May 2022 Real Estate Transactions in Charlottesville

Another month, another summary of property transactions in Charlottesville. I’ve written about land use issues in the city and Albemarle County for many years, and this is an exercise I began doing toward the end of my time at Charlottesville Tomorrow. I wanted to better understand the finances involved with the business of land development as the Comprehensive Plan review got underway in early 2017.

Real estate is complicated, and now that I ‘m an independent journalist, I want to broaden my knowledge. The way I’ve done that for the past 17 months has been to go transaction by transaction. Each of these is an anecdote, but I’m finding it very interesting to learn what I can and share it with you.

None of this is intended to state that any trend is happening, but that sort of analysis may come in the future. The blurbs may prompt more questions than answers. This is a community that has a lot of interest in housing, especially with the next phase of the Cville Plans Together initiative getting underway this month. I’ll have details on the zoning “Diagnostic and Approach” report in the next regular newsletter.

I also want to share two questions in the back of my head as I put together this month’s installment. I don’t have answers, but I question everything.

• It has been 15 months since Council adopted an Affordable Housing Plan. Are the transactions that are happening in any way affected by the goals of the plan?
• It has been eight months since Council adopted a new Comprehensive Plan that shows the way towards more residential density. Has that document influenced any of the transactions we’ve seen since?

Some notes on the always changing process, slightly amended from the April transactions list:

• I try to always state when corporate entities take possession of a property and name the address in these cases. I’ve been doing these reports for a year and a half now, and observe there are people who know the property market very well. I’m still learning but I see patterns.
• Many times people use limited liability companies (LLC) to serve as the technical owner of a property. I will list those names, but I do not list the names of individuals and couples who purchase residential properties. However, readers should know there are many people who own multiple properties under LLC’s.
• In cases where the transaction for a residential structure is way over the assessment, I pull details from the city’s building permit database to see if any known/recorded or building-permitted investments were made by previous owners. This is not a complete review.
• Now that we are almost halfway through the year, I have included the 2021 assessment less often. I post in cases where I feel it’s interesting to note deviation.
• This time around, I am not listing the descriptions for the new Future Land Use Map categories but I always look to see if properties that have been sold at high assessments have had their designation changed so I list that when I can.
• I don’t usually list transactions that are title changes or subdivisions, except when it seems relevant. Increasingly, this is going to be relevant.
• Questions in the blurbs are not rhetorical. I would like to know the answer, but I also am one person who covers a lot of ground and can’t cover everything. I can become more efficient.

This is one of the few pieces that are sent to paid subscribers of the newsletter. It will be posted to the Information Charlottesville archive in the near future, but I do encourage you to support the work. 

May 2, 2022

• A pair of houses in the 1700 block of Jefferson Park Avenue sold for $900,000. That’s 12.04 percent over the 2021 assessment of $803,000 and 0.23 percent over the 2022 assessment of $897,900. One of the structures is a two bedroom house built in 1930 and the second is a three-story house constructed in 1915. 
• A three bedroom house in the 900 block of St. Charles Avenue in the Locust Grove neighborhood sold for $270,000, which is 35.55 percent below the 2022 assessment of $418,900. 
• A two bedroom house on Paoli Street in the 10th and Page neighborhood sold for $325,000. That’s 19.49 percent over the 2021 assessment of $272,000 and 5.69 percent over the 2022 assessment of $307,500. 
• A five-bedroom house split into two rental units sold for $352,400 That’s 28.61 percent over the 2021 assessment of $274,000 and 14.56 percent over the 2022 assessment of $307,600. 

May 3, 2022

• A six bedroom house in the 1900 block of Lewis Mountain Road in the neighborhood of the same name sold for $915,000. That’s 120.35 percent over the 2022 assessment of $415,000, but there are other things to consider. 
  The purchaser is an entity called 19181920 Lewis Mountain LLC. The previous owner was Craig Enterprises, who purchased the 0.378 acre property in August 2019 for $475,000, which at the time was 46.6 percent above the 2019 assessment. Last year, Craig Enterprises remodeled the entire interior and replaced all electrical with the work valued at $325,000. 
• A four bedroom house with a finished basement on Leonard Street in the Belmont neighborhood sold for $457,000. That’s 29.57 percent over the 2022 assessment of $352,700. An entity called S2, Inc bought the house in March 2015 at $145,000, made several renovations, and sold the house for $295,000 in January 2017. 
• A three bedroom house on Greenleaf Lane in the Barracks / Rugby neighborhood sold for $536,250. That’s 23.76 percent over the 2021 assessment of $433,000 and 8.2 percent over the 2022 assessment of $495,600. There’s also a one bedroom accessory dwelling unit on the property. 
• A three bedroom house on Moseley Avenue in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for an even $400,000. That’s 24.84 percent over the 2021 assessment of $320,400 and 13.41 percent over the 2022 assessment of $352,700. 

