{"id":331052,"date":"2025-12-05T08:12:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T08:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/business\/real-estate\/october-2025-monthly-note-charlottesville-market-insight-shocking-new-construction-construction-numbers\/"},"modified":"2025-12-05T08:12:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T08:12:13","slug":"october-2025-monthly-note-charlottesville-market-insight-shocking-new-construction-construction-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=331052","title":{"rendered":"October 2025 Monthly Note – Charlottesville Market Insight, Shocking New Construction Construction Numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Market Look<\/h2>\n

I\u2019ve never liked market reports \u2013 they provide distance from the market itself, and the reports are often unexamined. When I run numbers for my clients, that often leads to curiosity.<\/p>\n

Someone asked me a question about Charlottesville market data. I looked at the local realtor association\u2019s market report, and the numbers just felt wrong. I dug. And the numbers were<\/em> wrong. I frankly don\u2019t care enough about their report to check their others, so I\u2019ll continue discounting them. (I have on occasion used their infographics, but no more.) It is bad that they are so wrong, and worse that no one else questioned the data. In a world where facts and data are under attack, the data we have responsibility for is even more important and valuable. Good complete data builds trust. Simple<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I ran out of room again this month, so here\u2019s a Charlottesville real estate market blog post.<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Short: inventory<\/a> is rising and well below long-term averages, median sold price is flat to a little bit up YoY, and homes that are well priced and very well presented are moving quickly.<\/p>\n

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Sellers \u2013 if you\u2019re thinking about selling in 2026, please reach out. Now is the time to prioritize projects. Buyers don\u2019t want and aren\u2019t willing to do work on the homes they purchase, and they now have choices and don\u2019t have to settle<\/strong>. You\u2019re likely going to have to do a bit more prep work to get your house ready for the market. I can help you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Words to Live by (from a client)<\/h3>\n

I\u2019ve heard this a few times from clients over the years:<\/p>\n

\u201cNever will we buy a house where the owner lives nearby. Anything we do, they question. Every service truck in our driveway\u2026 Why are you doing this, why are you doing that. I thought you liked our house, obviously you don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

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You\u2019re Being Recorded Everywhere<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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I have a lot of these Notes that I write to clients during showings.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

I had a client who had to stay home and work in his office during showings. He texted us during showings when the buyers would share their candid thoughts on the front porch before and after showings, oblivious to the Ring camera pointed at them.<\/p>\n

Just assume you\u2019re being recorded<\/strong>. Step away from the house before saying it\u2019s amazing, the wallpaper is ugly, the house smells funny, or you recognize them from high school.<\/p>\n

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Insurance Volatility<\/strong><\/h3>\n

From a reader, in response to my February insurance segment<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t actually get around to writing specifically about insurance in March, but their guess is a good one \u2014 \u201cDue to escalating real estate prices (in Charlottesville) combined with higher construction materials replacement costs and increasing wildfire risk, homeowners insurance cost is skyrocketing.<\/p>\n

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\n\u2026<\/a> according to S&P Global Market Intelligence\u2019s RateWatch application.<\/p>\n

Based on approved filings through Dec. 27, 2024, the national calculated weighted average effective rate increase for homeowners insurance was 10.4% last year. That uptick followed a 12.7% rise in the previous year.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In the Charlottesville area, I\u2019ve noted the frequency of properties falling within the \u201c4\u201d Wildfire Risk factor.<\/strong> \u201c4\u201d is labeled \u201cModerate\u201d which doesn\u2019t feel very safe. \u201c4\u201d is on the cusp\/borderline of the \u201c5\u201d Major wildfire risk rating. \u2026<\/p>\n

We have been wondering if the type of siding has a material impact on our homeowner\u2019s insurance cost. When I called our insurance company, they said no difference between Hardie and vinyl.<\/p>\n

I asked a friend in the insurance space for his thoughts.<\/h4>\n

\u201cThere are many factors causing insurance prices to go up.<\/p>\n

The increased cost of materials\/labor for physical damage repairs is a leading cause. A lot of homes are way undervalued and, depending on the way the policy is written (what percentage of the limit shown will be allowed to be paid out in a claim), the company will be paying out more limit than they really collected premium for. Back when I did write some standard homeowners coverage the carrier never had a total loss where the value shown on the policy was equal to or greater than the value paid out on the claim.<\/p>\n

The increased social inflation on the liability side (litigation costs and punitive damage awards) is an additional factor (less so on the personal lines side vs commercial lines).<\/p>\n

Climate change definitely will have bigger and bigger effects on the costs and availability of coverage although I think we\u2019re a little more insulated from the extremes around here.<\/p>\n

Given the sector of the market I specialize in, I cannot really speak to any specific numbers for the typical insurance buying public. If they end up coming to me (through their agent), they have bigger issues to think about.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Above-grade square footage<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There are a bunch of houses on and around Elliott Avenue in Charlottesville that have about 1600 square feet, three bedrooms, and at least one and sometimes two bathrooms. Often a client will email me asking if they can see a new listing that seems to fit their criteria.<\/p>\n

Any search tech that does not offer this as a filter is worthless to me.<\/p>\n

Once I\u2019ve worked with them a bit and I know what they\u2019re looking for, I\u2019ll often say no.<\/p>\n

Why? Because they\u2019re looking for a house with at least 1100 or 1200 above grade finished square feet, and these houses don\u2019t have that.<\/p>\n

Helping clients define and refine how<\/strong><\/em> to search for homes is a hard-learned skill.<\/p>\n

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Reimagining how we design and build cities<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Think generationally. When my wife and I travel, she lovingly suffers my taking pictures of something foreign to Americans \u2013 actual, functional infrastructure that allows for moving around without being forced into cars.<\/p>\n

Rather than devolve into a rant, I\u2019ll say this \u2014 We need to look and plan beyond the next corner, the next election, the next car or truck. Thinking about how we want our kids to live, and their kids to live, could and should lead us to think differently about how we<\/em> live, build, and grow.<\/p>\n

We\u2019d do better to slow down a little and avoid being confined and isolated in our steel cages. Besides, it\u2019s easier to smile and wave to your neighbors when you\u2019re walking or riding at their level.<\/p>\n

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Did you know?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Most real estate closings require wet signatures. Apparently, your signatures shrink 8-10% as you go through the stack of papers you need to sign, as told to me recently by an attorney during a closing.<\/p>\n

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\u2014<\/p>\n

Wins matter.<\/strong> We all need wins. My older daughter is \u201ccoaching\u201d her older son in soccer<\/a>, and my younger one texted me that \u201cyour legacy continues.\u201d<\/p>\n

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What I\u2019m Reading<\/strong><\/h4>\n