Charlottesville, VA

Disclaimer: Copyright ©2004-2009 Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors®. All rights reserved. Information deemed to be reliable but not guaranteed. The data relating to real estate for sale on this website comes in part from the IDX Program of Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors®. Listing broker has attempted to offer accurate data, but buyers are advised to confirm all items. Any use of search facilities of data on this site other than by a consumer interested in the purchase of real estate, is prohibited. Information last updated today. All rights reserved. Created by Charlottesville Virginia Real Estate for clients use only.

Charles McDonald, REALTOR® / Associate Broker with RE/MAX Assured Properties, and is "Licensed to sell Real Estate in Virginia”

We talk a lot about Statistics when it comes to real estate. Let’s look a little closer at Charlottesville Real Virginia Estate.

Have you heard about Charlottesville Virginia? You deserve to have the quality of life that Charlottesville has to offer. We are a small town that has everything you want to enjoy life. Think about visiting soon…

(Photo – taken in downtown Charlottesville Virginia at Court Square by Charles McDonald)

Let’s Talk Charlottesville Real Estate!

We are very fortunate to live in such a wonderful area. We have four season, Blue Ridge Views and the University of Virginia! Sales are starting to pick up in Charlottesville and our year is moving along nicely!

• In Charlottesville City we have SOLD 391 HOMES.
  
• There are currently 311 HOMES on the market. (+6 from last report)
• Our average DOM (Days on the Market) is at 123 Days . (-1 from last report)
• Our Average selling price is $276,512 ($274,589 from last report)

We have some excellent neighborhoods to see like:

Glenmore Foxchase Old Trail Forest Lakes Dunlora

Click Here for a link to other Great Neighborhoods in our area!

Please visit my website at Charlottesville Virginia Real Estate for details about our area and other homes on the market in Charlottesville, Albemarle County and the surrounding counties!

Nelson Greene Madison Fluvanna Orange Louisa

Come visit and tour our area anytime!

About The Author

Charles McDonald, Associate Broker at RE/MAX Assured Properties and dedicated Buyers Agent is the author of this blog, and several other sites on the Internet. Charles and his group of experts in the Charlottesville area are always available to help you with your Real Estate needs. Call our group anytime at 434-981-1585 or to search for homes visit: Charlottesville Real Estate

Copyright © 2009 Charles McDonald, All Rights Reserved.

Continuing our examination of the Central Virginia real estate market this Charlottesville VA real estate market report will focus on the sale of single family detached homes in Charlottesville during the month of October.

21 Charlottesville homes had contracts that closed during October 2009. The homes sold for an average price of $382,526, had been on the market for an average of 111 days and sold for an average of 95.19% of the list price.

September sales were very close to the October totals with 22 homes sold in Charlottesville. The average slae price was $303,418. They had an average DOM of 77 days and they sold for an average of 97.20% of the list price.

August saw the most sales of the 3 month period with 25 Charlottesville homes selling for an average price of $340,642 after spending an average of 101 days on the market. The homes sold for an average of 97.61% of the list price.

Today 11/4/2009 there are 191 Charlottesville VA homes for sale. They are listed for an average price of $345,560 and a median of $279,500. The homes have been on the market for an average of 174 days so far.

If we compare this years home sales from 1/1/2009-11/1/2009 with the same period in 2008, we find that 250 homes have sold so far this year in the Charlottesville VA real estate market. This represents a decline in sales of -21.1%.

As you can see from the sale prices the first time homebuyers are driving the Charlottesville real estate market. However I would have expected to see a rise in sales from those buyers during September and early October as the time to take advantage of the $8,000 Tax Credit wound down. Most lenders are advising 45-60 days from loan application to closing; however I did receive an email today from one lender who can still get clients to closing by November 30 even with an FHA loan, so it may not be to late.

The above figures are from the mls and while they are assumed to be correct, they are not guaranteed.

Contact Pam Dent, e-PRO, SRES, NHD, REALTOR®, Real Estate III, Charlottesville, Virginia at 434 960-0161 to buy a property in the following areas in Central Virginia: Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Keswick, Glenmore, Ivy, Crozet, Earlysville, Free Union, Cismont, Scottsville, Fluvanna County, Palmyra, Lake Monticello, Louisa County, Louisa, Mineral, Spring Creek, Orange County, Gordonsville, Orange, Barboursville, Greene County, Ruckersville. Email Pam Dent.

View all of the Charlottesville Virginia homes for sale.