May 4, 2022

• A three bedroom house on Dairy Road in the Barracks / Rugby neighborhood sold for $350,000, which is 40.51 percent below the 2022 assessment of $588,300. However, this appears to be a sale within a family and this does not appear to be a fair market sale for the 0.665 acre property. 
• A four bedroom house on Augusta Street in the Barracks / Rugby neighborhood sold for $595,000 which is 19.91 percent over the 2022 assessment of $496,200. The previous owner replaced the heating, ventilation, and cooling system in 2019. 
• One half of a duplex on Prospect Avenue with three bedrooms sold for $135,000. That’s 23.9 percent below the 2022 assessment of $177,400. The previous owner was Loft Realty LLC who acquired the property in May 2019 for $80,000. 
• A four bedroom house in the 1200 block of Cherry Avenue sold twice in the same time. First, Copper Fox REI LLC purchased the property for $185,000, and then sold it to Tribe Property Solutions LLC. The second transaction is 19.09 percent below the 2022 assessment of $268,200.
  
  This property is designated Medium Residential Density in the Future Land Use Map. Did the previous owner know that at the time of the transaction? The two purchasing entities do not appear to be connected, but this is a property to watch to see what will happen next. 

May 5, 2022

• A three bedroom house on Little High Street in the Little High neighborhood sold for $405,000. That’s 29.31 percent over the 2022 assessment of $313,200. One of the bedrooms is accessible through a separate unit. 
• A three bedroom house on Stribling Avenue that sits on 0.649 acres of land in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $285,000. That’s 22.05 percent below the 2022 assessment of $365,600. This particular parcel is Medium Intensity Residential. Did the previous owner know this information when the sale was made? 

May 6, 2022

• A three bedroom house on West Avenue in the 10th and Page neighborhood sold for an even $500,000. That’s 22.16 percent above the 2022 assessment of $409,300. The previous owners purchased the house in June 2020 and made energy improvements before selling the property.           
• A two bedroom house in the 1300 block of Poplar Street in the Martha Jefferson neighborhood sold for $370,000. That’s 60.52 percent over the 2022 assessment of $201,600. This property is designated as General Residential in the Future Land Use Map, but the one right next to it is Medium Intensity Residential. Will it be possible for landowners to petition to change their Comprehensive Plan designation?
• A three bedroom house a few doors down on Poplar Street sold for $542,000. That’s 14.32 percent over the 2022 assessment of $474,100. This one is also designated as General Residential.
• A three bedroom house in the 1400 block of Grove Street sold for an even $800,000. This structure was built in 1973 and is within an area designated as Medium Intensity Residential. The 2022 assessment is $562,100. While there are no recent building permits showing up in the city’s database, realtor.com indicates major upgrades. The percentage change is 42.32 percent over the sales price. 
• A three bedroom house in the 1700 block of Yorktown Road in the Greenbrier neighborhood sold for $790,000. That’s 30.41 percent over the 2022 assessment of $605,800. This is designated as General Residential. 
• A four bedroom house in the 1500 block of Westwood Road built in 1953 sold for $490,000. That’s 6.06 percent over the 2022 assessment of $462,000 and 22.32 percent over the 2021 assessment of $400,600. This block of Westwood is designated as General Residential. 
• A three bedroom house in the 1200 block of Grove Street in the Fifeville neighborhood sold for $375,000. That’s 32.04 percent over the 2022 assessment of $284,000. 
• A three bedroom house in the 200 block of Camellia Drive in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $385,000. That’s 16.38 percent over the 2022 assessment of $330,800. 
• A home built by the Thomas Jefferson Community Land Trust on Nassau Street sold for $243,000. That’s exactly at the 2022 assessment. Perhaps that’s a condition of the sale? This is the second transaction for the property. The previous sale in February 2020 to the first homeowner was for $215,000. That was under slightly under the 2020 assessment of $221,000. The TJCLT has since become a part of the Piedmont Housing Alliance. 
• A two bedroom house in the 200 block of Palatine Avenue in the Belmont neighborhood sold for $271,190. That’s 13.75 percent over the 2022 assessment of $238,400. 
• A three bedroom house in the 800 block of Elliot Avenue in the Belmont neighborhood sold for $200,000. That’s 44.46 percent below the 2022 assessment of $360,100. 

