Charlottesville - City Water vs Well and resale (Chester, Forest: real estate, houses)

[vzwkelly]

We are considering a move to Charlottesville this summer. I have been focusing my search on Albemarle County, specifically due to the schools. Resale of our home will be very important due to the fact that my husband and I only plan to be in the area for 3-5 years. (civilian job with the Army).

I had also looked at some of the more northern counties (Greene) due to the fact that they are closer to where my husband will work (NGIC on 29)... however those houses seems to stay on the market longer and the schools aren't rated as highly.

We would love to have a little bit of land, but I seemed to notice all the properties are on "wells" in those areas. Our price range is $300K - $350K and the most listings that appear (and have been on the market awhile) are all on wells.

Does this hurt resale? Should we focus more on those homes with city water, especially if we know this is not a long term purchase? I don't trust a real estate agent for the answers, as they want to make a sale..... I would rather ask someone from the area that knows what the general consensus is......

We just want to be in an area that seems to sell well on a consistant basis....

[Pavel]

Hi VZWKELLY,

I'm not sure why you would not want to ask this of a Realtor as they most likely will have the right answer for you. I ran some numbers for Greene County and here is the result:

time period: 1/1/2004-12/31/2004 (most would consider a healthy market)
107 properties sold with a well
140 properties sold with public water/public water access

time period: 1/1/2007-12/31/2007 (most would consider a changing/declining market)
81 properties sold that had well water
100 properties sold that were on public water/public water access.

So - it doesn't seem to make much difference. There are micro-markets within each market. In my experience if someone bought high, they are often not willing to sell low. However, if you can find a re-sale property that was not purchased at the peak and Seller is willing to be reasonable you can get a great price... and in 3-5 years from now, hopefully still be under the competition price wise....after all it's the price, condition, and location that are the 3 biggest criteria which determine how quickly a property will sell. Hope this helps. Disclaimer: I am a Realtor in Charlottesville, VA In addition to Greene: I hear Forest Lakes, Chesterfield, Deerwood, Hollymead, etc. are popular in the 29 North Corridor. My wife loves North Pines off of 29 North.