Sarahiously Speaking

Dorothy Hart Community Center Parking Lot (9pm)

I’m sitting in my family room at 8:55pm listening to construction vehicles two blocks away.  Some may wonder why I’m listening to construction vehicles at 8:55pm.  Well, the City of Fredericksburg has decided that it’s time to dig up the parking lot at the Dorothy Hart Community Center on Canal Street.  Having just renovated my house and also lived with my neighbors putting an addition on their home, I could swear that there are noise ordinances dealing with construction and demolition.  So, I decided to look them up.  In fact, there are noise ordinances for construction and demolition. 

According to Ordinance No. 03-21

Construction or repair of buildings; excavations of streets and highways; unloading of construction materials. Sound emanating from the construction, demolition, alteration, or repair of any building, from the excavation of any street or highway, or from the unloading of construction materials that is plainly audible across a property boundary between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays or between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. on weekends and holidays.

Well, it’s a Thursday night.  It is now 9pm.  I can still hear loud construction equipment working on the parking lot.  So my question is:  Why does it appear that construction on City property can violate the City’s noise ordinance?  Oh, there’s a loophole?   Yes: 

The city manager shall be authorized to issue permits to persons allowing the production of noise that might otherwise be prohibited under this article, provided that such permits shall be limited to a specific event, time period, or activity. Such permits shall be issued in accordance with regulations promulgated by the city manager and published in the city administrative manual.

So, the city manager can grant a permit for the city to work well past the time the city has set forth as acceptable times to make loud noises.  Of course!  That makes perfect sense.  This is the same City that has razed historic buildings, recently, without cause.  As a tax payer in Fredericksburg City, I’m getting a little tired of city officials operating under a different set of rules.  I’m tired of city officials applying city ordinances and codes willy-nilly, whenever it serves their purposes.  I’m getting tired of my phone calls not being returned by city officials.  I’m tired of being treated like I don’t pay their salaries when I need their services.  And tonight, I’m getting tired of listening to a construction crew dig up a parking lot and crush the concrete into tiny pieces.  It’s not like I live in a business district.  I live in a residential part of town.  I can’t imagine what the home owners across the street from this parking lot are thinking right now. 

I find it interesting that the City of Fredericksburg doesn’t have enough money to repair roads, but they have enough money to repave a parking lot reserved for official city vehicles.  I’m sure those vehicles will be much more confortable sitting on their fresh asphalt in a few days.  Meanwhile, I have an 8 month old who keeps getting woken up by this construction.  By the way, it’s 9:12pm and they’re still working on this parking lot.

Fredericksburg City:

• 82 days on market – this is 117 days less than in December 2007
• Sellers received, on average, 92.38% of their list price when the home sold
• There is 15.7 months of inventory on the market
• 10 homes sold in December 2008 – this is the same as in December 2007
• The most popular price range was $300,000-399,999 and $400,000- 499,999 equally. 
• The average sold price was $282,806, compared to $322,330 in December 2007

Orange County

• 102 days on market – this is 88 days less than in December 2007
• Sellers received, on average, 90.35% of their list price when the home sold
• There is 19.86 months of inventory on the market
• 21 homes sold in December 2008 – this is 4 more than in December 2007
• The most popular price range was $200,000-$249,999
• The average sold price was $206,633, compared to $394,812 in December 2007

Spotsylvania County

• 111 days on market – this is 24 less than December 2007
• Sellers received, on average, 87.6% of their list price when the home sold
• There is 9.29 months inventory on the market
• 121 homes sold in December 2008 – this is 29 more than in December 2007
• The most popular price range was $200,000-$249,999
• The average sold price was $225,845, compared to $297,321 in December 2007

Stafford County

• 120 days on market – this is 48 less than December 2007
• Sellers received, on average, 88.43% of their list price when the home sold
• There is 7.33 months inventory on the market
• 139 homes sold in December 2008 – this is 74 more than in December 2007
• The most popular price range was $300,000-$399,999
• The average sold price was $253,335, compared to $343,565 in December 2007

Prince William County

• 108 days on market – this is 32 less than December 2007
• Sellers received, on average, 90.63% of their list price when the home sold
• There is 4.26 months inventory on the market
• 845 homes sold in December 2008 – this is 491 more than in December 2007!
• The most popular price range was $300,000-$399,999
• The average sold price was $212,403, compared to $349,634 in December 2007

From a REALTOR standpoint, December was a flurry of activity!  For myself and my C21 New Millennium branch, it was the busiest December in years.  So, in a down market, why is the real estate industry seeing a slight boom in business?  There are several reasons I can think of.  First, interest rates have been low.  After spending several months in the 6-7.5% interest rate range, we have been able to enjoy interest rates that hover around 5%.  For a brief 20 minutes some buyers even got to lock-in to interest rates below 5%!  Second, there is a built-up desire to purchase homes.  Buyers who were on the fence finally got off of the fence.  This is probably due in large part to the lower interest rates.  However, we also saw changes in some popular loan programs that required buyers to purchase a home before December 31 in order to benefit from the loan product.  Third, foreclosure banks started accepting reasonable offers in a timely manner.  This allowed buyers to get to the closing table before the New Year.  Fourth, Many banks that were being “acquired” by other banking institutions or “acquiring” banking institutions had a desire to get the bad debt off their books before the take-over.  We saw a noticable increase of activity for Countrywide and Wells Fargo.