May 9, 2022

• A three bedroom townhouse on Rainier Road sold for $415,000. That’s 11.32 percent over the 2022 assessment of $372,800. The unit was built in 2009 after Planned Unit Development rezoning known as Cherry Hill. This is the second purchase by a homeowner. The last one was in 2009 when it sold for $269,893 as new construction. 
• A two bedroom house on Hammond Street in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $436,500. That’s 10.73 percent over the 2022 assessment of $394,200, but 77.73 percent over the 2021 assessment of $245,600. The previous owner, 212 McGuffey Hill LLC, purchased the property last August and paid just below the assessment. They updated the plumbing and the electricity, and added 60 square feet to the basement. All told, that work was valued at around $5,000 according to the city’s building permit database.
• A three bedroom house on Thomson Road in the Lewis Mountain neighborhood sold for $1.415 million. That’s 91.27 percent over the 2022 assessment of $739,800. The previous owner replaced the plumbing and the electric system. This property is designated as Medium Intensity Residential and is a corner lot. 
• A three bedroom house in the 1100 block of Calhoun Street in the Locust Grove neighborhood sold for $665,000. That’s 20.65 percent over the 2021 assessment of $551,200 and 5.17 percent over the 2022 assessment of $632,300. This property is designated as Medium Intensity Residential and the lot size is 0.218 acres. 

May 10, 2022

• Two different homes right next to each other on Lewis Mountain Road each sold for $785,000. This appears to be a family sale. 
• Both sides of a duplex in the 1400 block of Hampton Street in the Belmont neighborhood sold for $450,000. That’s 15.12 percent over the 2022 assessment of $390,900. 
• A two bedroom house in the 1700 block of King Mountain Road in the Greenbrier neighborhood sold for $540,000. That’s 15.58 percent over the 2022 assessment of $467,200. 

May 11, 2022

• A three bedroom house in the 1600 block of Meridian Street in the Belmont neighborhood sold for $365,000. That’s 15.80 percent over the 2022 assessment of $315,200. 
• A 4,292 square foot warehouse in Belmont on Rosa Terrace sold for $550,000. That’s 38.71 percent over the 2022 assessment of $396,500. 
• A four bedroom house on Stratford Court in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $400,000. That’s 33.16 percent over the 2022 assessment of $300,400.
• An office building at 100 Keystone Place in the Belmont neighborhood just south of Rives Park sold for $550,000. That’s 16.09 percent below the 2022 assessment of $661,400. This parcel is zoned highway commercial. 
• A four bedroom house on Keith Valley Road in the Greenbrier neighborhood sold for $232,000. That’s well below the 2022 assessment of $808,600 and this is a sale within a family. 

May 12, 2022

• A three bedroom townhouse in the 900 block of Rives Street in the Belmont neighborhood sold for $250,000. That’s 42.45 percent over the 2022 assessment of $175,500. 
• A 1,119 square foot unit with two bedrooms in Walker Square sold for $370,000. That’s 17.65 percent over the 2022 assessment of $314,500. 
• A four bedroom unit on Morgan Court in the Huntley section of the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $549,000. That’s 6.31 percent below the 2022 assessment of $586,000 and 2.23 percent below the 2021 assessment of $537,000. 
• A two bedroom house on Forest Hills Avenue sold for $291,000. That’s 11 percent over the 2022 assessment of $262,000. The 0.172 acre property is designated as Medium Intensity Residential in the Future Land Use Map.
• A two bedroom house on Mulberry Street in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood for $325,000. That’s 17.92 percent over the 2021 assessment of $275,600 and 5.83 percent over the 2022 assessment of $307,100. 
• A 2,492 square foot unit in the Gleason Building across from Friendship Court in the North Downtown neighborhood sold for $1.35 million. That’s 8.14 percent above the 2021 assessment of $1,248,400 but 9.38 percent below the 2022 assessment of $1,489,700. 

May 13, 2022

• A three bedroom unit on Shale Place in the Willoughby neighborhood sold for $330,000. That’s 3.25 percent above the 2021 assessment and 1.73 percent below the 2022 assessment. 
• A two bedroom house on Chesapeake Street in the Woolen Mills neighborhood sold for $330,000. This 0.20 acre property is designated as Medium Intensity Residential in the Future Land Use Map. That’s 16.61 percent over the 2021 assessment of $283,000 and 3.48 percent over the 2022 assessment of $318,900. 