View my website Charlottesville Horse Farms or visit my other blog Charlottesville Horse Farms and Country Homes for more information on Charlottesville Virginia horse farms, homes, events and real estate.

Copyright © 2009 by Pam Dent, all rights reserved, "Charlottesville VA Real Estate Market Report - October 2009".

Why SRES and Charlottesville do mix!

SRES (Senior Real Estate Specialist) is a designation given to agents who have training to work with the 55+ real estate clients. Since the baby boomers are becoming more and more tech savvy, working with this group of clients is critical for most agents.

Not all agents undergo this training but maybe they should (at lease consider it).

The beauty of Charlottesville Real Estate is that we offer so many options for clients looking to relocate as well as clients who are looking to retire to our area. No I am not talking about retirement communities, I am talking about a healthy lifestyle and an area where there are activities for active adults!

Come visit Charlottesville and see what others have found. There is a quality of life (we all deserve) and Charlottesville fits that need!!!

I am looking forward to meeting you,

Charles

The death of a tenant in Ampy Smith's rental units AGAIN stresses that area landlords are REQUIRED by LAW to maintain the smoke alarms in their rental units. Smith is quoted in The Hook as having REMOVED all of the batters in the smoke alarms of his 9 townhouses.

From The Hook * OctoberAcclaimed local drummer Johnny Gilmore has died in a fire, and his father was hospitalized after the blaze erupted Thursday night in the musician's room at the Green Leaf Townhouses in midtown on Fifth Street, SW.

"I was talking to him an hour or an hour and a half before it happened," says Rougemont Avenue resident Kenneth Jackson, who was visiting his sister in the unit adjacent to Gilmore's in the nine-unit apartment complex. "He was sitting on the wall, and we were talking about music."

Music was the 45-year-old's life, say those who heard the Johnny Gilmore Trio, Soko, and other artists, such as Corey Harris, with whom he drummed.

"Everybody who's anybody musically in this town played with Johnny Gilmore," says singer-songwriter William Walter, who recently collaborated with him and Tucker Rogers on a live album called Rough Around the Edges.

"Johnny Gilmore's the best musician I've ever met in my life," enthused Charlottesville music critic Stephen Barling in a 2006 round-table. "And that's the truth."

"I went down to Miller's last night, and everyone was just staggering around," Barling says Friday morning. "I'm listening to Soko right now, where Johnny's playing with LeRoi,"- that's LeRoi Moore, the late saxophonist for Dave Matthews Band.

With musical talent, however, came a sort of semi-seclusion that made it hard for musicians and others to reach Gilmore at times.

Students at a state Fire Marshal's class examined a charred futon and other debris the morning after.
PHOTO BY HAWES SPENCER

The landlord at the complex where Gilmore lived with his father, Curtis, says that the younger Gilmore's bedroom door was often locked.

"We never could get in his room," says landlord Ampy Smith, mentioning an effort just a day earlier to gain access to measure for window blinds.

And indeed, when the elder Gilmore arrived home the night of the fire, according to Charlottesville fire officials, he smelled smoke and rushed upstairs only to find his son's room locked.

His efforts to break down the door failed, explained Charlottesville Fire Marshal W.A. Hogsten at an October 23 press conference, and by the time firefighters arrived on the scene about five minutes after the 9:25pm 911 call came in, the room had already "flashed over," a condition in which the temperature has risen so high (typically 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit) that material suddenly combusts.

Three early-arriving police officers attempted to reach the room to rescue Gilmore but were turned back by smoke and heat. One was treated and released for smoke inhalation at UVA hospital. Curtis Gilmore, 73, was also treated for smoke inhalation and released the same night.

"This is a tragedy," says landlord Smith. "Both of them are really nice people."

Hogsten says the smoke detector in Gilmore's unit was in an upstairs hallway and appeared to be without a battery. Smith says he's gotten frustrated that tenants sometimes disable the units due to false alarms originating with kitchen smoke- and in fact, firefighters discovered that every single smoke detector present in the 9-unit apartment complex had been disabled or removed.

According to a pair of summer 2008 tests conducted by local fire departments and this newspaper, the most common type of detector, ionization, tends to false alarm eight times more frequently than the competing technology, but fails to promptly detect smoldering fires, the kind most likely to kill people while they sleep.

While Hogsten says it's too soon to be certain what killed Gilmore, the initial investigation suggests it was an accidental fire, and cigarettes- a common cause of smoldering fires- were present in the room.

