Peninsula home prices stabilizing

Peninsula home prices stabilizing, Realtor says
By Veronica Chufo
247-4741
May 28, 2009


The median sales price of existing homes on the Peninsula was up 1 percent from April 2008 to $195,000.

When new construction is figured in, the median sales price was $205,000, down 4 percent from the same month last year. It's 14 percent lower than the June 2007 peak of $239,400, but up from March's $191,900.

That's an indication that prices are stabilizing, said Bob Sullivan, president of the Virginia Peninsula Association of Realtors.

"I really think that the consumer confidence is coming back," Sullivan said. "I expect this summer will bring some sense of normality back into our marketplace."

The sales pace is still lackluster, down 19 percent from the number of existing-home sales in April 2008, according to information from the Real Estate Information Network Inc.

Nationally, the number of existing-home sales last month was 3.5 percent below the April 2008 pace, and the median sales price was $170,200, down 15.4 percent from the same month last year.

About 45 percent of April's sales nationally involved foreclosures, short sales or bank-owned properties. That's depressing the median sales price, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Locally, buyers have been making offers that were $5,000, $10,000, even $15,000 below the asking price. But sellers aren't accepting them.

"Right now, we're having sellers holding firm on their price, and we're having buyers who are being more realistic," Sullivan said.

Now that it appears prices are stabilizing, they can begin a slow climb, he said. He predicts that over the next year, houses will appreciate 1 percent to 4 percent, depending on the city.

Hampton and Newport News appreciation might be slow because that's where the bulk of the Peninsula's transactions happen, so it takes longer for change to kick in, Sullivan said.

As for new construction, the sales pace on the Peninsula continued to lag behind last year's figures, falling 46 percent behind April 2008. The median sales price of new construction was down 10 percent.

New-construction sales price gains were made in Newport News, where the price rose 11 percent to $244,000; in York, where the price rose 34 percent to $563,000; and in Isle of Wight, where prices were up nearly 8 percent to $356,938.

Isle of Wight also saw a 26 percent jump in the number of existing homes that sold last month. Twenty-four homes sold, up from 19 in April 2008.

But there were so few new-construction sales last month — 12 in Newport News, five in York County and four in Isle of Wight — that it's likely a few big sales could skew the numbers, said Andy Cohen, a real estate agent with Abbitt Realty in Hampton.

Condo sales were down 55 percent on the Peninsula, and the median sales price was down 15 percent to $175,120.

Average market time for new and existing attached and detached homes was 114 days, up nearly three weeks from 94 days in April 2008.

The Peninsula's inventory is shrinking, which is also a good sign for a market turnaround. Fewer homes for sale drives up demand, Sullivan said.

In April, there were 3,719 homes for sale on the Peninsula. That's down about 3 percent from the 3,823 homes for sale in April 2008.

At the current sales pace, it'll take an estimated 8.7 months to absorb the number of homes listed for sale on the market in Hampton. Newport News has an 8.2 month supply, and York has an 8.4 month supply.

"We have to get rid of that inventory," Sullivan said. "Once the inventory comes down, things will really start to pick up."

Copyright © 2009, Newport News, Va., Daily Press

Inspired? Check out Homes for Sale in Hampton Roads.

Plenty of incentives, risks for home shoppers ready to buy

As buyers creep back into the real estate market this spring, typically the busiest season for home sales, many are faced with a mix of incentives and pitfalls.

Interest rates for a mortgage are at historic lows. Government tax breaks for first-time homebuyers were sweetened even more this year. And an abundance of homes on the market in Hampton Roads has made buying more attractive.

At the same time, many people fear for their long-term job security given the economic uncertainty. And unstable local home prices have made it trickier for buyers to know if they’re getting a good deal.

eatin' round town

Back in December, I went to pick up some items from the home of a jeweler. To my surprise, her house was filled with the smell of baking loaves. All my life, I have been accustomed to the smell of my grandmother and aunts' homemade rolls, but there was something different about this smell. The smell assaulted my nose and I couldn't help asking a few questions. I found that these loaves were sourdough, and had been baked not with store-bought yeast, but with starter. Before leaving, I was gifted with my very own loaf and promised some starter in the future. She told me that she has had the starter since her teenage daughter was a baby, and that you have to "feed" it every week, even if you're not baking. Since receiving my starter, I have kept it alive and baked bread several times. Each cup makes three loaves. Here is the loaf D gave me in December.

I wrote a few posts back about how S and I went to the Ship's Cabin in Ocean View after the East Beach open house in December. We had some of the best bread w/olive oil and parmesan and homemade blue cheese dressing. We were given some dressing to go, and I used mine the next day on a salmon salad. Um um.

Two posts back, I wrote about how I'd eaten the same meal at Food for Thought in Williamsburg twice in the past year. I was mistaken: it was three times - twice last spring, and once this past winter when I got carry out. I think those are cheese grits along with the squash casserole. The original combo is still the best.

