Click the map above for a larger version of this map.
 

If you zoom in far enough on Google Maps, you'll see the planned location of the Stone Spring Road.

Also of interest, you can now view County property lines in Google Maps.


  

I don't know if Interstate 81 is really the dividing line, or if there actually is a dividing line -- but I have found that many (most?) home buyers are strongly oriented to one side of Harrisonburg or the other. 

EAST:  Most of the residential development over the past ten to fifteen years has been on the East side of Harrisonburg, in the general vicinity of the new hospital.  This makes it an exciting place to live -- for some people.  There are many newer developments where homes have recently been built, and there are newer commercial destinations (Martin's grocery store, Target, etc) all on the East side of town.  But this also makes it a bit more hectic for getting around.  Of note, there is also plenty of outbound traffic East of town, towards Massanutten, Elkton, Charlottesville, etc.

WEST:  There hasn't been as much residential development West of Harrisonburg over the past ten to fifteen years (other than Belmont and Monte Vista Estates) and this is just fine with most people who live on the Western side of Harrisonburg.  Things are a bit calmer, without as much hustle and bustle, and in some cases with more established neighborhoods.  The towns of Dayton and Bridgewater end up falling into this side of town as well for many people.

I am not doing justice to all of the differences between the East side of town and the West side of town, but I believe that most people in this area are oriented towards one side of town or the other, for very specific reasons.  Furthermore, most people who have spent any considerable amount of time living on one side of Harrisonburg likely wouldn't think about moving over to the other side of Harrisonburg.
  

I typically use Google Maps for compiling mapping data for my clients or for giving the some context for a home or neighborhood.  But Bing certainly has much more updated (and thus much more helpful) satellite imagery in this area!

Preston Lake on Google Maps (no homes)....




Preston Lake on Bing Maps (most/all homes)....




Bing Maps seem to be quite a bit more useful in many areas in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.  C'mon Google -- send the satellite by again!
 

Sometimes it can be helpful to see how all of the Harrisonburg townhouse communities are arranged relative to each other and relative to other points of interest such as JMU and EMU.  Here's a map I created to show all (or most) of the townhouses in and around Harrisonburg.  Click on the map for a large version (3MB) that prints well on 11" x 17" paper.

Each area of Rockingham County has performed a bit differently over the past year.  Some areas have seen an increase in median sales price, and some have seen a decrease.


As you can see above (and below) South-East and North-West Rockingham County performed the best when comparing the median sales price from the last 12 months with the prior 12 months.


  

These helpful maps were created by the folks over at Design & Geography....

Virginia fared better than most states pre-bubble with a 80% to 120% increase in housing prices between 2000 and 2006.




Virginia homes lost value between 2006 and 2010 (0% - 20%) but not as much value as some states such as California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona.




Virginia is one among a handful of states that experienced a net gain in housing prices between 2000 and 2010.




Virginia's housing market continues to fare well, and hopefully we will see a further increase in the market both in Virginia as well as Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.
  

In working with several townhome buyers over the past few months, I developed the map below outlining the main "new-ish" townhome developments in and around Harrisonburg.  There are certainly other smaller and/or older subdivisions, but this map shows the location of your main options for two and three story townhomes.  Take a look below the map for links to properties for sale in each subdivision.



New-ish townhomes for sale in and around Harrisonburg:

• Avalon Woods
• Beacon Hill
• Blakely Park
• Harmony Heights
• Liberty Square
• Stonewall Heights
• Taylor Grove
• Taylor Spring
• The Gables
  
• The Townes at Bluestone
• Twin Gables
  
• Wellington Park
  

For more information about any of these townhome communities, or for any other smaller, older subdivisions, e-mail me (scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com) or call me at 540-578-0102.