May 16, 2022

• A five bedroom house in the 1,000 block of Druid Avenue built in 2007 sold for $665,000. That’s 25.16 percent over the 2021 assessment of $531,300 and 5.89 percent over the 2022 assessment of $628,000. 
• A two bedroom house in the 1,000 block of St. Clair Avenue in the Locust Grove neighborhood sold for $316,000. That’s 28.77 percent over the 2022 assessment of $245,400. 
• A four bedroom house on North Berkshire Drive in the Meadows neighborhood sold for $344,000, or 3.24 percent over the 2022 assessment. 
• A three bedroom house on Rutledge Avenue in the Barracks / Rugby neighborhood sold for $779,000. That’s 11.08 percent over the 2022 assessment of $701,300. In 2021, the previous owner made several investments including new plumbing, an addition of a master bedroom, and upgrades to the kitchen and bathroom. 

May 17, 2022

• A 0.39 acre property in the 1600 block of East Market Street with a three bedroom house sold for $521,000, which is 81.66 percent over the 2022 assessment of $286,800. A building permit for new construction was applied for in February but not issued. 
• A four bedroom building on Spottswood Road in the Barracks / Rugby sold for nearly $2.84 million. That’s 98.8 percent over the 2022 assessment. The previous owner installed a new heating, ventilation, and cooling system, new plumbing, and interior renovations at a total cost of nearly half a million. 

May 18, 2022

• One half of a duplex in the 1100 block of Locust Avenue in the Locust Grove neighborhood sold for $224,000. That’s 10.56 percent over the 2021 assessment of $202,600 and 2.66 percent over the 2022 assessment of $218,200. 
• A lot in the Lochlyn Hill planned unit development sold to Arcadia Builders for $158,700. That’s slightly below the 2022 assessment of $160,000.
• A four bedroom house on Altamont Circle in the North Downtown neighborhood sold for $2.25 million. That’s 57.41 percent over the 2022 assessment of nearly $1.43 million. According to the building permit database, the structure was converted to an office from a single family house by the previous owners. The property was marketed as a home before its recent sale. 
• A four bedroom townhouse built in 2017 at the end of Longwood Drive as part of a planned unit development sold for $413,000. That’s 14.21 percent over the 2022 assessment of $361,600. 
• A 1,119 square feet unit in the Walker Square complex sold for $405,000. That’s 25.23 percent over the 2022 assessment of $323,400. 

May 19, 2022

• An 813 square foot unit in the condominium complex at 1800 Jefferson Park Avenue sold for $259,500. That’s 26.03 percent over the 2022 assessment of $205,900.  
• An entity called Clover Cottage LLC has purchased 121 Cameron Lane in the Lewis Mountain Road for $600,000. That’s 25.08 percent over the 2022 assessment of $479,700. The property last sold in July 2021 for $487,500 to Running 3 LLC. 
• A five bedroom unit in the 1000 block of Rougemont Avenue sold for $83,133, which is two-thirds below the assessed 2022 value of $249,400. This is a sale within a family.
• One half of a duplex on Riverside Drive in the Woolen Mills neighborhood sold for $266,000, which is 32.14 percent above the 2022 assessment of $201,300. 
• A five bedroom house in the 1300 block of East Market Street in the Woolen Mills neighborhood sold for $468,100. That’s 21.68 percent over the 2021 assessment of $384,700 and 8.01 percent over the 2022 assessment of $433,400. 
• A three bedroom house on Valley View Circle in the Martha Jefferson neighborhood sold for $475,000. The property last changed hands in August 2021 when Two Dog LLC purchased the home for $280,000. As I reported then, that was 2.17 percent over assessment. That company installed a second bathroom. This sale to a couple is 65.97 percent over the 2021 assessment and 4.88 percent over the 2022 assessment. 

May 20, 2022

• A two bedroom house on Plateau Road in the Johnson Village neighborhood sold for $348,000. That’s 7.71 percent over the 2021 assessment of $323,100 and 14.03 percent below the 2022 assessment of $404,800.  
• One half of a duplex on Birdwood Court in the North Downtown neighborhood with three bedrooms sold for $308,000. That’s 19.33 percent over the 2022 assessment of $227,200. 
• One half of a duplex on Brown Court in the Starr Hill neighborhood sold for $238,500. That’s 20.42 percent below the 2022 assessment of $299,700. 
• A 1,119 square foot two-bedroom unit in the Walker Square complex in Fifeville sold for $410,000. That’s 30.37 percent over the 2022 assessment of $314,500. 

May 23, 2022

• A four bedroom house on Morgan Court in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood in the Huntley Planned Unit Development sold for $636,000. That’s 15.57 percent over the 2021 assessment of $550,300 and 6.16 percent over the 2022 assessment of $599,100. 