"This did not need to happen," said Fire Chief Werner, who at today's press conference announced a "call to action" for landlords, homeowners, neighborhood associations, and service organizations to help ensure that every residence in the city is equipped with a smoke detector. And for the first time, Werner made clear that ionization-only detectors- the kind in most homes- are simply not sufficient.

"We think you need to go to the next step and add a dual detector," said Werner, who has maintained his support for the combination technology even as several states have changed their laws in favor of photoelectric-only detectors, and various fire safety organizations have also embraced the technology for its avoidance of false alarms.

Werner says Gilmore's death is a reminder to the fire department that even with a free smoke detector program, "We have more to do."

And, perhaps, that will be one more piece of Gilmore's legacy- one those who knew him say will be large.

"His God-given talent and his passion shouldn't pass Charlottesville by quietly," says Charlottesville musician William Walter. "There will never be another Johnny Gilmore.

From Virginia Fire Code

ARTICLE 5. Smoke Detectors Section 61-5-1. Scope.

In addition to the requirements of the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (VUSBC), and in accordance with authority provided by Code of Virginia, Section 15.2-922, the provisions of this Article shall govern the installation and maintenance of smoke detectors. (9-84-61; 29-84-61; 23-94-61; 13-95-61; 16-98-61;5-02-61.)

Section 61-5-2. Where required.

Smoke detectors shall be installed in the following structures regardless of when constructed:

a) All buildings containing one (1) or more dwelling units.

b) Hotels or motels regularly used, offered for, or intended to be used to provide overnight sleeping accommodations for one (1) or more persons.

(c) Rooming houses regularly used, offered for, or intended to be used

to provide overnight sleeping accommodations.

(d) College or university buildings containing dormitories for sleeping purposes.

(e) All local and regional detention homes, group homes, and other residential care facilities for children or juveniles which are operated by or under the Department of Juvenile Justice.

(f) All adult care residences and adult day care centers licensed by the Department of Social Services. (9-84-61; 23-94-61; 13-95-61; 16-98-61; 5-02-61.)

Section 61-5-3. Installation requirements.

(a) Smoke detectors installed pursuant to this Article shall be installed in conformance with the provisions of the VUSBC.

(b) Appropriate permits as required by the VUSBC shall be secured for the installation for the installation of AC-powered smoke detectors; however, no fee will be charged for the permit.

(c) The smoke detectors shall be installed in locations specified in the applicable sections of the VUSBC. (23-94-61; 13-95-61; 16-98-61; 5-02-61; 15-05-61.)

Section 61-5-4. Responsibilities for rented or leased units.

The owner of any unit which is rented or leased, at the beginning of each tenancy and at least annually thereafter, shall furnish the tenant with a certificate that all required smoke detectors are present, have been inspected, and are in good working order. Except for smoke detectors located in hallways, stairwells, and other public or common areas of multi-family buildings, interim testing, repair, and maintenance of smoke detectors in rented or leased units shall be the responsibility of the tenant; however, the owner shall be obligated to service, repair or replace any malfunctioning smoke detectors within five (5) days of receipt of written notice from the tenant that such smoke detector is in need of service, repair, or replacement.

(23-94-61.)

Landlords shall notify deaf or hearing-impaired tenants of the availability of special smoke detectors. New tenants shall be asked, in writing, at the time of rental, whether visual smoke detectors will be needed. Upon request, the landlord or proprietor shall provide visual smoke detectors, which have an effective intensity of not less than 100 candela, to any deaf or hearing-impaired occupant of any of the following occupancies, regardless of when constructed:

(a) All dormitory buildings arranged for the shelter and sleeping accommodations of more than twenty individuals.

(b) All multiple-family dwellings having more than two dwelling units, including all dormitories, boarding and lodging houses arranged for shelter and sleeping accommodations of more than five individuals.

(c) All buildings arranged for use as single-family attached or detached dwelling units. (23-94-61; 13-95-61; 16-98-61; 5-02-61.)

Section 61-5-5. Enforcement.

The Building, Building Maintenance Official and/or Fire Official are authorized to administer and enforce this Article. (29-84-61; 23-94-61; 13-95-61; 16-98-61; 5-02-61; 15-05-61.)

Section 61-5-6. Relation to other codes.

Nothing in this Article shall excuse any building owner from compliance with all other applicable provisions of the VUSBC and the Code of the County of Fairfax. (9-84-61; 23-94-61; 13-95-61; 16-98-61; 5-02-61.)

--
Wallace S. Gibson, CPM
GIIBSON MANAGEMENT GROUP, Ltd.

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