Two stories that will lead the stories of the 2025 Charlottesville real estate market:<\/h2>\n\n- Inventory will increase in the Charlottesville \u2013 Albemarle markets<\/li>\n
- Homeowners insurance will become a greater part of the Charlottesville real estate market conversation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
What follows is hopefully an articulation of the \u201cwhy\u201d I think housing inventory will rise in the Charlottesville area, and why I see homeowners insurance as a major factor; what really matters to me are two things \u2013 I want my clients to understand the context of these factors, and I want them understand that these things are important aspects of the Charlottesville market in 2025. For my clients making decisions, the \u201cwhy\u201d is less relevant than the fact that these things affect them.<\/strong><\/p>\nA national perspective that I suspect will translate to the Charlottesville market \u2013 \u201cRising inventory is the most positive housing market story in 2024\u201d<\/a><\/p>\nThe most positive development in the housing market<\/a> over 2024 has been the increase in active housing inventory<\/a>, which is approaching the levels seen in 2019. Although those 2019 levels represent a five-decade low before COVID-19, the market was still functioning better than it did from 2020 to 2023.<\/em><\/p>\nYour Home-Insurance Bill Has Only One Way to Go: Up<\/a><\/p>\nFor tens of millions of Americans, home insurance will never be the same, insurers and analysts say.<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cI don\u2019t expect the property market to soften any time soon,\u201d Mario Greco, chief executive of Zurich Insurance, said. \u201cNobody is ready to bet on a different weather pattern.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nBehind the crisis: Climate change is making the weather worse, scientists and insurers say. But that is only part of the story. A bigger driver of the record underwriting losses roiling home-insurance markets in many states: the propensity to build in disaster-prone areas.<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019re just putting more things to break where the weather is,\u201d said Neil Alldredge, chief executive of industry body the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. \u201cIf you were a dictator and wanted to move your population to all the most dangerous places, you couldn\u2019t do a better job than we\u2019ve done to ourselves.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nInsured losses from U.S. storms have grown 8% a year for more than a decade<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\nThe Charlottesville lens on inventory and insurance<\/h3>\n
I think we are going to see more houses on the market in the Charlottesville area in 2025.<\/p>\n
\n- Sellers are finally ready sell, and are going to come to terms with interest rates in the 6s and 7s.\n<\/li>\n
- Four guesses on inventory<\/strong>\n
\n- Me \u2013 up ~7%<\/strong><\/li>\n
- HousingWire \u2013 up 13%<\/a><\/li>\n
- Bright MLS (which covers much of Central Virginia and north) \u2013 up 12.8<\/li>\n
- Realtor.com \u2013 up 11.7%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- One of the greatest challenges in this market will be for the good<\/strong><\/em><\/a> real estate agents to explain and educate to both buyer and seller clients what more inventory means.\n
\n- Sellers<\/strong> who have watched the market only increase seemingly exponentially will have to shift from a \u201cI want or need to clear X\u201d to \u201cwhat does the data say my home is worth? That price anchor you have in mind<\/a> may not be what your home is actually worth.<\/li>\n
- Buyers<\/strong> who have watched from the sidelines waiting for a \u201ccorrection\u201d and those who have participated in the market \u2013 and either won, lost, or feel like they won by a bidding war by losing may find that they have more power in this market. Or not; I\u2019m making my educated guess, too.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"active](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.realcentralva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Screenshot-2025-01-02-at-13.04.58.png?resize=450%2C295\")
<\/a>active housing inventory for sale in the US \u2013 chart thanks to ResiClub<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\nHomeowners Insurance<\/h3>\n
I have been writing for many years about homeowners insurance and the Charlottesville market. 2025 is going to be the year that we see homeowners insurance become a much more significant part of offers, contracts, negotiations, and awareness. I suspect we will see:<\/p>\n
\n- Some Buyers may unable to qualify for homeowners insurance because of the house\u2019s CLUE report (basically a CarFax report on a house)<\/a> + the buyer\u2019s credit history.<\/li>\n
- Some Sellers may face difficulty selling because to their home\u2019s claims history, and may have to incentivize buyers \u2014 eg pay two or three years\u2019 premiums in advance.<\/em><\/li>\n
- Some homeowners may need to replace roofs prior to them actually \u201cneeding\u201d to be replaced because the insurance company says so.<\/li>\n
- A combination of the above + something I\u2019ve not yet experienced.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Related from the Washington Post<\/a> \u2013 Insuring your home has never been harder. Here\u2019s how to do it.<\/a><\/p>\nFor the past several offers and contracts, representing buyers and sellers, I have successfully included the Homeowners Insurance Addendum;<\/a> here\u2019s hoping more Realtors take this step.<\/strong><\/p>\n
What follows is hopefully an articulation of the \u201cwhy\u201d I think housing inventory will rise in the Charlottesville area, and why I see homeowners insurance as a major factor; what really matters to me are two things \u2013 I want my clients to understand the context of these factors, and I want them understand that these things are important aspects of the Charlottesville market in 2025. For my clients making decisions, the \u201cwhy\u201d is less relevant than the fact that these things affect them.<\/strong><\/p>\n A national perspective that I suspect will translate to the Charlottesville market \u2013 \u201cRising inventory is the most positive housing market story in 2024\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n The most positive development in the housing market<\/a> over 2024 has been the increase in active housing inventory<\/a>, which is approaching the levels seen in 2019. Although those 2019 levels represent a five-decade low before COVID-19, the market was still functioning better than it did from 2020 to 2023.<\/em><\/p>\n Your Home-Insurance Bill Has Only One Way to Go: Up<\/a><\/p>\n For tens of millions of Americans, home insurance will never be the same, insurers and analysts say.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t expect the property market to soften any time soon,\u201d Mario Greco, chief executive of Zurich Insurance, said. \u201cNobody is ready to bet on a different weather pattern.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Behind the crisis: Climate change is making the weather worse, scientists and insurers say. But that is only part of the story. A bigger driver of the record underwriting losses roiling home-insurance markets in many states: the propensity to build in disaster-prone areas.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re just putting more things to break where the weather is,\u201d said Neil Alldredge, chief executive of industry body the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. \u201cIf you were a dictator and wanted to move your population to all the most dangerous places, you couldn\u2019t do a better job than we\u2019ve done to ourselves.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Insured losses from U.S. storms have grown 8% a year for more than a decade<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n I think we are going to see more houses on the market in the Charlottesville area in 2025.<\/p>\n I have been writing for many years about homeowners insurance and the Charlottesville market. 2025 is going to be the year that we see homeowners insurance become a much more significant part of offers, contracts, negotiations, and awareness. I suspect we will see:<\/p>\n Related from the Washington Post<\/a> \u2013 Insuring your home has never been harder. Here\u2019s how to do it.<\/a><\/p>\n For the past several offers and contracts, representing buyers and sellers, I have successfully included the Homeowners Insurance Addendum;<\/a> here\u2019s hoping more Realtors take this step.<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Charlottesville lens on inventory and insurance<\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Homeowners Insurance<\/h3>\n
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