May 24, 2022

• A five bedroom house on Center Avenue in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $395,000. That’s 24.53 percent over the 2021 assessment of $317,200 and 12.09 percent over the 2022 assessment of $352,400. The unit is currently split into two rental units.

• A three bedroom structure originally built in 1918 on 10 ½ Street in the 10th and Page neighborhood sold for $550,000. That’s 37.19 percent over the 2022 assessment of $400,900.  This is within the “Sensitive Communities” area in the Future Land Use Map that was created to try to address many of the concerns in the Affordable Housing Plan. The seller is an entity called 338 10.5 Street LLC. The previous arms-length transaction for this property was on September 11, 2012 when an individual purchased it for $90,000 from someone who had bought the house in 1996 for $75,000. That person then transferred it to the LLC. In 2012, the property was assessed at $178,200, making that transaction 49.49 percent below assessment.
• A four bedroom house on Robinson Woods in the Barracks / Rugby neighborhood sold for $880,000. That’s 25.62 percent over the 2022 assessment of $700,500.
• A four bedroom house on Old Farm Road in the Venable neighborhood sold for $1.36 million. That’s 21.16 percent over the 2022 assessment of $1,122,500. The purchaser is DGW Holdings LLC.
• An entity called 708 St. Clair Avenue LLC purchased 708 St. Clair Avenue for $385,000. That’s 13.6 percent over the 2022 assessment of $338,900. 
• A four bedroom house in the 2300 block of Greenbrier Drive sold for $475,000. That’s 26.67 percent over the 2021 assessment of $375,000 and 7.13 percent over the 2022 assessment of $443,400.  

May 25, 2022

• A three bedroom house on Linda Court in the Meadows neighborhood sold for $472,000. That’s 28.47 percent over the 2022 assessment of $367,400. This property is at the end of a cul-de-sac right on the Albemarle County Board and is 0.669 acres. 
• A 1,321 square foot unit in the Gleason building in North Downtown sold for just over $1.1 million. That’s 39.51 percent over the 2022 assessment. 

May 26, 2022

• A 700 square foot unit in the Barringer building on Monroe Lane sold for $335,000. The Barringer is a privately owned condominium otherwise surrounding by buildings owned by the University of Virginia. This transaction is 25.33 percent over the 2021 assessment of $267,300 and 3.52 percent over the 2022 assessment of $323,600. 

May 27, 2022

• A three bedroom house on Huntley Avenue in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $465,000. That’s 10.06 percent below the 2022 assessment of $517,000.
• A three bedroom house on Tarleton Drive in the Greenbrier neighborhood sold for $464,000. That’s 12.4 percent over the 2022 assessment of $412,800.  
• A three bedroom house on St. Charles Court sold for $635,000. That’s 31.99 percent over the 2022 assessment of $481,100. This structure was built in 2007 as part of an atypical Planned Unit Development, according to the staff report of an October 22, 2013 Planning Commission meeting. 
• A house built in 2016 in the 1400 block of Avon Street as part of the Belmont Cottages sold for $405,000. That’s 12.81 percent over the 2022 assessment of $359,000. 
• One half of a duplex on Lodge Creek Circle in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $367,000. That’s 26.99 percent over the 2022 assessment of $289,000. 
• A three bedroom townhouse on Brookwood Drive in the Ridge Street neighborhood sold for $515,000. That’s 18.77 percent over the 2022 assessment of $433,600. 

May 31, 2022

• Aspiring Developments LLC is the new owner of 909 Altavista Avenue. The entity is registered to an address in Louisa County and they paid 35.98 percent below the 2022 assessment of $374,900. What’s different about this transaction? How did they manage that? 915 Altavista Avenue is currently listed at $335,000 as of this posting.  
• First Chair Investments LLC is the new owner of 1503 Vine Street in the Belmont neighborhood. They paid $200,000, which is 0.79 percent below the 2022 assessment of $201,600. 
• A two bedroom house on Chesapeake Street in the Woolen Mills neighborhood sold for $240,000. That’s 8.65 percent over the 2021 assessment of $220,900 and 4.8 percent below the 2022 assessment of $252,100.
• A three bedroom house on St. Charles Court in the Locust Grove neighborhood sold for $476,000. That’s 11.82 percent over the 2022 assessment of $425,700. 
• A four bedroom house on Brookwood Drive in the Ridge Street neighborhood sold for $510,000. That’s 11.31 percent over the 2022 assessment of $458,200.