Fortunately, this increase in activity has carried over to the New Year.  Even on traditional sales, showings are up and contracts are beginning to come in and be negotiated.  What’s important to remember is that we are still sorting through the consequences of the last 4 years.  This boom does not mean that we are well on our way to recovery.  What it does mean is that buyers are in the market and they are buying.  It is as important as ever to price your home correctly the moment it goes on the market.  Selling a home in this market is like creating a perfect storm.  There are several factors that have to happen simultaneously in order to end up at the settlement table.  Taking responsibility for the factors that you can influence is key to a successful outcome.

September was actually a good month for closings in all counties that I service.  What was slower was the number of showings per listing and the number of houses going under contract.  I expect to see this reflected in the October sold statistics, since most contracts take 30 days to close. We have seen a new surge of buyers in the market the last two week with the passing of the Bailout Bill.  Loans are still out there and interest rates are still reasonable, but the mortgage market should get more challenging as we head into winter.  Here is a county break down of the market statistics for this area:

Fredericksburg City:

• 93 days on market – this 4 days less than in September 2007
• Sellers received, on average, 95.92% of their list price when the home sold
• There is 15.73 months of inventory on the market
• 11 homes sold in September 2008 – this is 2 less than in September 2007
• The most popular price range was $300,000-$349,900
• The average sold price was $224,678, compared to $282,845 in September of 2007 (3 homes sold for less than $100,000 this September)

Orange County

• 174 days on market – this is 29 days more than in September 2007
• Sellers received, on average, 89.24% of their list price when the home sold
• There is 16.4 months of inventory on the market
• 30 homes sold in September 2008 – this is 9 more than in September 2007
• The most popular price range was $250,000-$299,999
• The average sold price was $228,327, compared to $306,020 in September 2007

Spotsylvania County

• 123 days on market – this is two less than September 2007
• Sellers received, on average, 89.5% of their list price when the home sold
• There is 7.86 months inventory on the market
• 161 homes sold in September 2008 – this is 64 more than in September 2007
• The most popular price range was $200,000-$249,999
• The average sold price was $248,780, compared to $318,857 in September 2007

Stafford County

• 116 days on market – this is 19 less than September 2007
• Sellers received, on average, 90.48% of their list price when the home sold
• There is 7.95 months inventory on the market
• 149 homes sold in September 2008 – this is 63 more than in September 2007
• The most popular price range was $300,000-$399,999
• The average sold price was $274,365, compared to $397,342 in September 2007

Prince William County

• 107 days on market – this is 20 less than September 2007
• Sellers received, on average, 91.34% of their list price when the home sold
• There is 4.81 months inventory on the market
• 934 homes sold in September 2008 – this is 629 more than in September 2007!
• The most popular price range was $200,000-$249,999
• The average sold price was $230,999, compared to $370,506 in September 2007

On average homes are sitting on the market less time in September 2008 than they did in September 2007.  We have faster absorption rates than last year and more homes are selling.  Sellers are selling their homes for amounts closer to their list price, but they are selling their homes for an average of $93,564.20 less than what they were selling for last year.  A great deal of this disparity can be attributed to the foreclosure and short sale markets.  The most popular price ranges are consistantly the first-time home buyer price ranges. 

What does this mean for you if you are a buyer?  You can still get a good deal, but the deal is that homes are priced far less than they were a year ago and way cheaper than they were 2 years ago.  As a buyer you can still expect to make offers close to list price, especially if you are asking the Seller to pay your closing costs.  Many banks are actually pricing properties below market value in hopes of getting multiple offers and starting bidding wars.  (By the way, this tactic is working). 

What does this mean if you are a seller?  It is a PRICE driven market.  I cannot say that enough!  PRICE DRIVEN!  You are competing with foreclosures.  You need to make your home stand out from the foreclosures any way you can.  You need to maintain your home and keep records of repairs.  You need to make your home modern and buyer friendly.  Spend the extra money to declutter and stage your home.  And most inportantly, price your home well!  It is an awful feeling to chase the market.  Stay on top of the market by pricing it right the first time.