March 2023 Property Transactions in Charlottesville: Details of a slower month than usual

Another anecdotal summary of real estate transactions in the City of Charlottesville

I’m a bit behind in getting out these anecdotal accounts of property transactions in the area. There’s no time like the present to get to work, so here we are with an analysis-free version for March. As with the past 26 months, I’m interested in finding out how current sales relate to 2022 and 2023 assessments. There were double-digit increases in average assessment both years, and it’s not too early to thinking about what they may be for 2024.

I also do this work to try to understand what mechanisms are used to keep houses built to be affordable stay affordable. Take a look at March 9 to see some of this and to see how rising assessments push up the cost of keeping things below-market. There’s also a transaction from March worth noting.

There are also examples of properties selling well over assessment as shown in transactions from March 22 and March 23. Inventory is low, and those with the means will pay higher prices to get what they want.

These transactions took place during the first quarter of the year, which was the slowest in seven years according to analysis from the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors. They also took place while the city of Charlottesville continues to roll out sections of the future zoning code which is intended to increase allowable residential density. 

Because of that, I also wonder if this will lead to more investments such as one depicted from March 27.

Paid subscribers on Substack get an advance preview before these summaries are added to the archive site Information Charlottesville. I find having this archive to be incredibly useful as the real estate market continues to operate. If you’re not a subscriber yet, please consider doing so I can keep on going and implement plans to hire people to help build what I’ve started.