Exciting times at Heritage Estates
Scripture Communities is breaking ground on yet another new home at Heritage Estates, after having finished a single family home earlier this summer. We're delighted to…
With contracts still on the rise, the local housing market is showing continued signs of stabilization
August was another strong month of contracts.... Contracts year-to-date are also still quite strong! Stay tuned for my full market report next week --- could this finally…
Unwillingly keeping your townhouse might be your best (unintentional) financial move yet!
As I pointed out a few days ago, if you bought a townhouse a few years ago, you might be in a position where you can't sell it -- and thus end up being an accidental…
Houses are still selling in the Shenandoah Valley
Home sales have been declining for over five years in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County and median home sales prices have been declining for three years. This causes…
Sellers are now landlords, and buyers are now tenants
Five (or so) years ago, there were LOTS of first time buyers purchasing $150K new/newish townhomes in the City of Harrisonburg. Many of these buyers were young…
I heard (insert this, that or the other) about foreclosures. Is that going to affect us here in Harrisonburg?
If you hear something about the housing market on the news, it will likely mention the big (bad, scary) problem of foreclosures. Things you may have heard could include…
July 2011 Virginia Housing Market Report Released, Harrisonburg Looks Good
The graph above starts Harrisonburg (and Rockingham County) and Virginia on the same footing based on the number of sales in July 2010. Then, comparing the subsequent 12…
Did the federal home buyer tax credit impact the pace of home sales in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County?
The federal home buyer tax credit did not seem to have a lasting, positive impact on the local housing market. While the federal home buyer tax credit (timeframe shown in…
Great news for buyers! Average 30-year fixed rate mortgages at only 4.15% per Freddie Mac.
The downgrade of the United States' credit rating sure helped mortgage interest rates! Wow! The average rate on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage is now 4.15%. This is…
Seller concessions increase as market activity decreases
Thank you, Michael, for suggesting that I analyze this.... As seen above, more sellers are giving concessions these days to close the deal. These concessions are most…
Halfway through August, and the real estate market still seems to be performing well in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County
For the past five years, I've had to answer the question of "so, how's the real estate market" with responses such as "well, not so great" or "well, it could be worse."…
Should I be worried if I am paying more than the assessed value for a house?
If you're buying a single family home in Rockingham County, chances are, you're paying more than assessed value for the house. Should you be concerned? No --- it just…