If there’s no business like snow business, then there’s no real estate like snow real estate. Or, as the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors‘ first quarter report for 2010 puts it: "It is impossible to quantify how much the record snow fall hurt real estate sales in the first quarter, but there is little doubt that it was a significant impact."
Ah, but that doesn’t keep CAAR from trying to quantify. According to the report,median home prices followed the same path as last year, dropping roughly $20,000 compared to the $21,500 drop that greeted the first quarter of 2009. And while home sales were up by 4.3 percent (436, compared to 418 during the same period in 2009), the City of Charlottesville brought down the overall average, posting 51 residential sales compared to 69 during the beginning of 2009. Albemarle County saw a 13 percent increase in sales, while Nelson more than doubled its deals, from 21 sales in the first quarter of 2009 to 43 this quarter.
CAAR reports 3,353 houses currently on the market, compared to 3,608 at the same time last year, but keeps from jumping to conclusions. "There are many variables in the marketplace—excess inventory, foreclosures, short sale, and financing issues—that affect the length of time a property is on the market."
The only sure-fire way to move your manor quickly? "Price it correctly," says CAAR. A total 903 of the 3,000+ homes are listed at prices of $200,000 or less, and spend an average of 145 days on the market. Homes listed at $1 million or more spend an average 240 days on the market.
