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Fredericksburg City Council to revisit limiting sizes of new homes

According to the Free Lance Star, Fredericksburg City Council has resumed discussion of an ordinance to limit the size of "out of scale" new homes.  Originally considered in 2008, the Council placed it on hold, only to be shuffled between the Council and the Planning Commission.  As the housing market slowed and new construction sales tumbled, the urgency passed and the issue was placed on the back burner - until now.  The Council will hold a public hearing to seek input on a proposed ordinance that would limit the height of new homes, as well as the amount of space the "footprint" of the house would occupy in relation to the lot size.

 

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Posted on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 - 10:38am

NOVA Homeowners Invited to Economic and Housing Forecast Summit

For the fourth year, the Dulles Area Association of REALTORS® will sponsor an Economic and Housing Forecast Summit to discuss what’s in store for the housing market and local economy.

This event is for any member of the community who is interested in learning about the local housing market. The speakers will dicuss the importance of improving the housing market to infuence the economy, and how the market in NOVA has been improving over the last few months.

The Summit will be held on Friday, October 30th from 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. at the Loudoun County School Administration Building, 21000 Education Court, in Ashburn, VA.

The Summit will include a panel of top national, regional and local economic and housing experts who will discuss recent trends and the outlook for housing and the economy for Northern Virginia and the nation.

The $25 non-member registration fee ($20 DAAR members) includes program and breakfast.

To sign up, go to DAAR's website.

Posted on Monday, October 26, 2009 - 8:28am

Homes in Fredericksburg Area Sell for Less but More Quickly

Home sales might be down in the Fredericksburg area, but houses are selling more quickly, according to The Free-Lance Star.

Bargain hunters looking for a great deal, and first time home buyers taking advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit are helping to move houses off the market. This happened in other places in Virginia, and was followed by an increase in home prices after a a few months.

This is good news for all homeowners in the area and a sign that home values may soon be on the rise.

"Home sales are down, and the median price keeps falling, but at least houses are selling more quickly.

Sales fell slightly in August from the previous month in the Fredericksburg area, from 403 to 381, according to data released yesterday by Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. However, the time homes are on the market has gone down markedly.

In the area (Fredericksburg and Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline and King George counties), 195 homes that sold last month through the Multiple Listing Service had been on the market 30 days or less, slightly more than 50 percent of the total. A year ago, only 83 of 353 homes sold in 30 days or less (23.5 percent).

Ernie Dill, Realtor with Coldwell Banker ELITE, said the main reason for quicker sales is "the feeding frenzy among first-time home buyers."

First-time buyers have until Nov. 30 to take advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit instituted to give the ailing real estate market some relief.

The median sales price continues to fall, however. In August of 2006, the median sales price was $329,000. A year ago, it was $249,900. In July, it was $210,000. Last month, the median fell to $197,520, about 21 percent lower than it was a year ago. That was lowest figure for August since 2002, when the median was $175,000 as the housing boom was starting to take off."

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Posted on Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 3:48pm

Chesapeake Bay Reports Call For More Livestock, Runoff Regulations

Last week federal officials released parts of a strategy to restore the Chesapeake Bay, according to NewsDay.com.

The report focuses on expanding regulation of large-scale animal farms and municipal stormwater runoff. Although details of the expanded regulations have not been decided, the report did mention that federal leadership and "muscle" would be used when necessary to enforce the new regulations.

This report, along with others wll be used to develop a bay restoration strategy scheduled for release on Novemeber 9th.

Because many of the Virginia localities in the Chesapeake Watershed are heavily farmed areas, many Virginia property owners could be affected. Property owners will need to ensure that their rights are protected in the process of restoring the Chesapeake Bay.

"Federal officials on Thursday began revealing the building blocks of a strategy to restore the Chesapeake Bay, using federal leadership to encourage states to cut pollution and federal muscle, when necessary, to ensure it happens.

Among recommendations in draft reports from federal agencies: expanded regulation of large-scale animal farms and municipal stormwater runoff, and requirements that increases in pollution be offset by reductions from other sources.

The details, such as how many more animal feeding operations would be regulated, have not been decided, but 'the message here is that there will be, there is a commitment at EPA to increased enforcement and increased oversight of state programs,' EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said Thursday.

The reports will be used to develop a bay restoration strategy, scheduled for release Nov. 9, that was mandated by an executive order issued earlier this year by President Obama.

