Harrisonblog

This past week, interest rates on 30-year fixed mortgages hit a record low — or, at least, as low has rates have been since records starting being kept in 1971.  Click here to read more.

Lake Pointe is this area’s most luxurious neighborhood, with gorgeous custom built homes on large lots of about an acre or more. Many of these homes have glorious views of Lake Shenandoah and the Blue Ridge Mountains. This neighborhood is tucked away between the edge of Highland Park and the lake, which provides privacy and arguably the best location in the area. Lake Pointe also features gently rolling terrain, mature trees, pristine landscaping, and beautiful details incorporated into each home.

Homes in Lake Pointe range in price from $600,000 to over $1 million.

Quick Stats:

• Average List Price*: $725,000
• Average Selling Price*: $683,500
• Average Home Size**: 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, 3959 square feet
• 2010 School Districts: Peak View Elementary School, Montevideo Middle School, Spotswood High School

Links of Interest:

• Homes currently for sale in Lake Pointe
• Video tour of Lake Pointe
• New Rockingham Memorial Hospital
• Lake Shenandoah
• Lakeview Golf Course

Map of Lake Pointe:

* This data is for homes sold from 6/9/09 - 6/8/10. Pulled from the HRAR MLS.
** This data is for any homes ever listed in this subdivision. Pulled from the HRAR MLS.

Last month, we saw sales volume increase by 60% from the same time last year. We were excited to see that surge in sales because it showed promise for our local market moving forward through recovery. This month didn’t fare as well, but sales volume only dropped by 5%, and year-to-date numbers are still showing signs of recovery, so we still feel upbeat about our real estate market!

Another key factor in tracking the real estate market is average price per square foot. Compared to last year at this time, this statistic only changed by -0.68%, which is a very minimal change! Another positive note is that days on market have decreased, which means homes are sitting on the market for less time. Plus, the average list/sold percentage increased a bit, meaning that those homes that were listed actually sold (rather than being withdrawn from the market for one reason or another).

Year-to-date numbers are more telling to the market’s condition because it takes into account a longer range of time. This year, folks are buying slightly larger homes for about 5% - 7% less money than last year at this time. Sales volume is also still up 10.26% from last year! Again, these numbers also show us that homes are sitting on the market for less time, which is great news for sellers.

Most homes are selling in the $100,000 - $200,000 price range, which is no surprise because that is where most of the inventory lies. Homes in this price range are also sitting on the market for an average of 190 days. Only one home sold in May 2010 in the $400,000 - $500,000 range, and it was on the market for just 72 days.

Overall, May showed us a bit of a dip from April, but also showed us some positives, which we are encouraged by. Folks taking advantage of the first time home buyer tax credit have until the end of June to close on their homes, so we may see a healthy dose of sales next month as well. We look forward to seeing how the summer months pan out!

Remember about a month ago when we updated you on March and April showings statistics for Kline May Realty? Well, we were hoping for good news as the year progresses into the summer months, and we got it! May of 2010 produced one more showing than May of 2009, even with the first time home buyer tax credit expiring. It is just another indicator that our local market has not fallen flat, and that things are looking up here in the Shenandoah Valley!

Stay tuned for June’s update next month. Perhaps we’ll see even more good news with regards to buyer activity!

The opening of the new Rockingham Memorial Hospital (RMH) in Harrisonburg has been eagerly anticipated by most residents for a long time now. In fact, a while back we posted about why this new hospital is so awesome. Well, wait no longer! The new RMH is hosting an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony on June 6, 2010.

Here are the details:

• June 6, 2010 @ the new Rockingham Memorial Hospital [click here for map]
• 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM: Ribbon cutting ceremony with special music (by the Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir and the US Army Blues Band)
• 1:30 PM - 6:00 PM: Open house with self-guided tours
• Remember to wear comfy shoes because tours can last up to an hour!

Visit RMH’s Destination Health website for information about parking and other services.

Private Mortgage Insurance, more commonly referred to as PMI, allows home buyers to obtain a mortgage with a lower down payment (typically less than 20% of the sales price). With PMI in place, lenders are insured against the risk of default on the loan. PMI charges are fairly minimal, running at around one-half of one percent of the loan, on average.

Here is an example from Bankrate.com:

Let’s say you put down 10 percent or $10,000 on a $100,000 house. The lender multiplies the 90 percent loan, or $90,000, by .005. The result is an annual PMI of $450, which is divided into monthly payments of $37.50.

Most home buyers need PMI because 20 percent of the sale price on a home is a lot of money; for instance, that’s $20,000 on a $100,000 home. Home buyers must maintain the PMI premiums until they cross that one-fifth-of-principal threshold, a process that can take years in longer-term mortgages.

Obviously, when buyers pay down the loan to the appropriate level — less than 80% loan-to-value — it would be smart to call the lender and have the PMI removed. It is also important to keep an eye on the home valuation because if the home’s value increases, the loan-to-value will decrease.

To find out more about PMI, contact your lender, visit Bankrate.com for “The basics of private mortgage insurance” or check out Wikipedia.

