New Construction
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55 (More) Townhomes Proposed On Pear Street |
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 Just a short walk down Pear Street from where 33 townhomes are proposed there is now a new request for a rezoning of 6.77 acres to allow for 55 more townhomes to be built. This proposed development, to be called Zephyr Hill, is intended to consist of both two and three story townhomes, with and without garages. These 55 proposed townhomes would also be adjacent to the Cobblers Valley development currently being built by Ryan Homes. Here's the proposed site plan for these 55 townhomes...  The full County rezoning packet is available here. | |
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33 Townhouses Proposed To Be Built In The City of Harrisonburg, At The Entrance To Cobblers Valley |
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 Ryan Homes is currently building a neighborhood called Cobblers Valley in Rockingham County now 33 townhomes are proposed to be built in the City, at the entrance to Cobblers Valley. The property is already zoned for townhouses but the developer is requesting a subdivision ordinance variance to allow the townhouse lots to be built on a private street instead of a public street. You can download the reference documents from the Planning Commission's summary of the request here. This is the proposed layout of this small section of townhouses in the City...  | |
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48 Apartments, 26 Townhomes and A Mixed Use Building Proposed For Corner of Boyers Road, Port Republic Road |
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 A new proposal has emerged for developing the 5.7 acre parcel of land at the corner of Port Republic Road and Boyers Road. S&B Ventures, based out of Mount Crawford, is proposing a rezoning to allow for 48 apartments, 26 townhomes and a mixed use building. Here is the proposed layout on the land...  download a larger file here Some commentary from the developer provides some context for this potential new development... "The townhomes along Boyers are all oriented to take advantage of topography, with building "fronts" facing Boyers, and with on-site community green spaces and walkways connecting the community. There will be landscaping designed along Port Road with street trees and other landscaping to buffer parking on the site visually from Boyers." "Some community scale commercial uses are retained directly along the busy Port Road frontage to provide future small business/convenience commercial options to serve local surrounding neighborhoods. There is a multi-use path along the entire length of the Boyers Road frontage, which connects to existing sidewalks on Port Road." The Rockingham County Planning Commission will consider this rezoning request at their meeting on September 6, 2022. | |
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The Developer of Preston Lake Would Like To Build 139 Townhouses Behind Turner Ashby High School |
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 The developer of Preston Lake, Evergreen Homes, would like to build 139 townhouses behind Turner Ashby High School in the area outlined above. Bridgewater Town Council will review the proposal at their meeting in August. The potential townhouse development would be called The Glen at Cooks Creek and would be comprised of several different styles and sizes of townhouses. These townhouses would be built adjacent to Windsor West... and the land for these townhouses seems to currently be owned by the developer of Windsor West. Read a bit more this potential development over at the Daily News Record here. | |
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New Home Construction (For Sale or Rent) Is Likely The Only Path Towards A More Balanced Local Housing Market |
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 Over the past two (to five) years the local real estate market has seen... [1] More and more homes selling. [2] Higher and higher sales prices. [3] Higher and higher rental rates. Over the past six months, mortgage interest rates have increased significantly (from around 3% to nearly 6%) and yet... [1] We're still seeing just about the same number of homes selling. [2] Sales prices keep climbing. [3] Rental rates keep climbing. One conclusion that I keep coming back to in recent weeks and months is that... There are more people who want to live in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County than there is housing in which they can live. Generally speaking, when demand for housing exceeds supply, prices go up... that's what we're been seeing over the past few years. So, what's the answer? If there are 134,000 people living in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, but there are 140,000 or 150,000 who would like to live here... ...the only path towards a more balanced housing market is to have... ...more homes. So, whether it's new homes being built to be sold... or new homes being built to be rented... that will help bring balance to our local housing market. It's certainly not clear how much more housing is needed, in what locations, or of what property types, sizes, or prices... but overall, more housing needs to be created (built) to account for the ever increasing number of people who would like to live in this area. | |
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Almost 1,700 New Homes (or home sites) Are Being Developed or Built in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County With Another 4,000 Planned or Proposed |
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 LOTS of new housing is currently being developed in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County... though mostly in Rockingham County. Below are most that I am aware of, with approximate unit counts, though you can find it in spreadsheet form, with some links, here. 369 Apartments
647 Townhouses & Duplexes
287 Single Family Detached Homes or Home Sites
This is not to mention the 4,314 homes that are being planned or proposed...
