Monday’s Big Answer– 7/24/2006

July 24, 2006 | Leave a Comment

On Friday, I asked what the impact will be of Charlottesville losing coverage in the popular media.  Now I give you my opinion. . .

There is certainly some portion of the population that has moved here due to the heralding of the Charlottesville Area by popular media.  I remember distinctly that when Charlottesville was named a top place to live by Fodor’s, our office received a tremendous spike in phone call and Internet inquiries.  Of course, some of this interest is casual, but some people actually decide to move places based on these rankings. 

There is no doubt in my mind that this area is a great place to live.  We have many positives (low density, major public university, low crime, great health care).  It was only a matter of time before the popular media picked up on these things.  What this did was begin to create competition among localities.  Every locality wants to attract people in order to improve their economy, and as a matter of pride.  For every area that was mentioned, there were 4 or 5 others saying, "Hey! Look at us! Look what we have to offer!"  Now that Charlottesville would appear to be on the outside looking in, what will happen?

I think that, believe it or not, we are already beginning to see the effects of this lack of attention from the media.  In the past, the community did not need to do its own marketing, there were plenty of outlets willing to do it for us.  That is no longer the case.  Now, the community cannot rely on people finding Charlottesville because they read about it in Money Magazine, or saw a story on The Today Show.  The community must learn to market itself, and seek out publicity, if it intends to continue to attract residents and businesses. 

Many in the real estate industry have grown complacent.  It has always sort of been assumed that, "if you built it, they will come."  That used to be true, because people were hearing about it all over the place.  Now, that is not so much the case.  New subdivisions that have plenty to offer are finding out that it may be a bit harder to convince people to move here when they don’t have the popular media to rely upon for help.  A developer or builder used to be able to say, "It’s great to move here.  You don’t have to believe me, Money Magazine says so."  Now, that can’t be said.  The Charlottesville area is going to have to do a better job of publicizing the great features of our area.

Like it or not, we live in a media/ratings driven society.  Information is everywhere, and readily accessible.  Everything in our lives is ranked in terms of quality, size, affordability, etc. and those rankings are publicized on everything from cars to clothing stores, to schools, to places to live.  If Charlottesville still wants to be desirable to the general public, it is going to have to find a way to continue to attract attention from the places that control the attention of the public.

Hopefully, losing some popular media coverage now will help the area in the future in that it will force people to go out and work to attract attention.  It will cause people to look for things that make the Charlottesville Area attractive, and publicize those things.  If this doesn’t happen, and people just sit back and say, "oh well, it was good while it lasted," then I am afraid that perhaps Charlottesville truly has jumped the shark.

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Posted by Daniel | Leave a Comment | Filed Under Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Monday Answers 

Monday’s Big Answer to Development Question

July 17, 2006 | Leave a Comment

Well, after the 2nd edition of Friday’s Big Question, there was a 100% increase in the number of responses.  Albeit, that meant that there was only 1 response (thank you Bryan), but we have got to start somewhere, right?  At any rate, I encourage all of you to not only read the blog, but to respond to the posts that you find.  Trust me, it will make things much more interesting. 

Now for my Big Answer . . .

Area localities certainly have their hands full when it comes to achieving a balance between the desire for increased development and the desire for sustained quality of life.  The attractiveness of the Charlottesville area is a double-edged sword.  One the one side, people are attracted here because of the slower pace of things, the rural character of the land and scenery, and the overall quality of life.  On the other side, the more and more people that move into the area, the easier and easier it becomes to erode the very things that brought people here in the first place. 

Luckily, most of our public officials are very aware of this situation.  To that end, most localities have developed a Comprehensive Plan to deal with growth.  Most of the time, these plans involve selecting areas in a county that are designated for growth, and selecting areas that people would like to see remain undeveloped.  These plans usually involve planning for infrastructure and capital improvements as well.  Of course, every county’s Comprehensive Plan is just that– a plan.  It is not written in stone, and as the elected officials change, and the residents change, so can the plan.  That, however, is a good thing.  Area localities need flexibility when it comes to dealing with growth and development issues. 

In my opinion, the best thing that area localities can do when it comes to balancing development and quality of life is simple– stick to the plan.  If you trust that the things you have decided to do will lead you in the right direction, then just do those things.  Of course, other issues will most certainly arise; but if the plan is good to begin with, it should be much easier to handle unanticipated issues.

How does sticking to the plan apply to growth and development?  Well, for starters, any proposed development needs to be carefully considered at every stage in the process.  It begins in the Planning Commission, and ends with the Board of Supervisors.  Every proposal needs to be put up against the Comprehensive Plan to ensure a good fit.  All aspects of a proposal need to be considered as well.  It isn’t quite as simple as just putting a shopping center in one place, or 100 homes in another.  Every proposal has its drawbacks and its benefits.  All of those things need to be examined before a decision is made.

To summarize, balancing development and quality of life is not going to be easy.  It is going to take time, and the results of our efforts will not be known for years to come.  If, however, we can be mindful of all the issues at play, and continue to plan for growth, it will make the task that much easier.

Posted by Daniel | Leave a Comment | Filed Under Albemarle, Charlottesville, Development, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Monday Answers, Orange 

Monday’s Big Answers

July 10, 2006 | Leave a Comment

Well, I asked, but no one answered.  That’s okay.  I understand that perhaps those who read Friday’s Big Question may have been a bit too shy for comments.  Not to worry, you will have a chance to share your opinions on a different topic every Friday.  And don’t forget that you can comment any time that you want on any of the posts you may read on the blog.  I encourage it, as everything is better with a little conversation!

Now, for my own opinion:

On Friday, I asked if you felt that the rising interests rates are at least partly responsible for the slow down in the national real estate market.  Personally, I think that the rising interest rates have contributed a little bit to the slow down in the market, but there are much stronger forces at play.  Despite the fact that the Fed has been raising rates pretty routinely, 30-year mortgage rates still remain at historic lows.  The effect of the rising rates has been to stop people from entering the market that were enticed by the super-low rates of the past few years.  The low rates created a pool of buyers that would not have existed otherwise.  Most of those people have now completed their transactions, and are quite content.  As the rates have risen, it has caused the market to return to normal.  The market is filled with the usual amount and types of buyers that we see every year.  That is why the more accurate term for what we are seeing in the market is a "correction."  The market is always going to be searching for an equilibrium, that is the nature of free markets.  As the pendulum swings one way, it must come back the in the other.  The question on the minds of many is now, "how far will it swing?"

To me, the much stronger force at play, especially locally, is affordability.  Prices have risen to such a point that many people cannot afford today what they could have bought only 12 months ago.  And if you look back farther than that, the decrease in affordability becomes startling.  Many of the homes that are attractive to first-time homebuyers and young families are not affordable for those people.  As such, they continue to rent, or they move elsewhere.  There has been much talk about affordable housing, but the solution, at least locally, has been to sell condos that have been converted from old apartment buildings.  Sure, the prices may be "affordable," relative to what else is in the area, but to expect a family of 3 or 4 to live in a 900 sq. ft. appt. for $180,000 doesn’t seem reasonable.  On top of that, many of these condo conversions are being bought out by investors, who simply rent the units, which doesn’t do anything to acheive the goal of increased ownership.  I fully recognize that the cost of housing is determined by the market, my only concern is that the Charlottesville area market may one day become a victim of its own success. 

Posted by Daniel | Leave a Comment | Filed Under Finance, Monday Answers 

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