For those that may be interested in following these and other subdivisions please contact me and I will create a report that will meet your criteria.

For further information check out my blog categories for “Subdivisions.”

Filed under: Central Virginia, Statistics, Subdivisions on February 5th, 2010 | No Comments »

There has been much talk about the problems with commercial lending and refinancing. I am pleased to share some fruits from the battle the National Association of REALTORS® and others have been wagging with the information below:

REPS. CALVERT AND KANJORSKI LEAD CONGRESSIONAL EFFORT URGING FEDERAL
REGULATORS
                  
TO ADDRESS GROWING COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE MARKET CONCERNS

WASHINGTON, D.C. February 1, 2010 ­ Today, Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) and Rep.
Paul E. Kanjorski (D-PA), Chairman of the House Financial Services
Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored
Enterprises, along with 77 of their House colleagues, sent a bipartisan
letter to
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
Bernanke about the growing concerns that deteriorating conditions in the
commercial real estate (CRE) market may threaten an economic recovery.

³I am deeply concerned about the health of our commercial real estate market
and the stability of thousands of small businesses across the country,² said
Rep. Calvert.  ³We must take the appropriate steps to ensure that our
commercial real estate market does not experience a liquidity crisis that
would further exacerbate our struggling economic situation.²

³The growing bubble in the commercial real estate industry has the potential
to infect our economy and slow a recovery,² said Chairman Kanjorski.  ³In
order to safeguard the businesses operating on Main Street and protect the
millions of jobs depending on commercial real estate, the Treasury and the
Federal Reserve now must take needed and urgent action to stave off a
potentially devastating wave of commercial real estate foreclosures and bank
losses.²

“A liquidity crisis in the commercial real estate market is hurting small
business owners across the entire nation,² said National Association of
REALTORS President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of the commercial real estate
company Cox & Associates in Tucson, Arizona.  ³I join with all commercial
property owners who applaud the efforts of Reps. Calvert and Kanjorski to
resolve this problem and put small business owners back in business.”

Specifically, the letter asks regulators to take the following steps:

      ·        Establish a clear method for measuring and evaluating the
effectiveness of recent CRE loan modification guidance issued by the
regulators.

      ·         Institute metrics to more clearly differentiate performing
versus non-performing loans as well as any other steps that provide lending
institutions with more confidence in assessing CRE loans.

      ·         Make clear public statements encouraging lenders to continue
to make credit available for performing assets as a means of restoring
confidence and long-term value in the CRE market.

The $6.7 trillion CRE sector supports 9 million American jobs.  If the
conditions in the CRE market deteriorate further the negative effects will
be significant and widespread, rippling not only through the CRE sector but
also the broader economy.  More than $1.4 trillion in commercial mortgages
will come due by 2013, and as much as 65% of those deals will have trouble
getting refinanced according to recent analysis conducted by Deutsche Bank.
While the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department have acknowledged the
ongoing CRE challenges, their actions have so far failed to ease growing
concerns among economists and market participants.

The text of Congressmen Calvert and Kanjorski¹s letter which is signed by an
additional 77 Members of Congress to Secretary Geithner and Chairman
Bernanke follows:

Dear Secretary Geithner and Chairman Bernanke:

As you know, the financial crisis continues to have a dampening effect
throughout the credit markets.  The commercial real estate (CRE) market, in
particular, continues to experience difficult credit accessibility
conditions.  Moreover, the scarcity of credit in the $6.7 trillion CRE
sector poses a
dangerous threat to our financial system just as our economy has begun to
show signs of recovery.

Earlier this month real estate data provider Trepp announced that the
delinquency rate for loans underlying commercial mortgage-backed securities
(CMBS) ballooned 500 percent in 2009, surpassing 6 percent in December for
the first time.  Additionally, the CMBS market has all but shut down over
the
past year making it more difficult for CRE owners to sell or refinance.