The important, and perhaps unanswerable, big questions are... [1] Is enough housing being built or planned to support a growing population? [2] Is too much housing being built or planned beyond what our growing population needs? [3] Is the right type, size, and price of housing being built? | |
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Half of All Homes Listed For Sale in the Past 10 Days Were New Homes, or To Be Built Homes |
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 If you want to buy a home, great news... there have been 100 homes listed for sale over the past ten days! Oh, but wait. :-) Half of those homes were new homes or to-be-built homes, mostly in these neighborhoods...
So... [1] Great news that new homes are being built. Lots of people want to buy homes -- more than there are homeowners who want to sell their homes -- so it's great that new housing inventory is being built. [2] If you don't happen to want to buy a home in one of these new neighborhoods (based on location, property type, size, price, etc.) then you don't actually have 100 new listings from which to choose... it's really only 50. | |
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Where Are All Of These New Proposed Residential Developments Located? |
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 There are approximately 1,700 new homes being built or to be built in active residential developments... ...and approximately 4,400 new homes planned or proposed in residential developments that are not yet actively being developed. Where are they all located? You'll find an interactive map of them here... You'll find additional details about the developments here... Let me know if I missed anything on the list. | |
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Missed Another Resale Home? Maybe Build A Home Instead? |
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 An age-old question is whether to buy a re-sale home or build a new home, especially as your price range gets above $500K or $600K.
Typically, the tension between buying vs building is one of: 1. Goals 2. Money 3. Timing If you build, you can get the house you want, but you'll pay more for it and it will take a lot of time and attention. 1. Goals = Win 2. Money = Lose 3. Timing = Lose If you buy an existing home, you won't get exactly what you want, but you will pay less for the house and the process will not be as much of a drain on your time. 1. Goals = Lose 2. Money = Win 3. Timing = Win Don't let my oversimplification of this issue fool you -- this is something that buyers can get stuck debating for months, or even years, often while looking at resale homes to try to convince themselves to buy instead building. AND -- two current market conditions are making it an even more complicated decision...
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New Homes are an Increasing Share of Total Home Sales in the Harrisonburg Area |
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 First, some raw data... Resale Home Sales:
So, there have been more and more resale homes selling over the past five years. New Home Sales:
There have also been more and more new homes selling over the past five years. The graph at the top, though, tells a third story -- an increasing portion of home sales are new home sales. Between 2017 and 2020 new home sales comprised 12% - 14% of all home sales. Then, in 2021, that jumped up to 19% new home sales. Thus, last year, approximately one in every five homes sold was a new home. This would seem to be good news, generally, as there is an ever increasing number of people who want to buy homes and make Harrisonburg their home -- so we'll need to see more new homes to help provide that housing. | |
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73% Of Homes Being Planned or Proposed for the City of Harrisonburg Are... Apartments! |
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 There are lots of new residential communities being planned, discussed or proposed in the City of Harrisonburg. As shown above, most will be apartments. Below is a brief overview of planned or proposed residential housing developments in the City of Harrisonburg. Keep in mind that some of these proposals are quite recent and some have been around as possible developments for quite a few years. It is uncertain or when any of these will actually take shape and be developed.
Did I miss anything? What should be added to the list, updated on the list or removed from the list? You can find more details about most of these developments (and about many in Rockingham County) in list form here and map form here. | |
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Where Were New Homes Built In 2021? |
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 Quite a few new homes were built in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County in 2021, contributing to the increase in overall sales in 2021. Above you will find the nine neighborhoods where five or more new homes were built/sold in 2021 as per the HRAR MLS. South Peak (52) - duplexes in McGaheysville, built by Ryan Homes, now sold out Shady Creek (39) - single family homes and townhomes in Grottoes, built by Ryan Homes, still being built and sold Brentwood (32) - single family homes just outside the City, still being built and sold Preston Lake (31) - single family homes, duplexes and townhomes being built just outside the City, still being built and sold Crescent Ridge (29) - townhomes just outside the City, still being built and sold Sunset Springs (27) - single family homes in Broadway Congers Creek (26) - townhomes just outside the City, still being built and sold Bridgewater Fields (11) - townhomes in Bridgewater, still being built and sold Founders Way (9) - condos in Harrisonburg, now sold out | |
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Where Are New Homes Being Built? |
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 OK, this is surprised me a bit. Before I pulled the data, I assumed more new homes were being built in Rockingham County than in the City of Harrisonburg... but wow... this was much more extreme of a difference than I had anticipated. As shown above, during 2021 there were 284 homes in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County per the HRAR MLS. Of those...
