The Housing Interpreter March 2015

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Housing InterpreteR CURRENT TRENDS IN REAL ESTATE AND THE RICHMOND REGION A PUBLICATION OF THE RICHMOND ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

WHAT’S COOKING IN RICHMOND:

MARCH 2015

Regional trends kicking off in 2015

IN THIS ISSUE: • HENRICO GETS ITS FIRST RESTAURANT WEEK • HOME BUILDING ASSOCIATION OF RICHMOND 2015 LOCAL FORECAST SEMINAR RECAP • DOWN PAYMENT RESOURCE HELPS MATCH QUALIFYING HOME BUYERS WITH ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

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HENRICO GETS ITS OWN RESTAURANT WEEK THIS APRIL

T

his year, Henrico Citizen will present the first Henrico Restaurant Week April 11th through April 19th, featuring two-course lunch and three-course dinner options at several Henrico restaurants, at fixed prices. Prix-fix prices at participating restaurants will be $10 or $15 for two-course lunches and $20, $25, or $30 for three-course dinners.

A portion of the proceeds from the event will be donated to the Virginia Home for Boys and Girls, also located in Henrico County. The Virginia Home for Boys and Girls, founded as the Richmond Male Orphan Society in 1846, now operates as a comprehensive child and family services agency.

“This is an organization with great roots in the region and in Henrico, and it does tremendous work with children and teens who need extra guidance,” said Tom Lappas, Publisher of Henrico Citizen.

A wide variety of restaurants in the Henrico area will participate, and several will create special meals and combinations for the event.

“We were looking for a new way to create a revenue stream for ourselves and we also wanted to benefit local restaurants during a slower time of the year, while supporting a local nonprofit by asking restaurants to donate two dollars from each dinner and one dollar from every lunch to a local charity,” Tom said.

“We do a lot to promote local restaurants anyway, and we had all the tools available to do it,” he added.

“We were looking for a new way to create a revenue stream for ourselves and we also wanted to benefit local restaurants during a slower time of the year, while supporting a local nonprofit by asking restaurants to donate two dollars from each dinner and one dollar from every lunch to a local charity,” Tom said.

Henrico is currently home to over 500 restaurants, including a variety of ethnic cuisines; fine dining; barbeque; seafood; wine bars; brewpubs; and specialty restaurants that offer unconventional dining experiences, like Brazilian churrascaria and fondue.

“We’re not trying to compete with Richmond’s Restaurant Week—they’ve only had a couple of restaurants in Henrico, and they’re usually sponsored by a chamber of commerce or board of tourism, and very infrequently a media source,” Tom said.

The event will kick off and conclude with two weekend bar crawls. For $60 per ticket, participants will be transported to three different restaurants, where they will sample various dishes and two beverages at each stop. Reservations at participating restaurants are recommended during the event. ■

Participating restaurants include:

Serving Glen Allen, West End Richmond, and northern Chesterfield

(804) 672-CUTS (2887)

For more information, visit henricocitizen.com/henricorestaurantweek

CENTRAL VA HOME SEARCH APP LOCAL. CURRENT. RELIABLE.

One

of the most important aspects of making a home look its best is ensuring that the yard and exterior space look their best. If you’re not a do-it-yourselfer, finding a professional and reliable service is no small task.

Weeded! Lawn Service, in business since 2002, offers all the yard maintenance services for your yard from one vendor - making things easy on homeowners. Starting in mid-March, Weeded! Lawn Service comes on a weekly basis to mow, blow walkways & driveways and string trim.

Letting a professional handle lawn care needs can make all the difference in maintaining a healthy, green and beautiful outdoor space. Besides bringing professional experience to the table, it also gives a homeowner the opportunity to relax and enjoy the landscape and outdoor space that has been specifically tailored for them.

With Spring and Summer upon us, mowing is something that a lawn needs on a weekly basis to stay healthy. For each customer, Weeded! Lawn Service will come during a regularly scheduled time window, every week. To keep the aesthetic appeal

of a homeowner’s lawn, grass is cut at the proper height for each season, as well as trimmed to ensure that grass edges are sharp at walkways, beds and driveways. When mowing each week, it is also possible for the mowing direction to be changed so that a pattern or design is created to enhance the visual of the lawn.

