The Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority will hold a public information session on June 21 regarding the proposed use of chloramines as a secondary water disinfectant in the urban water supply starting in 2014.

I’m just starting my research on chloramines and don’t know enough yet to make an informed decision (one of the reasons I’m writing this post – to force myself to read and research chloramines. I know my clients will be interested; drinking water contributes to quality of life, and “quality of life” is one of the most important reasons people move to and stay in Charlottesville-Albemarle.

- Chloramine in Charlottesville: Questions and Chemistry
- Help keep our community water resources safe. Stop chloramine.
- Debate Over Disinfecting Our Water – Chlorine or Chloramine?
- RWSA’s decision to disinfect water with chloramine raises concern amongst city residents
- RWSA Defends Switch from Chlorine to Chloramines

The EPA says that chloramines are safe, unless you’re a fish or plumbing.

Other concerns with chloramines in drinking water

Chloramines, like chlorine, are toxic to fish and amphibians at levels used for drinking water. Unlike chlorine, chloramines do not rapidly dissipate on standing. Neither do they dissipate by boiling. Fish owners must neutralize or remove chloramines from water used in aquariums or ponds. Treatment products are readily available at aquarium supply stores. Chloramines react with certain types of rubber hoses and gaskets, such as those on washing machines and hot water heaters. Black or greasy particles may appear as these materials degrade. Replacement materials are commonly available at hardware and plumber supply stores.

What types of rubber hoses and gaskets?

Drinking water is relatively cheap in Charlottesville and Albemarle (pdf):

Metered Consumption
Residential and All Irrigation Water Rates:
Level 1 (0-3,000 gallons per month) $ 3.31 per thousand gallons
Level 2 (3,001-6,000 gallons per month) $ 6.62 per thousand gallons
Level 3 (over 6,000 gallons per month) $ 9.93 per thousand gallons
Level 4 (over 9,000 gallons per month) $13.24 per thousand gallons

How much would these rates increase if they were to choose the carbon filtration system instead of adding chloramines?

Chlormines in Charlottesville’s drinking water are yet another reason to live in Crozet:

Starting in 2014, the RWSA intends to replace chlorine with chloramines as the second step in the water treatment process, a project with capital costs of $5 million. The water treatment plants in Crozet and Scottsville, however, are recommended to receive a carbon filtration system with continued use of chlorine.

Chloramine however is different. It is the result of mixing chlorine with ammonia. Have you ever read the label on a bottle of bleach or ammonia? The directions carry a prominent warning not to mix these two chemicals together. The result is a dangerous chemical called monochloramine that is a form of nerve gas, and besides being toxic, is very irritating to the skin and mucous membranes.
 

So if monochloramine is so dangerous, why is it added to drinking water? One reason is that it is added in very small amounts. While it is not as effective as chlorination, the chemical DOES NOT dissipate from water. Because there is less chlorine present, chloramines have a lower potential to form carcinogenic by-products – or so we were told.

But hey, we trust the EPA. Right?

If you want a well dug, contact me; I know a great company in Charlottesville.

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- Days on Market (an inherently flawed data point, yet still relevant trend) are down in Charlottesville, Albemarle and Fluvanna.

- Average Sales prices are down (not surprising)

- Total sales across the MSA are down (not surprising)

- Total inventory is down. (this may not be a good thing, but so far this year, it has been perceived as good in Charlottesville) see: Reason & Matrix  

Thoughts/initial conclusions:

- More buyers are looking to be closer in/closer to stuff

- Good properties are selling and selling quickly

- Interest rates remain low – a good thing for buyers.

- I think we may have pulled the spring market forward a bit; the early spring may have pulled transactions into the earlier months of the year.

Dead simple Takeaways:

- Buyers: do your due diligence, don’t let emotion enter the equation and make sound, rationale decisions with the intent of holding the property for at least five to seven years

- Sellers: do your due diligence and realize that buyers most often don’t have to buy, but want to buy – it’s your job to make them want to buy your house. This means: price, presentation, perfection … and a great location and setting.

Download the April 2012 Nest Report

Nest Report – Charlottesville Real Estate Market Report for 12 April 2012

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In the years since I wrote that article, traffic hasn’t gotten any more tolerable and the City and County continue to demonstrate an astonishing capability to do nothing … expensively. (see: Places 29)

That said:

One of the most important things to note to those moving to Charlottesville is that the region is becoming more and more segmented – if you live in the 29 North area, there’s usually little reason to leave 29 North except for work … same with Crozet, Pantops, City of Charlottesville, etc. Urban Cores matter.