We appreciate the acknowledgement by federal regulators of this situation in
October, when the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, along
with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency, the National Credit Union Administration, and
the
Office of Thrift Supervision, issued a policy statement advising financial
institutions to extend and/or restructure loans backed by income-producing
and/or development properties whenever possible in order to minimize losses
as well as to stabilize overall asset values in the communities they
serve.

While the regulatory guidance is a relatively recent occurrence, we remain
concerned by early indications that it may not yet be having the desired
impact in stabilizing the CRE market. While some properties are in desperate
need of modification due to the economic downturn, we are not convinced
these loans are being serviced properly or in an efficient manner.  Of even
more concern, anecdotal evidence suggests that regulators continue to
encourage lenders to write down the value of performing loans, whose
payments may well be current and, in some instance, even call the loan.
This further
exacerbates the crisis by creating defaults in properties that were able to
meet their debt servicing.

To ensure the recent CRE loan modification guidance will have a positive and
stabilizing effect, and to protect the broader economy from further
disruptions, we urge you to establish a clear method for measuring and
evaluating its effectiveness.  Furthermore, we encourage you to institute
metrics to
more clearly differentiate performing versus non-performing loans as well as
any other steps that provide lending institutions with more confidence in
assessing CRE loans.  We also call upon you to make clear public statements
encouraging lenders to continue to make credit available for performing
assets as a means of restoring confidence and long-term value in the CRE
market.

In sum, we strongly believe that regulators must take continued steps to
mitigate ongoing turmoil in the CRE sector before it becomes a full-fledged
crisis, forestalls our economic recovery, and possibly requires additional
taxpayer-funded capital injections.  Consistent with all applicable law and
regulation, thank you for the consideration of our views and your attention
to these matters.

A copy of the letter with signatures is attached.
                  
###
 (See attached file: Commercial Real Estate Letter.pdf)
————————–
Ken Wingert
Legislative Representative
National Association of REALTORS
500 New Jersey Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20001

Filed under: Buyer, Education, RLI (REALTORS Land Institute), Seller on February 2nd, 2010 | No Comments »

Fourth quarter sales (Oct. 2009 - Dec. 2009) show continued decline. Compared with 2006 fourth quarter sales, number of sales in 2009 are down 58 percent. Gross sales in the last year are down 26 percent.

(2006 - 2009) Fourth Quarter

On December 31st the Lynchburg MLS has 1131 land listings with 891 being less than 6-acres. The number of new properties six-acres, or less, increased by 211-lots from the third quarter, but at the time of this post they have gone back up to 1115. This massive change is due to end-of-the-year expirations and the change-over to a new MLS system. 

Choices still favor the purchaser. This is still a buyer’s market.

“A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties.” — Harry Truman

Filed under: Buyer, Central Virginia, Seller, Statistics on January 21st, 2010 | No Comments »

Thanksgiving is coming and I’m “Thankful.” I just saw a list of awards that were given to friends and colleagues of mine. I am thankful because we are all on the same team. We are on a team that wants our clients educated. We are on a team that wants other REALTORS® educated about land issues. We are on a team that is putting in extra hours to improve our profession. We are on a team where we work together and realize that we have special talents.

I enjoy seeing who are receiving awards. This year RLI gave some well deserved awards to Fletcher Majors, Sam Kain, George Clift and Ned Massie. All have worked years shaping, expanding, and defining our mission. Keith Morris, who just became RLI’s Past-President, has expanded our message through online education and by recently having “land” included in Article 11 of the National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics as one of its disciplines. This addition is great for the public because REALTORS® are required to work in their areas of expertise. Other awards were given to several instructors who have worked to keep our membership well informed and instruct new members. Lou Jewell, Dale Funk, and Andre van Rensburg have traveled near their homes and sometimes to other states to teach.

In 1990 I started inquiring about education in the field of land. This was not easy and I’m afraid few REALTORS® were asking that question. I was finally told that there was a young REALTOR® from Richmond who had recently served as National President of the REALTORS® Land Institute. This was Ned Massie. From the first time I spoke to Ned I knew that I had more to learn. Ned has done so much to improve and educate our industry within Virginia and on national committees.  He is still the “Young REALTOR®” and deserves the “Distinguished Service Award.

