Things are not looking good for the local housing market, Brian McNeill writes in the Progress, but few real estate agents will say that in so many words. Dave Phillips, CEO of the Charlottesville Albemarle Association of Realtors, actually claims that the market is “hot,” with the caveat that that’s in relation to Alaska’s temperatures. Pat Sury of Montague Miller says “we have stabilized,” and that “it’s a great time to buy.” And the president of CAAR, agent Judy Savage, says “we’ve hit bottom.” Real Estate III’s Pam Dent suggests that now is the time to buy a home in Glenmore because, really, who can commute all the way to a barn to see their horse? (It’s dreadfully inconvenient.) All of that tells me that we may have a lot farther down to go. Real estate blogger Jim Duncan is inclined to agree that, at least, there’s no way to tell whether or not we’ve hit bottom: you’ve got to start back up before you can know. Real estate agents are dropping like flies, expensive houses are being rented for a song, and houses are languishing on the market for months and months. True to its mission, the Bubble Blog says the bottom is nowhere in sight, and its proprietor has taken to drinking. So it’s a buyers market…as long as you don’t need a mortgage.
Monthly Archive for July, 2008
Page 4 of 6
19-year-old Slade Woodson has pleaded guilty to the overnight shooting spree on Route 64 in March, Jimmy LaRoue writes for the News Virginian. He’s waived a right to an appeal, and is facing up to 55 years in prison. Sentencing isn’t likely for a few months.
In The Hook, Lisa Provence provides the first description of what happened the night of the 64 shootings. The 16-year-old—the accomplice in the case—was spending the night at 19-year-old Slade Woodson’s house. It was the first time his parents let him stay over at a friend’s house. It was also the first time he ever had alcohol. Woodson split a case of beer with him, and the boy had 8-10 beers in under four hours. The two headed out for a ride, Woodson turned out to have a gun in his vehicle, and that was when they started shooting. The next morning, back at home, the boy realized what he’d done, and immediately set about figuring out how to turn himself in. Prosecutor Darby Lowe praised the boy for his immediate and complete cooperation in the case. He’ll spend six months in the local juvenile detention center, and then be monitored electronically and pay $12k in restitution to his victims.
VDOT has a bridge planned for Advance Mills, and this time they mean it. Brandon Shulleetta writes in the Progress that VDOT is proposing a $3M steel truss bridge to replace the existing bridge, which has been shut down for over a year because of its aged condition. VDOT had planned to build a bridge, cancelled their plans, planned to build a temporary one followed by a permanent one and then cancelled that. At this point, folks in Advance Mills just want a bridge, and don’t seem to particularly care about the details. This final (?) planned bridge is due to be finished by late next year or early 2010.
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