But … if you live and work in the City of Charlottesville or the urban ring (or really, any part of) Albemarle County, your commute is likely to be not beyond 25 or 30 minutes. The following infographic* shows some useful data points about the value of a short commute.

For now, I’d like to think that the Charlottesville area offers a reasonably high quality of life, and the commuting isn’t that bad.

Five years from now … we’ll see.

** I’m baffled/infuriated that with all the information the US Census gathers, they no longer seem to (or I can’t find) publish the County-to-County worker information.

* I dislike infographics for at least one reason: many/most of them don’t offer hyperlinks back to their sources.

Created by: CollegeAtHome.com

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We need local news reporting; here’s hoping the Berkshire Hathaway purchase provides better local news writing and reporting by the DP.

For those of you interested in the residential real estate market, today’s interest rates (~4%) look pretty good in comparison, don’t they?

The $400 million first lien term loan will have an interest rate of 10.5 percent, which could step down to 9 percent if total leverage were to reach 3.50x. The new loan will be issued at a discount of 11.5 percent and is secured pari passu with the company’s existing 11-3/4 percent senior secured notes due 2017. The closing date of the new credit agreement is expected to be no later than May 24. The existing term loan in the amount of approximately $364 million will be fully repaid the same day the new credit agreement becomes effective. Media General now expects total cash interest expense in 2012 will be approximately $67 million. Total interest expense, including non-cash amortization of issue discount, new issuance fees, and the warrants, is expected to be $80 million in 2012.

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Personally, local matters. We do our best to shop local, eat local, stay local, participate locally …

Charlottesville has seemingly been a leader in the locavore movement (see: Forbes and Tom Tom’s Locavore Expo for starters) and it’s been interesting and fun to watch and participate in the “I really want to know where my food is coming from and from whom” evolution. See: Buy Fresh Buy Local.

Does local mean: only local money and people? What if you grow and franchise? Are you now less local?

To what other industries does the demand for “local” extend?

Related reading:

One of my new favorite things is the NPR + TED conversations, this one being especially interesting and pertinent:

“Food. Where does it come from, and what impact does it have on culture and the world around us?” How does Food Shape Cities?

* there is also a useful reminder in the conversation that 1) you’re never anonymous on the internets and 2) be honest.

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- Evan Cooper, Director of Digital Strategy, Red Light Management

- Tobias Dengel, CEO Willow Tree

- Marijean Jaggers, President of Jaggers Communication

- Ryan Derose, founder of VibeThink

The conversation is worth listening to – from their insights about attracting talent to Charlottesville, to the authenticity of Charlottesville to the future of the mobile web (hint:it’s huge)

Charlottesville Tomorrow was kind enough to document, photograph and record the whole thing. If you have 45 minutes, have a listen.

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But … the author seems to have had a bad experience with a real estate agent that must have precipitated his rant. (try as I might, I cannot find the author’s name on the post, otherwise, I’d ask)

I almost stopped reading when I read that one of his sources for proof was Glengarry Glen Ross. But where’s the fun in not reading a rant?

I’ll be the first to tell you that there are too many unqualified real estate agents practicing real estate. I’ll also be the first to argue that those professional agents who truly represent their clients’ best interests are often underpaid.

Stepping through some of the author’s arguments:

“Agents routinely tell buyers not to worry about the fat commission because “the seller pays it.””

No. A lot of agents might, but I have no idea; my role is to represent my clients, not know what other agents say to their customers and clients. But … I think assuming the consumer is stupid is the wrong approach. Buyers (and sellers) know that nothing is free.

Read: Who Pays the Buyer Broker Fee? or A Call for an End to Cooperative Compensation. or The Wall Street Journal Gets it Right on commissions.

“In most areas a few big brokers handle most transactions.” Partly true.

From 1 January 2011 to 1 May 2012 in the Charlottesville MSA + Louisa:

- There were 3051 closed transaction in the Charlottesville MLS.
- The top 10 firms accounted for nearly 70% of the sides; a “side” being either the “buyer representation” or “seller representation” side of the transaction
- About 120 firms accounted for the remaining 30% of sides. That sounds like competition to me. (*of course, ~60 of those firms did between .5 and 5 sides)

“Buyers’ agents have an incentive only to show their clients homes whose sellers offer them a standard 3% commission.”

Partly true. This is one of the reasons I negotiate my fee with my buyer clients first; I don’t want my fee to be determined by the opposing party – it’s not right and leads to suspicions of collusion.