Yes, I’m “Thankful.” We have great leadership and a great mission. We have others that should and will be recognized for their talents. We have our young “Johnny Appleseeds” ready to go and inform the states on land issues. I am “Thankful,” and hope that you are too.

Filed under: RLI (REALTORS Land Institute) on November 25th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

I wish I was an auctioneer today, they are getting the business. Everywhere I turn, I see the same auction companies selling property. I am being asked questions about recent sales by auction. Here are several:

“What sort of sales price are auctions bringing?” They are bringing current prices. A current price can be more, or less, than what the auction company, or seller expects. It is the price you would expect to get if you have a sufficient number of people who will bid for the property at that specific point in time. Good real estate companies keep large databases of people that have interest in certain types of property. They are able to bring these people together and facilitate a sale through the use of a sales practice called “urgency.” – If you don’t act now this property may be gone in the next “hour.”

“How do current prices of today compare to two or three years ago?” 2006 and 2007 were great years for selling land. Currently, there are many properties that are selling at 50% to 60% of what they would have sold during those years. Camp Fincastle was on the market for six years. It was appraised and listed for $2.35M. It sold for $1.5M. Eight waterfront lots and seventeen interior lots at Heron Landing sold for $618,200, or $24,728 per lot. - In 2006 there were two waterfront lots that adjoined these that sold for $189,900 and $200,000. In 2006 a farm was purchased for $10,000 per acre and sold for $8000 per acre with an additional 5% buyer’s premium added. The fact is that you can not compare prices because markets change and because my opinion of value may be different than yours. Remember in an auction there is only one purchaser and the rest have said the price is too high.

“Are properties not selling at auction?” I don’t follow every auction but I know of a house in a great Lynchburg neighborhood where no one bid on the house. This house was close to where my mother lives and I saw the auction sign on Langhorne Rd. for weeks. It was also promoted in the newspaper, so it is true that some properties are not selling at auction, even when they are being well promoted.

Yes, I wish I was an auctioneer today because they are getting the job done. Some people are more willing to buy because they feel they are getting a bargain, or they feel the urgency. What they don’t understand is that any good piece of real estate can be sold today and it can be sold for 50% to 60% of the listed price, they just have to write the offer and find out.

Filed under: Buyer, Education, Lake Property, Seller, Statistics on November 8th, 2009 | No Comments »

Third quarter sales (July 2009 - September 2009) shows continued decline in land sales. With 52 sales by REALTORS© in the Lynchburg MLS we are still off a 2006 third quarter high of 116 sales by 45% and down 58% from 2008 gross sales. Note that first and second quarters were off almost the same amount.

(2006 - 2009) Third Quarter Sales

On September 30th the Lynchburg MLS has 1463 land listings with 1102 being less than 6-acres. The number of new properties six-acres, or less, increased by 100-lots from the second quarter. Choices still favor the purchaser. This is still a buyer’s market.

Napoleon said, “Ability is of little account without opportunity.”

Filed under: Buyer, Central Virginia, Statistics on October 26th, 2009 | No Comments »

What’s fair? I have two boys whose ages are ten and seven. I allow my older boy to do things that my younger son can not do. I also give, or as the older son might say, “demand” more responsibilities from him than his younger sibling. Fairness will be debated for years. I believe it should be. I also feel that when an expert sees a problem that problem should be presented. It is that interior moral debate that has stimulated this article.

Utility easements are a necessity to all people. They allow us to maintain a modern society without the creation of individual, communal, or statewide sources of energy. Needless to say, Washington, DC and New York City will never have a major nuclear power plant and Suburban, USA will by no means see a large hydro-electric reservoir in their back yard. The cost or security makes it prohibitive. Most of us are fortunately the recipients of energy that is created elsewhere, and are blessed to not have monstrous towers that deliver this energy within view of our house. We benefit from the overhead wires that flow along our yards or under our streets to merge into our landscape, almost without notice.

