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Smarter Buyers
During the recent hard times, people learned to be better negotiators, Day noticed. “They’re asking good questions. They want to know how prices are arrived at. They know more about financing,” she says of potential homeowners.
“Financing is more challenging,” she added. “You used to be stuck in one mold,” she said, explaining another change in the modern market; now buyers and sellers are more flexible in their negotiations and there is an assortment of funding avenues other than bank mortgages.
One thing never changes, according to Day—land will always be a wise investment. “It’s nice to know that what you’re buying now will be worth more later.”
She has noticed a recent “upsurge in activity.” She has a backlog of potential buyers who have been trying to get to Rappahannock since January to look at land and were prevented by the weather. “They’re more optimistic since the inflation slowed down.”
As in other parts of the state, a few real estate brokers have given up the business because of the hard times, but Day says “more are coming in — there’s more interest.” The ones who stayed were in real estate sales full time. Those who left were mostly part-timers who had other jobs and were looking for a little extra revenue. Rappahannock figures are on a far smaller scale than elsewhere, however.
The president of the Fauquier Board of Realtors recently told reporters that membership had fallen from 287 to 167 in just four years.
In Rappahannock, companies that belong to the Board of Realtors can be counted on one hand. Day ticks off on four fingers: Newbill Miller, Roger Batchelder, Peggy Clark and herself. Of course there are other real estate agents who don’t belong to the association and there are other Rappahannock Realtors who sell through companies in other counties. But there is seldom any vast swing in the number of people employed in the occupation. Real estate remains a sound profession in Rappahannock.
As in the rest of the state, Rappahannock home builders are hammering away at a record rate.
The local building boomlet has been growing steadily for several years. The county zoning office reports
more building permits being issued each year for new houses.
The records show 34 in 1981, 39 in 1982 and 50 in 1983. So far this year there have been five building permits issued for new homes. So the trend is likely to continue. For, permits were issued even during the dark winter months of January and February when no one wanted to build last year.
By the end of April last year, six permits had been approved. That’s only one more than this year’s
figures through the end of March. The milder April weather should bring more requests to increase the supply of homes in Rappahannock County.
(Next week: County’s Biggest Employer, Aileen)
87.5%