Read: When does a “Buyers Agent” earn his compensation? or Steering Buyers Agents

“To solve this problem, many sellers’ agents offer to cut their own fee while still offering the full price to the buyer’s agent. Alas, word soon spreads that they are giving rebates. That makes many buyers’ agents steer their clients elsewhere …”

This is one of the most absurd statements I have read; why do I care what a seller is paying their representative? I’d like to see documented facts for this rather than a speculative stab in the dark.

Some reasons the internet is not going to marginalize all segments of the real estate profession:

- Until the compensation landscape changes to where consumers are willing to pay their agents out of pocket, nothing will change.
- Not all questions have google-able answers.
- Buying a house is still complex and trying; a lot of buyers and sellers need guidance and advice. I’d say that for most of my clients, the guidance, advice and service wavers between valuable and invaluable.
- The MLS is owned and operated by Realtors; it’s neither a public service or nor right to have access to it. – Every state and locality has a different real estate market, environment, customs and practices – experts matter. Example for those in the Charlottesville area: Do you know what a 3/4 bathroom is? Other markets seem to have them; we don’t. Know what a FROG is? (hint: finished room over a garage, aka: “bonus room.”
- Most consumers buy or sell real estate every 5-10 years; the market changes seemingly every month. If you’re not doing this (real estate) every single day, you’re not going to have the necessary expertise to represent your client or yourself adequately

Related Reading -

- 2008 when the Wharton School of Business published a deliciously misinformed post blaming Realtors for the subprime crisis
- And Wharton’s initial post and my rebuttal post
- Freakonomics take on realtors – in 2008 and in 2007 where they raised the question: How much is a Realtor worth?

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This is an excellent article from Bicycling magazine that describes the impediments presented to those who try to ride bikes to school; a few choice quotes –

Childhood obesity rates are soaring, youth participation in sports and other active pursuits is plummeting, and a generation is coming of age with little understanding of the joy and freedom of unsupervised play. There’s a simple solution—but all across the nation our schools earn a failing grade when it comes to letting kids ride their bikes.

…

The team leader for the CDC’s Healthy Community Design Initiative, Arthur Wendel, is charged with altering the design of cities and towns to improve public health. No dogmatic evangelist, he acknowledges that cycling can be hazardous; he brings up, for example, a 2002 report by the Transportation Research Board (a collaboration between the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine) titled “The Relative Risks of School Travel.” This report showed that the highest number of fatalities and injuries occurring on the way to school are among teenagers who drive themselves in cars—but after that, the second most come from bicycling. Still, he contends that the takeaway message shouldn’t be that kids should neither drive nor bike. It’s “that all forms of transportation carry some risk of injury, but only a few have health benefits. Bicycling is one.”
…
Schoolwise, this might be referred to as the Maple Avenue Mind-Set: passive acceptance of a status quo that promotes not only pollution and disease but also the lesson that children (who grow up to be citizens—and parents) are helpless. Amid this grand civic failure, the chief cause for encouragement comes from individuals who refuse to give in: the Marinos, Olsons, Skenazys, and Robinsons who prioritize fresh air and exploration and exercise, the powers-that-be be damned.

My favorite line is this:

“We’re not going to back down,” Janette said, declaring that she and Adam wouldn’t stop riding “unless you tell the other parents not to drive their kids.”

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I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description ["hard-core pornography"]; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that. [Emphasis added.]

—Justice Potter Stewart, concurring opinion in Jacobellis v. Ohio 378 U.S. 184 (1964), regarding possible obscenity in The Lovers.

How will the “recovery” be defined? Is now the time to buy? (or sell?)

First, we’ll know by hindsight. When we have the luxury and the benefit of 12 to 24 months of looking back, we’ll be able to tell.

Transactions – volume of transactions – what is normal volume of sales transactions in the Charlottesville MSA? I don’t know; homeownership rates are declining. Last year, 1755 single family homes sold in the Charlottesville MSA (including Louisa). In 2002, 2479 single family homes sold. I’d put the “sustainable” rate of single family home sales somewhere in between those two numbers.

Price – stability or appreciation showing themselves

Foreclosures and short sales – fewer than today to none.

Shadow inventory – known and dispensed with; no longer a question of uncertainty.

So … is the housing market in Charlottesville recovering?

Calculated Risk says:

The debate is now about the strength of the recovery, not whether there is a recovery. My view is housing will remain sluggish for some time, and I expect 2012 to be another historically weak year, but better than 2011.

Maybe.

Consider this snapshot, from which I’m trying to :

In Charlottesville and Albemarle:

- 107 homes went under contract between 15 April and 1 May 2011. 64 of those were single family. 23 were attached.

- 144 homes went under contract between 15 April and 1 May 2012 – a 26% increase! – 92 (30% more) were single family. 23 were attached.