So... 96% of all new homes are being built in the County right now! Did this surprise you? :-) | |
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Updates On Rezoning Proposals For Several Proposed Residential Communities |
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 A few updates today on proposed residential communities in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County...  Harrisonburg's City Council approved the development of a six story apartment complex on Peach Grove Avenue. The prior approval allowed for one level of commercial space which was converted to more apartments in the updated approval. This development is now planned to be a 460 bedroom apartment on 5.44 acres.  The Rockingham County Board of Supervisors tabled a request for a rezoning that would have allowed for 95 townhouses at Massanutten Resort.  The intended developer of a proposed 155 home neighborhood in McGaheysville withdrew their request for a rezoning to allow for the development.  The Rockingham County Board of Supervisors approved a rezoning request to allow for an additional apartment building at the Altitude apartment complex. | |
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Townhomes Now Under Construction In Phase Two of The Townes at Congers Creek |
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 view larger photo here Have you driven by The Townes at Congers Creek lately? These newly built townhouses are located on Boyers Road just minutes from Sentara RMH Medical Center. (full disclosure - I represent the builder) The first phase of The Townes at Congers Creek is complete, with 26 townhomes plus a common area including a pavilion, patio, fire pit and basketball hoop. Construction is now beginning on townhomes in the second phase, and the first 20 townhomes are already under contract. Here's a view of the current site work under way on the second phase...  view a larger photo here Learn more about this exciting townhouse community by viewing current availability, walking through the model home, viewing the standard features and upgrades. If you have questions, or if you'd like to schedule a time to view the model home in person, call/text me at 540-578-0102 or email me. | |
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Preston Lake Urgent Care Center Under Construction |
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 If you have drive by the Exxon at the corner of Stone Spring Road and Spotswood Trail lately you have likely seen the building under construction next door. That building will be... an Urgent Care Center. In the site plan submitted to the County it was called Preston Lake Urgent Care Center... ...though per the County tax records, the property is owned by MPB INC out of Norfolk, which seems to be a branch of Sentara. I'm sure more details will come to light as construction wraps up in the coming months. | |
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102 Apartments Proposed On Apple Valley Road |
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Driving down Port Republic Road, from the County towards the City, you'll spot a tall apartment building on the left side of the road where you'd turn to go to Moe's Southwest Grill. This apartment complex -- Altitude Apartments -- opened in 2019 and features 140 apartments and a clubhouse. The current owner of Altitude Apartments is asking the County to rezone 2.7 acres of adjacent land to allow for an additional apartment building with 102 apartments on five levels. This new apartment building is planned to include:
The complex will be marketed towards undergraduate students, graduate students and young professionals. Below you'll see the existing building in yellow and the proposed new building in red...  Finally, here's a rendering of what it will look like if you're standing next to the first building, looking down the road towards the new building...  Find out more about this proposed development in the County's full rezoning packet here. | |
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35% Of Townhome, Duplex and Condo Sales Are New Homes! |
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 This stat (illustrated above) might surprise you. It surprised me! Thus far in 2021 there have been 379 sales of townhomes, duplexes and condos in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County as recorded in the HRAR MLS. Of those 379 sales -- 35% of them have been new home sales! I know there have been plenty of new home sales (particular of attached properties) in 2021, but I didn't think it was more than a third of all attached homes that are selling. Here are some of the spots where we have seen the most sales of new townhomes, duplexes and condos thus far in 2021...
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Townhouses in Phase 2 of The Townes at Congers Creek Now Available For Purchase |
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 The Townes at Congers Creek is a new townhouse development located in Rockingham County, across Boyers Road from Sentara RMH Medical Center. The first phase of the development included 26 townhouses, all of which are under contract or sold. A second phase of townhouses is now under development that will include 133 more townhouses in a few different styles...  view a larger plat here The three styles of townhouses will include...
You can find pricing, availability, a site plan, standard features, available upgrades and more at CongersCreek.com. The first (10) townhouses at Congers Creek hit the market yesterday and it seems likely that (5) of those will be under contract by the end of the weekend. You can also email me with any questions you might have, as I am the Realtor representing the builder/developer. | |
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Scott Rogers
Funkhouser Real
Estate Group
540-578-0102
scott@funkhousergroup.com
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Commonwealth of Virginia
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