The EPA said it was working with Chesapeake Bay states and the District of Columbia to establish limits for nitrogen, phosphorus and sediments. States would have to develop detailed plans on how to reduce levels of those pollutants from sources such as farms, highways and lawns. The EPA said it would step in if states don't take sufficient action.

While large operations such as industrial chicken farms would be regulated, the EPA said it would also expand regulation of municipal stormwater programs to include high-growth areas.

Jackson said the goal was to use federal leadership, and 'federal muscle when necessary.'

Agriculture is responsible for about half the pollution entering the bay, but Jackson noted there is more turf grass in the bay watershed than corn acreage and the region is much different from when bay restoration efforts began decades ago."

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Posted on Monday, September 14, 2009 - 10:50am

Northern Virginia Housing Market Shows Signs of Stabilizing

There have been a number of signs to show that the housing market in Northern Virginia is stabilizing, according to a recent article in The Washington Post.

Some encouraging facts include:

-  Being on pace to have half the number of foreclosures as last year
-  Average price of homes is stabilizing
-  Properties are moving faster
-  The number of homes being sold is increasing

Real estate experts are very happy to see these kinds of stats, and area homeowners should be too. An improving real estate market means more security in home values.

"Real estate agents and county officials in Northern Virginia say the local housing market is showing signs of stabilizing.

Carolyn Capalbo, a real estate agent in Manassas who works in Prince William, Loudoun, Fairfax and Fauquier counties, said she has noticed a 'sharp shift' in the past six months, as a swell of buyers, many looking to purchase their first home, have been jockeying for a smaller pool of houses.

'It's a seller's market,' Capalbo said. 'We have a lot of relocation people who they feel like can come in and get the deal of the century but find themselves in competition over property, and they're shocked.'

The number of foreclosures in each county is down from last year, according to county data. In Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park, foreclosures through the first half of this year numbered 2,200, on pace to total far fewer than the 8,300 last year, said Bill Vaughn, county economist and demographer.

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Posted on Friday, September 11, 2009 - 4:20pm

Believe It or Not, Traffic is Getting Worse in the D.C. Region

According to The Free Lance-Star's transportation reported, traffic is getting worse in the Northern VA/DC region. A recent study showed that traffic issues around the country decreased in most major cities, but got worse in the DC area.

Future tansportation plans like high-speed rail could help to alleviate some of the congestion on the major roadways around the DC region.

"NO, it is not your imagination. Traffic really is worse than it was six months ago.

Real-time traffic information provider INRIX found congestion in most U.S. cities stayed level or shrank this year, growing nationwide at only 0.5 percent. That's not surprising, given the recession, high unemployment and a downward trend in vehicle miles driven. Washington, of course, was an exception. Despite all of these factors, traffic in the D.C. area got 9 percent worse.

Another way D.C. is different: The worst travel hour nationally is Friday from 5 to 6 p.m., but in Washington it's Thursday night from 5 to 6.

INRIX considers Washington the fourth-most-congested city in the nation for the first six months of 2009, after Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, in that order. It beat Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Seattle."

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Posted on Thursday, September 10, 2009 - 8:40am

Commuters and Residents Will Have to Wait for HOT Lanes

Improvements to I-95 near Fredericksburg have been put on hold due to lack of funds, according to the Freelance-Star. Plans to build toll lanes in the median of i-95 have been halted indefinitely. The hold-up will also delay other projects in the area that were to be partially funded by the tolls, including the construction of a new commuter parking lot and three additional I-95 interchanges.

This is displeasing news for area commuters and residents who battle worsening traffic on I-95. Improvements to transportation is an important issue for area homeowners to be aware of and support because it can affect community development, quality of living and home values.

"The centerpiece of Virginia's plan to transform Interstate 95 in Northern Virginia is in idle mode. Plans to build toll lanes in the median of I-95 from the Pentagon to the Massaponax area of Spotsylvania have been halted indefinitely.

The postponement leaves the Fredericksburg area without a firm timetable for improvements to I-95, and without thousands of future commuter parking spaces that would've been built with the project's proceeds.

'The traffic gets worse every single day, and here we are with no plan,' said Stafford supervisor Mark Dudenhefer, former chairman of the Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.

'They're moving forward on rail out to Dulles and that kind of stuff, but it's obvious that the powers that be don't drive up and down I-95,' Dudenhefer said.

Virginia Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer notified the private companies planning to build the High Occupancy Toll lanes, Fluor Inc. and Transurban Group, that Virginia is not ready to move forward with the I-95/395 project yet.