In the Charlottesville MSA (Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson):

- 156 homes went under contract between 15 April and 1 May 2011. 109 (70%) were single family.

- 186 homes went under contract between 15 April and 1 May 2012. 132 (71%) of those were single family.

That sure looks like we’re on the path to recovery, right?

In the MSA in the above timeframe, 22 of those contracts in 2011 were either short sales or foreclosures (6 & 16, respectively). In 2012, 19 of those were short sales or foreclosures (8 & 11, respectively). “A 14% decline in distressed contracts!” surely is a better headline than “3“, right?

It’s too early to tell with respect to foreclosures/short sales/distressed sales

My personal favorite:

“When will U.S. house prices recover? Likely never. But that’s no reason not to buy.” and believe it or not, the article reaches some salient conclusions, echoed by many if not most of my recent buyer clients’ decisions -

That’s why prospective buyers should stop focusing on the vague hope that house prices will jump from here and focus instead on the functional value houses provide for the money. In most markets, they provide enough of that to make buying a good deal.

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Cville Bike Lab is one of those “makes Charlottesville a better place” things.

If you have just under five minutes to spare, watch Spencer describe:

- What the Cville Bike Lab is
- What the Cville Bike Lab’s goals are
- The growing bicycle community in Charlottesville
- The coming peer to peer bike lending/sharing program (think airbnb for bicycles) and the sharing/interaction that will come from that exchange
- The part at 4:21 reminds me of something a friend is doing in Atlanta at a bank, Acru Wealth.

These are a few related links to stories about bicycling and such:

- If walkability increases property values, it makes sense that bikeability will as well.
- Green Scene Blog: Biking is all about infrastructure

Connections are a funny thing. I met Spencer via Twitter. I asked if anyone around Downtown Charlottesville had a bike pump. The next thing I knew, two people had recommended the Cville Bike Lab.

* I’m sorry about the sound; the mic was giving me fits.

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Charlottesville is lucky to have great local news and great local blogs that serve to make Charlottesville a better place.

I believe local journalism, local government and local economies are the linchpins of a vibrant, healthy nation. For decades, as conglomerates swallowed up independent news outlets across the nation (our own local paper, Bay News, is owned by News Corp. – the same company that owns Fox News and the New York Post, for example), local coverage was watered down because community reporting is expensive, and stockholders want dividends. And because corporations can view employees as easily replaceable cogs, one reporter who lives in the community and has covered it for decades is just as valuable as one straight out of journalism school three states over.

But community reporting requires more than cogs. It requires more than an academic familiarity of those it covers. What meaningful local reporting requires is a personal investment. If the reporter doesn’t stand to benefit from a healthy community, his coverage will serve to dramatize and exacerbate problems rather than solve them.

When Sheepshead Bites ventures to cover the community, we do it because we’re neighbors. Our writers live here. Our business is based here. And we endeavor to support and uplift our neighbors for all of our benefit.

Thanks to Charlottesville Tomorrow, The HooK, C-VILLE and all the local Charlottesville blogs that keep me (and my clients and the community) informed.

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The Plank Road Exchange in Batesville is open.

For some thoughts on the value of place and #placemaking, take a look at some of Charlottesville Tomorrow’s tweets from last night’s gathering.

Did you know why Plank Road is called “Plank Road”? (I’m pretty sure this is right) –

From LoudounHistory.org:

The “plank” road was introduced in the United States from Canada, where some 500 miles were laid between 1834 and 1850. A typical plank road had a single track about eight feet wide, with the planks placed crosswise. Later, they were inclined slightly to allow rainwater to drain.

…

East of the mountains, two principal routes led from where Richmond stands today deep into the interior. One was a path to the settlements that were to become Lynchburg and Roanoke, a course now followed approximately by U.S. Routes 60 and 460. The other was the Three-Chopt Road or Three-Notched Road to Albemarle, where it connected with another path leading across the mountains at Afton and into the valley. Its name came from the way it was marked to guide travelers, with notches cut on the trees.

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Listen to the podcast below.

Describing “where we are” in the Charlottesville real estate market is extremely difficult to accomplish in a short period 0f time; luckily there’s the 1st Quarter Nest Report for more in depth insight.

I think this tweet best describes today’s real estate market:

18 homes closed in CharlAlbemarle last week; Days on Market ranged from 0 to 863. $/sq ft from $89 to $227.#ThereIsNoOneMarket

As always, questions welcomed.

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If you haven’t seen or read about the Tom Tom Founder’s Festival, now would be a good time to start. Inspired by South by Southwest (SXSW), it aspires to be something it seems Charlottesville has not yet seen. Offering various tracks from biotech startup to a locavore expo to Charlottesville as a startup hub, there’s something for any and everyone interested in being and becoming involved in Charlottesville.

