This is the first month of anecdotal real estate transactions in Charlottesville from the second quarter of 2023. The first quarter was quite slow, according to data compiled by the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors.
I do this work each month to try to capture a sense of the market in the time before the new zoning code goes into place. A lot of statements are made about what is definitely happening and I began this work in January 2021 because I thought it was worth checking it out some of the claims.
Unfortunately, I lack the bandwidth to offer trends, but the 28 installments so far are an anecdotal history of what is happening. There are specific properties I am tracking to see what happens and sharing my work with the community is a way of hopefully adding nuance and complexity to the conversation.
Here are some of the basic questions that fuels the research::
- Since the Charlottesville City Council adopted an affordable housing plan in March 2021, what actual steps have been taken to protect from displacement in areas marked as Sensitive Communities? (view the plan)
- How accurate have the real property assessments from 2022 and 2023 in capturing the market?
- Are private investors actually buying up single family homes in Charlottesville?
- Is the future zoning enough to cause speculative purchases?
I don’t know the answers but together we can learn a lot more.
This is work that goes out first to paid subscribers but is then posted here on Information Charlottesville. I do this work for anyone who wants to see what actually happens as opposed to what people with ideological positions insist will happen.
To actually accomplish policy outcomes takes effort and teamwork. Do we actually have that in this community, or is so much of what we hear just a pointless slugfest intended to score points in a game of egos?
Either way, the sale of real property represents a lot of things to a lot of people. So let’s get on with the very sparse details for April 2023.
April 3, 2023
- A two bedroom house on Lexington Avenue in the Martha Jefferson neighborhood sold for $470,000. That’s 34.39 percent below the 2023 assessment of $716,300. (Residential-B, 0.2 acres)
April 4, 2023
- A home in the 200 block of Palatine Avenue in the Belmont neighborhood renovated by the LLC that last owned it sold for $459,000. That’s 70.32 percent over the 2023 assessment of $269,500. JDL Holdings LLC bought it for $278,200 in June 2022 and replaced the plumbing and interior walls in addition to other upgrades. (Residential-A, 0.179 acres)
- A three bedroom house built in 1925 in the 1600 block of East Market in the Woolen Mills neighborhood sold for $530,000. That’s 24.71 percent over the 2023 assessment of $425,000. (Residential-A, 0.225 acres)
- A two bedroom house in the 1300 block of Chesapeake Street in the Woolen Mills neighborhood sold for $495,000. That’s 22.43 percent over the 2023 assessment of $404,300. A firm called Lookout Ventures LLC purchased the property and a lot next door in October 2021 for $465,000 and made several renovations. They sold the vacant lot for $155,000 in April 2022. (Residential-A, 0.172 acres)
- A three bedroom house on the cul-de-sac of St. James Circle in the Martha Jefferson neighborhood sold for $569,000. That’s 33.57 percent over the 2022 assessment of $426,000 and 9.93 percent over the 2023 assessment of $517,600. (Residential-A, 0.23 acres)
April 6, 2023
- A four bedroom house in the 1600 block of Yorktown Drive in the Greenbrier neighborhood sold for $350,000. That’s 36.51 percent below the 2023 assessment of $551,300. This is a rare property with an assessment that decreased. The 2022 assessment was $609,400. (Residential-B, 0.617 acres)
April 7, 2023
- A three bedroom house in the 900 block of Elliott Avenue in the Belmont neighborhood sold for $580,000. That’s 16.98 percent above the 2023 assessment of $495,800. A previous owner made significant renovations in 2019 but these were not reflected in the assessment until this year. The structure was originally built in 1988. (Residential-B, 0.139 acres)