The state had hoped to sign financial agreements with the companies sometime this month for the northern section of the project, from the Pentagon to Dumfries. Construction would have started in late 2009 or 2010."

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Posted on Wednesday, August 19, 2009 - 11:24am

NOVA Commuters Anxiously Awaiting VRE Express Trains

According to InsideNova.com federal stimulus money might help advance railroad services in NOVA, and pave way for the Virginia Railroad Express.

Commuters are anxious for the express trains, which could get them to work faster (and with less of a headache) than driving. Homeowners can jump on the bandwagon of supporting this project because in the long run it will do wonders in improving quality of living and increasing property values.

"Virginia will apply for $72 million in federal stimulus money this month to build a third set of rails between Prince William and Stafford counties.

The state is expected to file for the money Aug. 24, and if approved, it will go to fund a third set of train tracks between Powell’s Creek in Dumfries and the Widewater area of Stafford County.

The project is part of the state’s comprehensive vision to bring high-speed rail to the Northern Virginia from Petersburg, and in part will pave the way for Virginia Railway Express to start running express trains on their Fredericksburg line.

The express trains will be 10 cars long and originate during the mornings in Fredericksburg and from Washington in the evenings. The trains would run during peak travel times and stop at only two stations along the route before reaching the end of the line, said VRE spokesman Mark Roeber.

'Those trains would take as much as one lane’s worth of traffic off the highway in one fell swoop, and anyone who boarded the express service would be guaranteed to beat any car on the road and get to work faster,' said Roeber.

The trains would travel at speeds of 90 mph, which is considered the standard for high-speed rail in the U.S. But officials are working to increase the speeds to 110 mph while negotiating with the company, which currently owns the tracks, CSX."

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Posted on Thursday, August 13, 2009 - 1:16pm

July's Housing Numbers are Good News for Homeowners in the Fredericksburg Area

Today the Freelance Star published a story about last month's home sales in the Fredericksburg area. The highlights are welcomed news for homeowners.

-  Total of 2,437 homes were listed on the market at the end of July, the lowest amount since January 2006.

-  With last month's sales pace, there was about a six-month supply of homes on the market, considered a healthy balance between supply and demand.

-  On average, homes were on the market for 94 days before selling, the lowest since September 2006.

-  The average sales price last month was an 8.7 percent discount from the average list price, the lowest percentage since August 2007.

-  Conventional bank financing made somewhat of a comeback, with those loans used to finance 29 percent of the July sales. That's up from 19.5 percent in June, and a possible sign that banks are getting more willing to lend.

"More homes were sold in the Fredericksburg area last month than any July since 2006, but the market continues to be dominated by distressed sales of lower-priced homes.

There were 403 homes sold last month in the Fredericksburg and Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline and King George counties through the Multiple Listing Service, according to data released yesterday by Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. That was down from the past two months but 16.5 percent better than last July.

Of those 403 sales, 155 were foreclosures and 72 short sales, meaning distressed sales made up 56.3 percent of the total."

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Posted on Tuesday, August 11, 2009 - 11:17am

Highway Money Meant for Hampton Roads Heads North

Image from dougtoneThe Virginian-Pilot recently published an opinion piece about the distribution of highway funds throughout the Commonwealth. Covering details of how interstate funds for Hampton Roads dropped from $32 million last year to $6 million this year, and to zero dollars by mid-2010, the op-ed piece also points out that localities in Northern Virginia will receive 81 percent of the state's interstate budget this year, and 90 percent next year.

"What is Hampton Roads' fair share of Virginia's interstate highway dollars? How about 21 percent, our share of the state population? Or 15 percent, the portion of interstate miles running through the region?

Did anyone guess 2 percent? Fairness aside, that's the region's actual share of interstate funds this year. Here's another number: 0 percent. That's what Hampton Roads will get next year.

The reality that Virginia's second-most congested region is so shortchanged should have folks across the state scratching their heads. Those of us who fight through the region's monstrous traffic jams to work, worship and pick up the kids have a right to be apoplectic.

An analysis by the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization lays out the grim facts. The study covered state funding from 2004 to this year, as well as future plans by the Virginia Department of Transportation for divvying up road dollars through 2015. Over the 12-year period, Hampton Roads' share is 17 percent, while Northern Virginia gets 58 percent, but those aggregate numbers mask what's happening right now."

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Posted on Monday, July 27, 2009 - 2:12pm