deemed distressed properties, and just a scant few for rent. In the past thirty days there have been seven homes go under contract. Could it be that there is only three months of inventory? If you are looking for a great place to live that's beautiful, clean, safe and convenient to everything, please give Forest Lakes a look.

Forest Lakes is a Charlottesville bedroom community situated in northern Albemarle county. It is convenient to everything including downtown Charlottesville, UVA, the Medical Center, and NGIC. Residents enjoy many amenities including two swim and tennis clubs, a large fitness center, 12 miles of paved jogging trails, neighborhood elementary and middle schools. And if investment dynamics and market trends are your forte, then you know that all real estate markets are local. Well if our local Charlottesville Forest Lakes neighborhood market is indicative of market trends then this market is looking rosey. Between the period of 1/1/2009 and 6/30/2009 there were 11 sales of single family homes. This year 2010 during the same period there have been 34 sales of single family detached.