(what’s this have to do with Charlottesville real estate? Nothing other than this is but one more thing that makes living in Charlottesville fantastic … if one can make time to participate and get involved. “Real estate” is about life and lifestyle. This Festival looks to complement and accentuate life in Charlottesville – for the better)

Have a look at their various Tracks -

- TTFF’s Music Track

- TTFF’s Arts Track

- TTFF’s “City as a Canvas” Track

- And then there’s the Tom Tom Founders Festival Music Track offering a remarkable lineup of music.

- The one about which I’m most excited – TTFF’s Innovation Track, in which they seek to explore Place Based Innovation, something about which I think Charlottesville really does (and should) excel. The Sustainable Design panel looks to be exceptional:

Our “Place Based Innovation” continues with an acknowledgement of the ways the well-being of future generations will be built on this generation’s choices. Charlottesville is home to groundbreaking pioneers looking at design, infrastructure, and resource development. These decisions not only help achieve ecological and cultural diversity; they help us stay productive. This discussion focuses on local innovations in sustainable design and product development, revealing the successes and barriers to increasing sustainable practices in our community.



Panelists:


Oliver Kutner, CEO and Founder of Edison2


Joey Conover, CFO of Latitude 38, LEED Professional


Andrew Greene, Sustainability Planner at the University of Virginia


Teri Kent, Founder of Better World Betty and the Better Business Challenge

I think this from Charlottesville Tomorrow’s report sums up a lot about Charlottesville and Albemarle:

A number of the speakers noted that Charlottesville has a variety of resources that could be better leveraged for social benefits.

“Charlottesville is such a great place to live, a paradise,” Nguyen said. “But the problem with a paradise is you can get complacent when you don’t have the pain to get you to do things.”

“Charlottesville has all the energy and talent to make this a great community for everyone, we just need to harness it,” Brown concluded.

* I’m not really sure what relevance the buffalo represents.

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The last time I checked, the percent of homes on the market in the Charlottesville MLS that showed as being “vacant” in the showing instructions was about 22%. In 2008, that percentage was about 33%. In 2007, that percentage was 36%!

Right now, there are:

- 2271 residential properties marked as “active” in the MLS

- 525 of them are marked as “vacant”

- Simple math says that 23% of the active inventory is vacant.

I’ll take this decreasing vacancy rate as a very good sign for the Charlottesville economy. Here’s why:

- Fewer vacant homes means fewer deteriorating properties, theoretically fewer distressed homeowners as there are fewer people making two house payments, often pulling from savings, staving off what may be the inevitable end result ….

- Fewer vacant homes means there’s less of a psychological drag on the market.

- More of these vacant homes are being rented … those renters may one day be homeowners.

- Fewer vacant homes means the Charlottesville real estate market’s starting to recover.

But … (and this is where my conflicted mind starts to implode)

- What about the shadow inventory? What happens when prices start to rise (and in some parts of our market prices are rising) … and banks start releasing the massive inventory they are currently holding to the market?

- What if housing/homeownership is done for a generation?

- What if 90% of those homes that used to be vacant are now part of the rental inventory and not the resale inventory? (not that that’s a bad thing)

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Stonefield (at the corner of Hydraulic and 29) is getting a Hyatt.

West Main and Mcintire is getting a Residence Inn.

And a Homewood Suites on Rio Road and 29.

The question is – can Charlottesville and Albemarle support three new hotels?

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I’ll be adding to this post this evening but wanted to get this out before my afternoon appointment. (priorities, you know?)

Nest Realty’s First Quarter 2012 market report (download the pdf)

Q1 2012 Charlottesville Real Estate Market Report

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Westlake Hills is proposing to build 145 new homes in Crozet. I hope they include some kind of connectivity to other neighborhoods besides roads built solely for cars. (the data show that people prefer walkability) I suppose it can be argued that developers choosing to move forward with previously-dormant neighborhood proposals is a sign of a recovering economy.

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In my practice, I use GIS at least three times a week and probably recommend its use to my clients at least as many times – investigating properties’ histories, zoning, adjacent properties (but really, that’s up to the buyer) .. if Charlottesville’s GIS solution is accurate, it’s going to make neighborhood fiscal analysis‘ practical.

Until they launch it, I’ll reserve judgement other than to say, it’s about time.

Update: Here’s the City of Charlottesville’s new GIS site.

I still say, it’s about time.

Maybe after they launch the GIS, they’ll move this ridiculous legalese disclaimer to the bottom of the page.

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