Would like some advice on waterfront communities on the Bay (Virginia Beach: for sale, foreclosures)

[Ms.Kristina]

My family and I are interested in moving to a waterfront community in Northern / Eastern Virginia that connects to the Bay. Can anyone reccommend a small / medium size town that has historic homes and a downtown area with quaint shops and retauants? We need it to be reasonably affordable to own and maintain a home so that we can enjoy being on the water. Crime and family activities are also important. I guess I want a little of everything. I would apprecaite any suggestions of places to explore or avoid. Thanks

[Mark Sr.]

Hello Ms. Kristina,

I have some questions:

-Where are you coming from?
-What do you consider "affordable"?
-Ages of kids?
-On the water or a short walk to the water?
-Are you looking to fish on, boat in, walk near, play in, or look out over said water?

From my bay beach, in the summer you can watch the sunset over the water, and in the fall ride your bike to a top rated elementary school http://www.vbschools.com/school_data...20B.%20Dey.pdf. I am not as sure about quaint and historic, though.

-Mark

[Ms.Kristina]

thanks for replying mark,

children 11, 7. water to look at, hear, feel, play in, boat, not much fishing, would like it in my back yard! comming from california, market plunging!! costs 300,000.00 to 500,000.00, and would like to know what is the percentage taken off the asking right now for your areas. nationally, i know everything is down and negotiable, however, here, prices are asking 600,000.00 get 500,000.00. so that said, i will look forward to your reply.

[rmboyle]

You may consider the Poquoson area. There are many creeks that lead to the York River and then the bay. The schools are highly rated. Here is a link to the city website: City of Poquoson: Home

Rosalind

[shellytc]

Ms. Kristina, Hampton Roads is NOT like California. Yes we are also in a buyers market, but we are not seeing the foreclosures that other areas are.. In fact we are rated in the top 10 for the least amount. Also, we had 5% appreciation year over year from 2006 to 2007. yes, our total units were down for sales, but our prices did plummet.

So, to give you a blanket statement of offering a specific % off would be malpractise. Not in your best interest. now that doesn't mean that there aren't deals to be had. If you can live anywhere, I would look at the northern coast of North Carolina... around the Sound... try Moyock and surrounding area. I know of one development that is on the sound, with a community boat ramp and dock, excellent homes and you get in for +/- 500k. My guess is, as development picks back up, they are prime to become very expensive : )

Have a nice day!!!

Shelly

[Mr Williamsburg]

What size would you consider a small to medium size town ? Most of the counties average about 10,000 to 15,000 in total population so the towns are very small in comparison. I would suggest taking a few days minimum to explore the area. Check out Kilmarnock, Deltaville, Reedville , Irvington, there are quite a few towns even smaller such as Kinsale, Lancaster, Montross, Callao, White Stone, etc.

Find a local REALTOR and ask them to give you a market analysis of sold homes with the criteria you are seeking. You will then see what the discounts are versus listed prices. In my experience there haven't been many huge discounts as you are seeing in other states. Quite a few retirees bought in the Northern Neck to have a getaway and a lot of them paid cash.

[shellytc]

Originally Posted by shellytc

Ms. Kristina, Hampton Roads is NOT like California. Yes we are also in a buyers market, but we are not seeing the foreclosures that other areas are.. In fact we are rated in the top 10 for the least amount. Also, we had 5% appreciation year over year from 2006 to 2007. yes, our total units were down for sales, but our prices did plummet.



Have a nice day!!!

Shelly

Hmm, I shouldn't answer questions when I am doing three things... sorry I meant to write Did NOT plummet.

Thanks, shelly

[dvcgal]

I would look towards Gloucester. There are several places on the water that are more affordable than say Virginia Beach. Gloucester is more secluded but they are starting to build it up.

[bigredg]

Check out the Yorktown beach area, it is right before the bridge on 17 that connects to glouster. There are a few shops, several historical locations of intrest, and a nice beach with facilities that are clean. I'd let my wife and children go without me, thats alot to say around here.

Another area to check out is downtown hampton and the Wythe area. DT hampton is a small downtown with several museums and shops and is on the water, wythe is a few miles away (bike ride) as a neighborhood is surrounded by water and there are nice older historic homes in that price range. The harbor outside my front door is where the Monitor-Merrimac battle happened in the civil war and is the birthplace of naval aviation.

As far as the pricing trends check out the city information on the City-Data site. Avg. price in 23661 (Hampton) has still gone up in Q3 and Q4, the quantity sold just went down.

[pbmulligan]

I have to thank bigredg for suggesting my home town of Hampton.

Hampton is up and coming a great place to still get a bargain, yet look forward to good appreciation when you sell. You can still get on big water- either Chesapeake Bay or Hampton Roads Harbor for under 500,000. For that quaint feel, check out Wythe or Pasture Point. Both neighborhoods feature older homes with "walkability."