I think I wrote about the variety of nuts at the Smithfield Ham Shoppe in February. The wasabi nuts are awesome.

As are the Hot Southern Nuts.



M and I went to the Queen's Way Soul Cafe in downtown Hampton in March. I had heard they had good drinks, but had never eaten there, except for the fish sampler served at Wilson's Landing last September. M told me that they have awesome grilled shrimp, and I agree. She had hers with greens and cabbage, and I had mine on a salad. Very good.



On to sushi...
A few weeks ago, I was in Norfolk to hold open Widgeon Point townhouses - 0 down, 3.25% interest - and drove down to MacArthur mall afterwards for a quick stop at MAC. (hey, even frugal folks have their indulgences). On the way home, I drove past Domo and thought, man I need to check them out. A few days later, S and I were at Widgeon Point. We had been talking about going for sushi for weeks, so we headed over to Domo. Oh my goodness, what a menu. Domo has the most extensive, creative sushi menu I have ever seen. I satiated myself with reading it, and ended up choosing a fairly tame spicy tuna roll. The twist? It included cilantro. As it turns out, I couldn't taste the cilantro. S got a specialty roll. Can't say I was too much into it - didn't like the sweetness - but I have picked out several specialty rolls to try in the future. And my tuna roll was excellent.
Just a few days later, we were at Musasi in Hampton having lunch. I prefer Musasi's salad dressing to Domo's. Less sweet, more peanuty. My salmon lunchbox was close to perfect. I was disappointed with my rolls though. I expected the standard California roll, with roe! Everything else was excellent, as usual.

Poquoson

Poquoson, VA is a small town on the Virginia Peninsula, which is also comprised of the cities of Hampton & Newport News and the county of York. Williamsburg is and/or is not a part of the Peninsula, depending on the context. While the population of Newport News is 180,000, and Hampton is 146,000, York County is scantily populated at 60,000. Poquoson & Williamsburg, at roughly 11,000 each, are small towns in comparison. Like all Hampton roads locales, Poquoson has its own personality. While Williamsburg has a similar sized population, with its constant influx of William & Mary students, tourists, and retirees, it feels nothing like Poqouson. In Poquoson, everybody knows everybody. Before December, my experience with Poquson had been a visit here or there to the pharmacy, which sells novelty items, or to the marina on Messick road, where my mother and aunt go just after sunrise on summer mornings to buy fish fresh off the boat. (scroll to the bottom of this post to view active listings in Poquoson.)

In December, I showed a house in Poquoson to a client. Once inside, I could see that this was no ordinary bungalow. What a creative set up! There were vintage bar stools on both sides of the breakfast bar.

And in the kitchen, a huge mural of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, painted onto the wall!

I thought the welcoming piggy was a great touch as well, and everyone enjoyed the candy.

In spite of the cuteness, if you know anything about the area, the first thing you will ask is about flood insurance and the like. Poquoson and Grandview in Hampton were hardest hit by Hurricane Isabel in 2003. The seller of this home raised the home to 12 ft above sea level after Isabel to ease his own worries and those of future buyers. Here's a sampling of listings in Poquoson. Check out the extra tall foundations of some of the homes: many of them used to sit on lower foundations, and were also raised after Isabel.

The agent on the other side of the transaction was very competent and friendly. She told me that she had moved over from a more populated city on Southside, and that she loved Poquson. She told me about Heidi's point, just down the street, where Heidi Laura Cayouette, an airline and aerobatic pilot and the daughter of a Poquoson resident was memorialized. She told me the park was privately owned by Heidi's mother, but that she had established it as a place open to the public. Of course I had to visit.

The trail to the lighthouse reminded me of the trail to Grandview.
Someone on flickr took a much better picture of the path. Hey, I'm not afraid to give credit where credit's due.

Here is the lighthouse, which my flickr buddy Jerry Gammon took a much better picture of.

And after that, all there is to do is to walk back.

There are lot of these bottle sculptures in Poquoson. I had previously only seen them in the movie "Ray." Maybe one day I will find the meaning.


Here's a sampling of listings in Poquoson. Check out the extra tall foundations of some of the homes: many of them used to sit on lower foundations, and were raised after Hurricane Isabel. Check out the value on 1327 Poquoson Avenue. At $139,000, it is priced $30,000 below the next least expensive home in Poquson, a home priced at $169,900.

Want to buy or sell a home in Poquoson? Email me at athreatt@greggarrettrealty.com or call me at 757-879-5830.

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Rotunda birthday party

Lofts from the mid 200's in downtown Norfolk, VA.



















Spotted on Flickr.

For more information about the Rotunda and/or homes for sale in Norfolk, VA, email me at athreatt@greggarrettrealty.com or call me at 757-879-5830.

Hampton University/Phoebus area to the Rotunda

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