Services with Weeded! Lawn Service are offered all year long, throughout most of the Richmond area, including Glen Allen, West End Richmond, and northern Chesterfield.

Weeded! Lawn Service prides itself on professionalism and experience. Owner David Bender started mowing lawns at the age of ten. “We have been in business since 2002 and offer all of our customers reliable and professional service,” says Bender. “When a customer calls our office, there will always be someone to speak to on the other end of the phone. We pride ourselves on customer service.”

To contact Weeded! Lawn Service, call (804) 672CUTS (2887).

With The New Tool Down Payment Resource, Your REALTOR速 Can Help Determine Whether You Qualify for a Down Payment Assistance Program.

Serving Glen Allen, West End Richmond, and northern Chesterfield

(804) 672-CUTS (2887)

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Home Builders Association of Richmond

2015 Local Forecast

On Friday, February 13th, 2015, the Home

Building Association of Richmond (HBAR) held its annual local market forecast seminar to review trends in local home building over the previous year and provide some insights on what to expect this year.

The first speaker, Dr. David Crowe, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), provided an overview of the national new home market trends for 2014. According to his NAHB “Economic and Housing Outlook” p r e s e n t a t i o n , new home sales in Richmond reached 47 percent of “normal” levels in 2014 and are projected to reach 76 percent of “normal” levels by 2016. The Richmond market nationally ranked in the top 40 to 60 percent tier, relative to “normal” production levels.

Craig Toalson, Chief Executive Officer for HBAR, took the floor next and provided an overview of the “RVA New Home Market Report” for 2014. The data in the report, provided by Integra Realty Resources (IRR)-Richmond, indicates that the momentum of the new home market recovery in 2013 was not sustained in 2014.

Home closings were down by 6 percent and permits were down by 8 percent relative to 2013. The difficulty has been attributed to a number of factors, including higher costs for building materials,

increased government regulations, and economic uncertainty. New home prices in the region climbed 7 percent from 2013, and indicate increased building costs and a shift toward more high-end home sales.

Some locations, such as the region’s most populous suburban counties—Chesterfield, Henrico, and Hanover—fared better than others. These areas accounted for 83 percent of all new homes sales in the local market and saw the smallest dips in the number of new home sales. Chesterfield County had the highest number of new home sale closings and Powhatan County had the highest price gains— climbing 15 percent from new home prices in 2013.

The number of residential building permits issued for new construction was down 8 percent relative to the previous year. HBAR and Commonwealth Partnerships (CWP) have attributed this to rising building and regulatory costs. Chesterfield County issued the most single-family residential building permits in the region—followed by Henrico and Hanover. For the first time since 2008, Chesterfield County also issued the most multi-family permits in the region. According to CWP, the large jump in permits issued in Chesterfield raises a question about a potential multifamily bubble developing in the county.

The report concluded that despite a step backward for the new home market recovery in 2014, there were some bright spots, and the high-end new continues to show strong signs of life.

Serving Glen Allen, West End Richmond, and northern Chesterfield

(804) 672-CUTS (2887)

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“We are still very much in a recovery and given the role that home building plays in the larger economy, it’s important that we continue to work toward that rebound. One good sign was the increase in home prices, which underscore the strength of the local market,” HBAR concluded in the report.

Rob Carter, with Southern Traditions, LLC, shared some current trends in building that are best selling. These include open floor plans, a main level master bedroom, and outdoor living spaces. Craftsman and farmhouse have been the most popular architectural styles. Large walk-in showers have exceeded master tubs in popularity and other design trends include creative built-ins, ceiling features, spacious laundry rooms with designated pet spaces, and painted cabinets.

Katherine Hill, Showroom Manager for Ferguson Enterprises, presented some current kitchen and bath trends. Color trends include gold (but not brassy) hardware, and gray walls, cabinets, and building materials. Mixing traditional with a hint of contemporary, as well as mixing materials and mixing masculine with feminine designs, has been a popular theme in the last year. “Rustic luxe” has been another popular trend, including reclaimed woods and industrial style metal materials.

Pendant lights, farmhouse sinks, and free standing tubs have been some of the top trending new home features. ■