It’s Full Speed Ahead at Middleburg Real Estate
I
By Leonard Shapiro
t was only supposed to be a year, the better to have their first child in the U.S. before Peter Pejacsevich and his wife, Ali, returned to London to resume their respective careers. It never happened. Instead, after living in a tenant house on her grandfather’s Atoka Farm halfway between Middleburg and Upperville, they became Peter enamored with the Virginia countryside and Pejacsevitch the people who live there and never moved back to Great Britain. “We just loved it out here,” Pejacsevich said in a recent interview. “We met so many nice people and it just made sense to stay here.” A native of Vienna, Austria, Pejacsevich had sold real estate there early in his career before moving into film production work in London. When they decided to stay in Virginia, he got his real estate license and joined the Middleburg office of Long & Foster. He also met and partnered with Scott Buzzelli there, and four years later, the two friends and colleagues decided to purchase a small local firm, Middleburg Real Estate, starting with only five employees, including the two of them. These days, it’s a far different story. Middleburg Real Estate/Atoka Properties now has nine staff and 73 real estate agents, with a 2020 sales volume at $330 million, a 44 percent increase over the previous year. The company is about to open a new office in Winchester in addition to its Middleburg headquarters and offices in Leesburg, Purcellville, Ashburn, Marshall and Charles Town, West Virginia. The Middleburg area real estate market remains hot, hot, hot for all the local firms, and the pandemic and historically low interest rates have helped fuel the ever-increasing flames. With so many people working from home, and planning to keep doing so, a number of former city dwellers are looking for a less frenetic, country lifestyle, not to mention no commute, another major factor in reduced local inventory and significant increases in prices in an obvious seller’s market. “Right now, there’s little inventory and a lot of buyers,” Pejacsevich said. “You better put your best foot forward if you’re making an offer. Be as competitive as you can right out of the gate because everyone else will be, too. It’s been an unbelievable ride.” Pejacsevich knows plenty about unbelievable rides. He and several Middleburg area friends, including Alex Vogel and Brian Wilson, have formed an auto racing team that competes in the American Endurance Racing series. They’re held at some of the east coast’s finest venues, including Watkins Glen, N.Y. and Summit Point in nearby West Virginia. The AER series, with races lasting between eight and 14 hours, began in 2014 out of a desire for an inclusive endurance racing series with simple rules. According to its website, “AER’s goal is to provide a fun, safe environment for experienced drivers to participate in endurance races using almost any production based race car.” There are photos of he and his teammates and their performance car displayed on the walls of Pejacsevich’s expansive third-floor office at the company’s Middleburg location on Washington Street. He’s clearly comfortable with life in the fast lane, both on the race track and in the current warp-speed local real estate market, as well.
An historic old mill, circa 1820, sits on the property.
PROPERTY Writes
Breathtaking Views All Around Fleetwood Farm West
F
leetwood Farm West showcases the rolling hills and majestic mountain views that Virginia’s Hunt Country is known for far and wide.
Comprised of 17 parcels totaling 1,326-plus acres of mature Fauquier County farmland, this massive plot sits only 60 miles west of Washington D.C. not far from the historic village of Paris, Virginia. There are four rental homes and a historic stone mill, c. 1820 on a property that also includes Crooked Run and a pond. It’s located a stone’s throw from Sky Meadows State Park and multiple country towns, including Delaplane, Upperville, Middleburg, and Millwood just over the mountain. There are ample trails and many local activities to enjoy. Access to the property is a snap with road frontage that includes Route 17 and Leeds Manor Rd., with Interstate 66 less than ten miles away and Dulles Airport a 40-minute drive. This property is not yet in conservation easement.
The Blue Ridge foothills beckon to the west.
60
Go Green Middleburg | Summer2021
