*** News from Jefferson County WV Property Market ***
Each month The Harding Report will include the latest news and information from the Jefferson County, West Virginia, property market. This is a free service compiled by Thomas Harding, a licensed real estate agent with Greg Didden Associates in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.
For additional local information or any other property enquiry contact:
Thomas Harding
www.tharding.com
304 671 7292 (cell-phone)
304 876 6400 (office)
Contents:
1. Charles Town Double Dipping
2. Charles Town in Deep Doo Doo?
3. Jefferson County property sales
4. 2003 best ever?
5. Savings on moving costs
6. Lending
7. Upcoming Events
"I love the Harding Report!" - Insurance Broker
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THE HARDING REPORT / February 2004
1. Charles Town Double-Dipping
Charles Town City Council voted to adopt 'proffer' fees last month. This
means that there are now two new fees if you are building in Charles Town -
one set by Jefferson County the other by Charles Town. The Charles Town fee
mathces that of Jefferson County., ranging from $4,040 to $7,120 depending
on the type of house being constructed. The council also adopted a $1,783
per residence fee to cover the anticipated capital costs of new residences
in the municipality. This includes necessary upgrades to police, parks and
rec and library facilities. They also will charge an additional $700 for
municipal operational expenses.
2. Charles
Town Sewer in Deep Doo-Doo?
Jefferson County was hit by a series of blows to its water and septic system
this month. Victor Wilford, director of environmental engineering division
for WV Bureau for Public Health said that the Breckenridge pumping station
maybe nearing its capacity. This comes after the Dec 23 2003 decision
(announced Jan 15 2004) by state health officials that they will hold all
applications for sewer permits in abeyance out of concern pertaining to the
ability of the sewer plant to properly treat additional flows arising from
increases in housing in the region. So far it has declined to approve 780
homes and a 20 office building. The Charles Town Sewerage Plant has had 78
violations concerning allowable pollutant effluent levels since Jan 1998
according to environmental group Potomac Riverkeepers, who have threatened
to sue Charles Town if it does not improve the sewer system by March 2004.
3. Jefferson County Property Sales
December 2003
December was an amazing month for sales in the area.
* Real estates sales increased in December 2003 from $9 million to $19
million compared to 2002
* Units sold increased from 47 to 85 in same period
* Average sale price increase from $208,000 to $231,000
Year end results for Jefferson County will be available soon.
4. 2003 Best Year Ever?
If you've thought there's been no better business than real estate during
the past year, you now have the numbers to support such thinking. Existing
home transactions reached a record high in 2003 with 6.1 million sales, up
9.6 percent from the year before, according to the National Association of
Realtors. At the same time, says the National Association of Home Builders,
"total new single-family home sales for 2003 reached 1.085 million, up 11.5
percent from the previous annual record of 973,000 in 2002."
These are amazing numbers for those in the real estate industry because unit
sales mean lots of business opportunities for brokers, lenders, insurers,
lawyers and builders. But more important to consumers is another number, the
one that talks about appreciation. NAR says that the national median
existing-home price was $173,200 in December 2003, up 6.7 percent from
December 2002 when the median price was $162,400.
The numbers above translate into big dollars. According to the Census
Bureau, we have a total of 121 million housing units. Of these, 72.2 million
are owner-occupied. So, if a typical home had a typical value increase, it
means each owner would have additional equity worth $10,800. Nationwide,
that comes out to $779.8 billion.
A twelfth of 2004 is now past and interest rates remain below 6 percent for
fixed-rate, 30-year financing. The economy -- in many respects -- seems to
be recovering from the dour times of the past three years. But it's equally
true that unemployment remains a significant problem, one that no amount of
political damage control can hide or deny. The value of the U.S. dollar when
compared with the Euro has been stressed for months. Government budgets at
the state and federal levels are awash in red ink. It doesn't help that
Medicare reform legislation, passed two months ago, has seen cost estimates
rise from $400 billion to $534 billion. And impressive increases in the
gross national product haven't done much for a lot of our neighbors --
personal bankruptcies are at record levels.
Keep in mind that real estate is a long-term investment. While year-to-year
numbers are interesting benchmarks, such national calculations are far less
important than the ultimate number, the one that counts: The net result when
you sell.
http://realtytimes.com
5. Savings on moving costs
More and more families are moving themselves rather than hiring companies to
do the hard work for them. One great way to save money is to order moving
boxes through the internet. Prices can be half what is charged by moving
firms. For example www.moveout.com charges $1 for a small box compared to $2
from local companies. Tape, paper and stickers are also available as are
package deals. Of course, delivery takes a few days, so forward planning is
recommended.
6. Lending
Long-term mortgage interest rates were virtually unchanged Monday, and the
benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.15 percent.
The 30-year fixed-rate average slipped to 5.39 percent, and the 15-year
fixed-rate remained at 4.7 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up slightly at
3.31 percent.
The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.98 percent.
Rates are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Mortgage rate figures are according to Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly
averages based on its survey of 4,000 banks in 50 states. Points on these
mortgages range from zero to 3.5.
http://www.inman.com
7. Upcoming Events
2/12/04: Pickin' and Grinnin': - This event takes place every Thursday
evening during the year at 7:30 p.m. at O'Hurley's General Store, 205 E.
Washington Street, Shepherdstown W. Va. For more information call
1-304-876-6907.
2/20/04: African Resurrection: - African Resurrection is Baltimore's
premier African Heritage Dance ensemble. Stimulating awareness in the
African and African-American communities, African Resurrection performs the
centuries old traditions of West Africa dance and drumming. Founded on the
concept of Sankofa, "reaching back....to move forward." African Resurrection
provides an exciting program of traditional dance, music and folklore.
Performance time 8:00pm at the Frank Arts Center Theater. Tickets $10.00 for
adults and $5.00 for Children under 18. Call PASS's box office at
304-876-5497 for tickets and questions about the event.
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