Local housing market shows continued signs of gradual recovery
Click here to download my full market report (27 pages, 7 MB, PDF) or read on for highlights.... November was a relatively positive month for the local housing market…
Harrisonburg, Rockingham County unemployment rate at lowest level in the past two years (other than April 2011)
This is good news for the local housing market!
Making sense of buyer feedback
As a home seller, you will face rejection left and right -- many prospective buyers will come view your house and most of them will decide not to buy it. But how, as a…
Pick a fight you can win
Remember, when you list your home, you are picking your competitors.... In the above scenario.... Option 1 leaves you with some chance of selling, but you are on a very…
Inventory levels drop to 45 month low (at least)
Each month inventory levels drop at the beginning of the month -- as quite a few listings expired on the last day of the prior month. So it's possible that today's…
Let's look at this low offer as a compliment!
Sellers are usually quite disheartened to receive a low offer on their house, for example, an offer of $250K on a $300K listing. But it is important to remember that even…
Budget 34% less for your housing costs at Taylor Spring
Yesterday I pointed out that monthly housing costs have declined 28% since 2007 because of modest declines in median sales prices and significant declines in average…
Monthly housing costs down 28% from 2007 peak
How much does it cost on a monthly basis to buy the median price home in our area, assuming 80% financing? Today, that adds up to a $791 monthly payment. That marks a…
Declining home values don't bother today's buyers
Cars, clothes, and computers all lose value over time as we use them and as they age. Houses, however, typically increase in value over time. While we don’t get upset…
Virginia's median sales prices relatively stable
Certainly, all real estate is local, but it is often insightful to see what is happening on the state level as well. As you'll note above, there hasn't been much of a…
Are you next in line to sell your home?
In Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, looking at the year thus far (thru Oct 31, 2011).... There have been 653 home sales, which is an average of 65 homes per month…
Blog Reader in Sept 2009: Housing Prices Will Fall 30% From Current Levels
I always encourage (and enjoy) healthy skepticism about anything related to the state of the local housing market. If you think I'm off base with my analysis or…