Downtown Harrisonburg is opening new restaurants and cafes all the time, which is a great sign of recovery and revitalization! One of the newest additions is a smoothie bar called “Pulp.” It is conjoined to and operated by the Shenandoah Bicycle Company on South Main Street. Pulp opened this past Monday, so be sure to stop by and try it out soon!

To read more about Pulp (and view photos and a video), visit the Downtown Harrisonburg blog.

It is that time of year again! The 9th annual Herb and Garden Festival is taking place this Saturday, May 15th, at JMU’s Edith J. Carrier Arboretum. Head over between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM (rain or shine!) and peruse through a wide variety of plants and trees that grow locally.

Some great features of this festival:

• Free admission!
• Free parking (in convo F & G lots)
• Browse displays of area vendors and ask experts about landscape design
• Shop for trees, shrubs, herbs, and flowering plants
• Live music
• Hot lunch for purchase — or pack a picnic lunch!

For more information, visit the Herb and Garden Festival website.

We are always striving to improve our marketing efforts, focusing on giving more exposure to our listings and providing our sellers with extraordinary customer service. As far as we know, we are the only real estate agents in the area who produce a high-quality video tour for every residential listing. We love video because it gives a better perspective of a home than any other media can.

So to increase exposure of our video tours, we’ve decided to embed our property video tours on our website. Each of our team’s listings now features a video tour in the property details page. Here’s a sample:

At the writing of this post, we have 22 properties with video tours. To view any of these, simply click the address link below. (As you can see, we have a wide array of properties listed. If you have questions about any of these, please contact us!)

• 920 Confederacy Drive, Penn Laird — 3 BR, 3 BA, $289,900
• 906 Thompson Street, Dayton — 4 BR, 2.5 BA, $324,900
• 1441 Butler Street, Harrisonburg — 3 BR, 1 BA, $154,900
• 710 Mason Street, Dayton — 4 BR, 3 BA, $260,000
• 801 Oak Hill Drive, Harrisonburg — 6 BR, 3.5 BA, $425,000
• 350 Blue Stone Hills Drive, Harrisonburg — 3 BR, 3.5 BA, $279,900
• 166 Train Whistle Lane, Penn Laird — 4 BR, 2 BA, $249,000
• 491 Claremont Drive, Harrisonburg — 4 BR, 3.5 BA, $679,000
• 8895 Pats Lane, McGaheysville — 3 BR, 1.5 BA, $199,900
• 1039 Alexander Hamilton Lane, Harrisonburg — 2 BR, 2.5 BA, $169,900
• 172 Southampton Drive, Harrisonburg — 4 BR, 3 BA, $219,900
• 2605 Rising Rock Court, Harrisonburg — 4 BR, 2.5 BA, $397,500
• 2150 Lake Terrace Drive, Harrisonburg — 5 BR, 3 BA, $284,900
• 111 Willow Drive, Dayton — 3 BR, 3 BA, $289,900
• 830 Stuart Street, Harrisonburg — 3 BR, 2 BA, $209,900
• 555 Tabb Court, Harrisonburg — 4 BR, 3 BA, $397,000
• 224 Kensington Drive, Elkton — 5 BR, 3 BA, $349,900
• 3221 Danbury Court, Harrisonburg — 4 BR, 2.5 BA, $399,900
• 3430 Lake Pointe Drive, Harrisonburg — 5 BR, 3.5 BA, $895,000
• 1471 Springside Drive, Harrisonburg — 3 BR, 2 BA, $224,900
• 4079 Hudson Circle, Harrisonburg — 2 BR, 2.5 BA, $178,000
• 272 Franklin Street, Harrisonburg — 4 BR, 2.5 BA, $459,900

Looking for just video tours without all the property details? View a channel of our listing videos.

Last month’s market report was a bit of a downer, and one that proved we need to watch some trends closely — sales volume and average price per square foot, specifically. April was the final month for first time home buyers (and “move-up” buyers) to take advantage of the tax credit, so we expected to see a surge in sales volume this month. See below to review the numbers closely.

No, that is not a typo. Sales in April were up by 60% from April 2009! This is a great boost for our local real estate market because homes are selling and keep the market moving forward.

The other trend we were keeping an eye on specifically was average price per square foot, which did not fare as well this month. In fact, it was down 10% from last year at this time. The true numbers, though, are the year-to-date statistics below, as they are more telling of how the market is doing long term so far this year.

Because of the nice boost in sales volume from April 2010, we see that overall sales for 2010 are up over 2009 sales by over 14%. Sales prices, however, are still in the negative, but this is the market’s way of evening itself out from the hit it took over the recession.

Average price per square foot so far this year has taken a downturn of 11.32%, but that is a better number than we saw last month (-12.05%), so things are perhaps gradually turning around.

Now lets take a look at sales by price range:

As usual, the majority of homes in our area are selling in the $100,000 - $200,000 price range. This may change a bit now that the first time buyer tax credit has expired. Compared to March, though, homes are spending less time on the market, which is great news for sellers.

Overall, April turned out to be a fairly positive month for the Harrisonburg real estate market. Sales volume and square footage numbers are up, and hopefully prices will even out sooner rather than later. Buyers, take advantage of this opportunity to get “more bang for your buck!”