So, is it fair that others have to sacrifice their landscape for our energy? Is it fair for the owner of a power easement to benefit from the sale of that easement, while his neighbors have to look at these monstrous towers? As a REALTOR® I can say that real estate values decline and days on market increase when a supertower is near the subject property. - In a informal poll conducted on VARBuzz by the Virginia Association of REALTORS® most said that amount was between 20% - 40%. Debates on health and the responsibility of parents to protect their children from harmful effects of EMF, electromagnetic force, can be strongly debated during the presentation of these properties. For those that believe there is no harm with these towers, or can assuredly state - to their satisfaction - that EMFs have no effect to ones health; I can only state that the problem lies with what one thinks a property is worth, not on the harm EMFs can or can not produce. My experience is in real estate, not science or medicine.

What is fair? We need to maintain this dialogue because our society allows utility companies to have access through eminent domain. As a democracy we should not grant permanent control of these easements. I believe these easements should be a loan, not a right. By allowing total domination we reduce our ability to voice our concerns. We need to realize that America is not the country of 125-years ago when transmission lines and rail tracks traveled for miles on open sparsely populated land. This America has become compacted with communities that were built before the tern EMF was popularized. It is fair to say that science and the way we live will change greatly in the next 125-years. For the sake of fairness, we need to have business models in place that allow our descendants to make appropriate legislation for their lives.

Filed under: Buyer, Education, Seller on September 19th, 2009 | No Comments »

With the second quarter of 2009 topping out with over 1000-lots that are six acres or less; the market still favors the purchaser. My prior post 2nd Quarter Sales: More of the Same goes into the sale’s statistics. This post focuses on all subdivisions that show up in the Lynchburg MLS that have more than twenty lots for sale.

Note: This data was derived on June 30, 2009 the end of the second quarter. The column showing “Sales” shows all sales from 1/1/2009 - 6/30/2009. All “Subdivisions” with links will take you to visual tours.

Sales for all subdivisions are weak. Several subdivisions that were previewed in my post, Visual Tours, Do You Need More?, have been removed from the current market while several new ones have been added. Caution should be taken when choosing a lot during an economic downturn. The purchaser should consider getting a REALTOR® who will represent them rather than the one working for the Seller.

Filed under: Buyer, Central Virginia, Education, Out-of-Town Buyer/Seller, Statistics, Subdivisions on August 13th, 2009 | No Comments »

Before taking real estate classes I learned a valuable lesson from my father, “Always have a good accountant and a good lawyer.” Through the numerous real estate classes those words have been reverberated - REALTORS®are told to say we are not qualified to give legal or financial advice and to always check with your lawyer or accountant. Recently, I heard a story where this lesson was amplified. The story goes like this:

A purchaser buys a tract of land along a lake where the building of a dock is controlled by an electric company. REALTORS® know that you have to have a certain amount of water frontage to build a dock, which in this case it does. So, it might be assumed that you can build the dock. In this case you could not. The reason is because this tract was unique. It was in a conservation easement and most REALTORS® would not have found this.

Like most stories there are lessons to be learned:

1. Get a title search. The title search “should” find this and other problems.
2. If you have specific needs tell your REALTOR® to include them in the offer.
3. Consider title insurance. It is inexpensive and covers title problems.

Filed under: Buyer, Central Virginia, Education, Lake Property, Out-of-Town Buyer/Seller, Seller on July 16th, 2009 | No Comments »

Second quarter sales (April 2009 - June 2009) shows more decline in land sales. With only 48 sales by REALTORS© in the Lynchburg MLS we are way off the 2006 second quarter high of 142 sales and down 57% from 2008 gross sales.

(2006 - 2009) Secomd Quarter Sales

On June 30 the Lynchburg MLS has 1378 land listings with 1002 being less than 6-acres. Choices still favor the purchaser. There is greater opportunity to find something at your price. There is opportunity to find tracts with more amenities. There is opportunity to negotiate financing. This is a buyer’s market.

Thomas Alva Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” 

Filed under: Buyer, Central Virginia, Statistics on July 9th, 2009 | 1 Comment »