Pretty much everything has a personality. Obviously people have a personality (and not all of them are great!), but so do areas of a city, neighborhoods and, condominiums. And while each of us will be attracted to a little something different in a condo, here are some simple personality traits in some of the condos around the city of Richmond. Polished While … [Read more...]
The Dues Myth
One of my favorite (ok LEAST favorite) statements that I hear when I am showing condos sounds something like this — ‘I like it, but the dues are sooooo expensive. And besides, single family homes don't have dues.’ Sorry, but that statement simply isn't true. Single Family Dues Single family homes have dues that fall into two basic categories: neighborhood dues (or … [Read more...]
Self Driving Cars and Development
The driverless car is coming. There is no doubt. Seriously, imagine pushing a button on your phone and a car appears outside your home, sans driver, to take you to work, the mall, the airport, or to visit a friend. This will be an option, and sooner than you think. The technology exists already, it's just being refined. Cities such as Boston, NYC, San Francisco, and … [Read more...]
Rumblings…The New Condos in Richmond VA on the Horizon
It has been a while since we have seen any new condos in Richmond VA and hopefully, it is about to change... The last completed and newly constructed condo project was a small property along Broad Street near the intersection of Broad and Adams Street in the Jackson Ward neighborhood. It was less than 10 units and for numerous reasons, was nearly 3 years in its … [Read more...]
Buy Now, Pay Later – Understanding Condo Financing
Miller and Rhodes is the worst example of how buyers got burned by not understanding the impact of finance on condo values. The local lenders who offered a limited number of loans also failed to understand the risks.[/caption] 'But the listing agent said that there was condo financing,' they said in a distressed tone. 'For you...but not for your buyer.' Stated in its … [Read more...]
6 N 6th
The 6 N 6th project, located at (yes, you guessed it) 6 N 6th Street in Richmond's Downtown, is a conversion of a <20 unit apartment project developed in 2007/8. The location for the project can be considered 'fringe' in that it is close to many of the important employment locations in Downtown but lacks a wide variety of residential amenities nearby. This commentary … [Read more...]
The Downtown Richmond VA Condo Market is Poised for Recovery
Statistically speaking, the Downtown Richmond VA Condo Market is as poised for recovery as any segment in the Metro. We maintain a website at RichmondVaCondos.net that tracks available inventory by market segment and project. It also tracks much of the sales data that is illustrated below. The following screenshot shows overall market inventory count the entire City of … [Read more...]
The Townes at Cary Place
The Townes at Cary Place, located along Cary Street (1700 block across from the Cary Mews), is an amazing example of both 'Pre-Bubble' and 'Post-Bubble' architecture side by side in the city. StyleCraft builders, a suburban home builder, built Phase 1 of the project (2009) as if the market had no limit to their collective budget. Phase 2, which began in late 2011, was built … [Read more...]
Summit Lofts
Developed in 2009 by the partners of Monument Construction, the Summit Lofts project was a trailblazing concept in that it offered a FOR SALE product in the Scots Addition neighborhood west of Boulevard. It was the only For Sale WAREHOUSE styled project west of Boulevard at all and it began to open other neighborhoods to the possibility of residential uses. Summit Lofts is … [Read more...]
Ginter Place
Ginter Place, located on Richmond's North Side in the Ginter Park neighborhood, is a great example of boom-bust-recovery. Brought to the market just prior to the market collapse of 2008, Ginter sold a mere 15 of its 69 units in the first 36 months of being marketed. It was essentially a dead project. In April of 2012, the listing agreement was not renewed and a new group … [Read more...]
