Navigating Charlottesville's Changing Market, Answering the Phone & Infrastructure Choices
August 2025 | Note from Jim
August is upon us. Schools are restarting, fall is near, and we’re putting our helmet lights back on for the fall and winter morning rides.
This month: navigating a changing market, pulling comps for unrepresented buyers, the value of answering the phone, and disclosing AirBnBs.
They say that as you age, time moves faster. I guess I’ll find out.
First - I’m now talking to clients about buying or selling in 2026; want to have that conversation? Let’s have coffee.
Answer the phone
"Just answer the phone.” Sounds simple and profitable.
“Answering the phone” is easier said than done when 70% of my inbound unknown calls are spam, but in a world of detachment, a human, “hello” matters.
I recently represented a seller who had originally worked with my mom about 20 years ago. My client said, "Your mom answered the phone when I called her 20 years ago. You did the same thing."
Simple.
Disclose AirBnB?
Q: What is a seller’s agent’s responsibility to disclose that 3 out of 10 neighbors are AirBnB?
A: Never. It’s not my role as a seller’s agent to do the buyer agent’s/buyer’s research for them.
I did have sellers once who, being fortunate enough to have multiple offers to consider, eliminated one buyer after my clients determined that they did not want to inflict a short term rental on their soon-to-be ex-neighbors.
As a buyer agent? I’ll do my to find out what I can, but ultimately, my legal obligation to my buyer clients are the four corners of the property. That, and I likely don’t live there and don’t have first-hand knowledge of the neighbors or the street — but you could, if you walk or ride a bicycle around the neighborhood before you make the offer.
In this market, you’re likely to have more time to diligently consider life in a particular area before you offer — and that might mean learning more about he neighbors.
Buyers should *absolutely* research Short Term Rental regulations before they buy a property intending to use it as an AirBnB.
Has the market ever been bad?
Yes, the market has been different, and bad even. I’m going to do an in-depth market look next month, but for August —
We’re in a transitioning market. I said in C-Ville recently:
Local realtor Jim Duncan of Nest Realty says he doesn’t think interest rates are playing that big of a factor.
“I see the market is slowing due to intentional national uncertainty with respect to employment, tariffs, and the cuts that are affecting UVA and other educational institutions,” Duncan says. “Homes are absolutely still selling, and buyers do want to purchase.”
It’s not the rates necessarily. It’s the world market.
I was talking to someone recently and they asked, "How could the sellers not know that they might lose money, or not make X% profit?"
My answer was simple - If all they know is appreciation and profit, that's what they are going to expect. If they bought their house in 2014, they have 12 years years of institutional knowledge.
If they bought their first house and sold in 2 years and made money, then bought and sold their next house in 3 years and made money, and they have now been in their house for 7 years, their expectation is that values only and always go up.
Transitions are hard. Understanding the market is hard, and feelings are not as relevant as data.* I tend to say very delicately, “the market does not care what you need or want to make or pay, the market is what it is, and here are the most relevant comps. Data can be shaped, but ultimately it’s unemotional and unbiased.
“I’ve been here and done this before” is one of the things I say that helps me give confidence to my clients, and candidly, to myself a bit too.
—
In the "don't reinvent the wheel" category, these are a few images from the most recent CAAR report. The CAAR report is good enough for an overview of the Charlottesville area market.
My caveats:
Sold data does not reflect today's data: that's better seen by looking at pendings, actives, and days on market.
I include withdrawn listings and expired listings when I am doing analyses for clients; these show what didn't sell, and for how much – very valuable insight.
As I’ve said for many years, I’ll tell you in 18 months what happens tomorrow.
* MLS data is gold, and we depend on it every single day.
Unrepresented buyers asking for comps
A buyer reaches out and says they want to make an offer on one of my listings. I ask if they have representation, and they say no; they intend to be unrepresented.
I’m happy to represent my seller and tell the buyer which blanks to fill in on the offer as they are unrepresented. I explain that it is a competitive situation; they understand.
And then they ask me to pull comps for them so that they will feel comfortable and not overpay.
And that’s where the conversation shifted; guiding an unrepresented buyer is counter to representing my seller. And another reason that I do not/Nest agents to not practice single agent dual agency.
I cannot, and will not, pull comps for an unrepresented buyer, and especially not if they are writing an offer on my listing. Simple.
They understood and hired a good agent to represent them.
Nonprofits we like
We are in/entering some difficult times; these are two of our favorite charities in the Charlottesville area:
Why Might I move from Substack?
I really like/liked Substack. But, as the story goes, if you're in a bar and a couple of Nazis walk in and you stay, you're hanging out in a Nazi bar.
Substack Sends Notification Promoting Nazi Blog
Last year I debated moving, and chose not to. No one out there will care either that I moved or why I moved. Hopefully you will. I know I do.
But the good community here on Substack is valuable, and I don’t know that I want to abandon the good parts.
Where were we yelled at?
My wife and I recently took a trip. Where do you think we were yelled at by airport staff?
BWI
San Francisco
Vancouver
Sydney
Also, while this trip necessitated it, we checked bags for the first time in years. Never again.
Next month: the 0 to 3 agents, impact drivers, AI & humanity, and one of my favorite comments from a client.
What I’m Reading
Superman Metaphors - Seth Godin is good.
One of the best things I've read/watched about AI, skills, practice
Real estate agents use the power of AI to command plumbing, layout to disappear - people have always deceived; AI make it easier.
Housing Cost Burden Reaches Decade-Long Peak, Squeezing Those Starting Out and Those Staying Put
Long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution linked to increased risk of dementia
How the Rapid Spread of Misinformation Pushed Oregon Lawmakers to Kill the State’s Wildfire Risk Map
Albemarle County got crushed by a ransomware attack; it could have been worse. St. Paul, MN, was hacked so badly that the National Guard has been deployed
What I’m Listening To
Statistics: Trump’s firing rocks the foundations of economics
Ren; not sure how I came across him, but he’s interesting
Every time we travel, I look for two things: infrastructure and real estate windows.
Thank you, as always, for reading.
— Jim
434-242-7140