- A three bedroom house on River Vista Avenue in the Locust Grove neighborhood sold for $420,000. That’s 11.82 percent over the 2022 assessment of $375,600 and 2.84 percent over the 2023 assessment of $408,400. (Residential-A, 0.121 acres)
April 11, 2023
- A three bedroom house built in 1925 in the 1000 block of Monticello Road sold for $692,500. That’s 45.54 percent above the 2023 assessment of $475,800. The house was remodeled extensively in 2008. This property is being up-zoned quite extensively under the draft zoning. (Corridor Mixed 3, 0.173 acres)
- A four bedroom house built in 1925 in the 800 block of Locust Avenue sold for $1.3 million. That’s 12.76 percent above the 2023 assessment of $1,115,290. (Residential-A, 0.891 acres)
April 12, 2023
- A four bedroom house on Rugby Avenue sold for $550,000. That’s 13.78 percent over the 2022 assessment of $483,400 and 0.4 percent over the 2023 assessment of $547,800. (Residential-B, 0.19 acres)
April 14, 2023
- A two bedroom house on Nalle Street in Fifeville sold for $563,000. That’s 51.59 percent over the 2022 assessment of $371,400 and 22.13 percent over the 2023 assessment of $461,000. This is also one of the areas designated as a “Sensitive Community” in the new Future Land Use Map. The second module of the draft zoning has a separate section on what should happen in these areas to stop displacement, but the market has spoken for years about what does happen. (Residential-A, 0.128 acres)
- A 1,140 square foot unit in the McGuffey Hill condominiums sold for $450,000. That’s 12.53 percent over the 2022 assessment of $399,900 and 4.34 percent over the 2023 assessment of $431,300. (Corridor Mixed 8, N/A)
- A three bedroom house in the 1400 block of Monticello Road built in 1964 sold for $463,000. That’s 69.72 percent over the 2023 assessment of $272,800. The previous owner installed a new bathroom. (Residential-C, 0.18 acres)
- A newly-built four bedroom house on Rialto Street in Belmont constructed as part of the Rialto Beach Planned Unit Development sold for $628,000. The lot had been assessed at $137,500 this year. (Residential-A, 0.05 acres)
April 17, 2023
- A three bedroom house on North Avenue in the North Downtown neighborhood sold for $526,000. That’s 1.08 percent over the 2022 assessment of $520,400 and 1.42 percent over the 2023 assessment of $533,600. (Residential-A, 0.257 acres)
April 18, 2023
- A two bedroom house in the 1500 block of Cherry Avenue in the Johnson Village sold for $435,000. That’s 41.1 percent over the 2023 assessment of $308,300. (Residential-B, 0.207 acres)
- A four bedroom house in the 500 block of Moseley Drive in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $502,000. That’s 15.4 percent over the 2022 assessment of $435,000 and 6.58 percent over the 2023 assessment of $471,000. (Residential-A, 0.187 acres)
- A three bedroom house built in 1954 on Fendall Avenue in the Venable neighborhood sold for $945,750. That’s 14.83 percent over the 2022 assessment of $823,600 and 1.81 percent over the 2023 assessment of $928,900. (Residential-A, 0.25 acres)
April 19, 2023
- A 700 square foot one-bedroom apartment on Monroe Lane by the University of Virginia Hospital sold for $407,000. The assessment increased from $266,900 in 2021 to $398,000 in 2023. The sales price is 2.26 percent over the 2023 assessment for this Jefferson Park Avenue neighborhood property. This building is one of the last remaining parcels in this part of town not owned by UVA. (Corridor Mixed-Use, N/A)
- LMD Properties LLC has purchased a vacant lot at 920 Woodfolk Avenue in the Ridge Street neighborhood for $54,000. That’s 33.33 percent over the 2023 assessment of $40,500. The company also owns the vacant lot next door. LMD Properties also owns 922 Raymond Road, an adjacent property. What are their plans? (Residential-A, 0.172 acres)
- How much did LMD Properties pay for 922 Raymond Road? $150,000, which is 49.03 percent below the 2023 assessment of $294,300. (Residential-A, 0.9 acres)
- A three bedroom house in the 800 block of Ridge Street in the Ridge Street neighborhood sold for $203,500. That’s 33.43 percent below the 2023 assessment of $305,700. What will the new property owner do with the site which is in a Sensitive Community. (Residential-A, 0.27 acres)
