Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 5 · column 5 of 6 · from the scan, no model involved
ing to pay.”
She said buyers in Rappahannock are frequently looking for second homes. “We used to sell land with a marginal farmhouse on it,” she said. “Now that marginal farmhouse is giving trouble when it comes to financing. If it’s not a three-bedroom rambler with a full basement, they don’t know what to do with it.” She is concerned that this will impose too much conformity in housing.
“I think our market has started to recover,” she added. “It might be safer if it is a slow steady upswing.”
Those in the building industry also see some signs of an upswing.
Building inspector Richie Burke said his office has issued 26 building permits for new houses in the first six months of 1991, compared to 62 in all of 1990,'74 in 1989, and 80 in 1988.
He said the first three months of this year were very slow, but that applications started picking up in April. He expects an increase in early fall from people who want to get their house under roof before winter weather sets in.
Mr. Burke said he believes the total of building permits for new houses in 1991 will be above last year’s but probably not above the total for 1989.
Another difference compared to last year, is that more “upscale custom homes are being built,” Mr. Burke said. Figures from the building office show that the average value of houses built in 1990 was $85,200. The figures for the first six months of this year show an average
96.7%