- A two bedroom house on Meriwether Street in the Little High Street neighborhood sold for $415,000. That’s 18.57 percent above the 2022 assessment of $350,000 and 4.14 percent above the 2023 assessment of $398,500. (Residential-A, 0.27 acres)
April 20, 2023
- A three bedroom house on Rialto Street built in 2020 as part of the Rialto Beach Planned Unit Development sold for $625,000. That’s 14.16 percent over the 2023 assessment of $547,500. (Residential-A, 0.06 acres)
April 21, 2023
- A one bedroom apartment with 729 square feet of living space sold for $295,000. That’s 16.23 percent over the 2023 assessment of $253,800. (Residential Mixed-Use 5, N/A)
- A five bedroom house built in 1960 on a large property at 212 Raymond Avenue in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood sold for $800,000. That’s 9.02 percent over the 2023 assessment of $733,800. (Residential-A, 1.84 acres)
April 24, 2023
- A two bedroom house built in 1925 in the 900 block of Page Street sold for $290,000. That’s 51.75 percent above the 2023 assessment of $191,100. This is in the Sensitive Communities area. (Residential-A, 0.115 acres)
- A two bedroom house built in 1933 in the 500 block of Meade Avenue sold for $395,000. That’s 14.86 percent over the 2023 assessment of $343,900. (Residential-B, 0.172 acres)
- An entity called JLM Homes purchased one half of a duplex on Bailey Road in the Orangedale section of the Fifeville neighborhood sold for $152,000. That’s 14.12 percent below the 2023 assessment of $177,000. This property is in a Sensitive Communities area and the seller is Charles L. Barbour, the first Black mayor of Charlottesville. (Residential-A, 0.16 acres)
April 25, 2023
- A one bedroom house on Minor Road in the Lewis Mountain neighborhood sold for $826,000. That’s 45.94 percent over the 2023 assessment of $566,000. (Residential-A, 0.2 acres)
April 26, 2023
- A four bedroom house on North Berkshire Road in the Meadows neighborhood sold for $267,100. That’s 30.12 percent below the 2023 assessment of $382,200. (Residential-A, 0.362 acres)
April 27, 2023
- A newly constructed house on Lochlyn Hill Drive sold for $919,668. According to Realtor.com, there are six bedrooms and four and a half baths. (Residential-A, 0.144 acres)
- A four bedroom house on King Mountain Road in the Greenbrier neighborhood sold for $880,000. That’s 42.26 percent over the 2023 assessment of $618,600. (Residential-A, 0.402 acres)
April 28, 2023
- A two bedroom condominium in the McGuffey Hill complex sold for $749,000. That’s 21.08 percent over the 2023 assessment of $618,600. (Commercial Mixed 8, N/A)
- A three bedroom house on Concord Drive in the Greenbrier neighborhood sold for $1,052,000. That’s 21.62 percent over the 2023 assessment of $865,000. (Residential-B, 0.436 acres)
- A five bedroom house built on Meadowbrook Road in the Barracks / Rugby neighborhood sold for $970,000. That’s 2.73 percent over the 2022 assessment of $944,200 and 4.82 percent below the 2023 assessment of $1,019,100. (Residential-A, 0.756 acres)
- A four bedroom house on Watson Avenue in the Locust Grove neighborhood sold for $510,000. That’s 31.71 percent over the 2023 assessment of $387,200. (Residential-B, 0.307 acres)
- A three bedroom house built in 1963 at 608 Elizabeth Avenue sold for $385,000. That’s 13.7 percent above the 2023 assessment of $338,600. (Residential-A, 0.176 acres)
- A four bedroom duplex in the 800 block of Ridge Street sold for $350,000. That’s 40.17 percent over the 2023 assessment of $249,700. (Residential-A, 0.134 acres)
- A three bedroom house built in 2013 as part of the Huntley Planned Unit Development sold for $597,000. That’s 8.37 percent over the 2023 assessment of $550,900. (Residential-A, 0.099 acres)
- A two bedroom house built in 1965 in the 900 block of Rougemont Avenue sold for $325,000. That’s 22.23 percent over the 2023 assessment of $265,900. The new owner is Nappa Properties LLC. (Residential-A, 0.139 acres)
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