My Home of The Week

This home isn't on the market, because it no longer exists! But I want to bring to life what Habitat for Humanity is doing in Crozet.

In 2024, they purchased this home that had been vacant for many years and was built with asbestos, inside and out. It wasn't safe, and it wasn't a great look sitting at the entrance to the city. They recently got zoning approved to build two units on the lot, and Habitat wants to bring affordable housing to Crozet. To qualify to buy one of the homes, you need to make less than 80% of the median income, which is about $85,000 in Albemarle County.

Check out the video below to see the location.

Three Notch'd Road
Crozet, VA

What I’m Watching

Trump's Executive Orders

On March 13th, Trump signed an executive order to cut through regulatory red tape that slows down housing construction and drives up costs. The big targets are environmental permitting, wetlands rules, and "green" building codes that add cost and time to new builds. He also signed a second order aimed at making it easier for community banks to do construction and mortgage lending. The goal is more supply, which is ultimately what fixes an affordability problem. Whether these orders actually move the needle is TBD, since a lot of the barriers they're targeting are at the state and local level anyway. But directionally, it's the right conversation to be having.

What The Local Market Is Doing

Pricing is everything right now in Virginia

Pricing is everything right now in Charlottesville.

I'm seeing a lull at certain price points when it comes to homes moving from listed to pending. And before you panic, this isn't new. I saw this exact same pattern last year around this time.

Here's what the data is showing: the median days on market has stretched to 26 days across Albemarle and Charlottesville, both noticeably slower than a year ago. Active listings in Albemarle are up 31% from Q4 last year, which sounds dramatic, but keep in mind we were starting from historically low inventory numbers. More homes, more competition for eyeballs, and buyers are taking their time on anything that feels overpriced.

The magic number right now seems to be around $499,000. That's the median for the last 30 days across Albemarle and Charlottesville, and I'm looking at resale homes under $1 million here, no new construction. Anything priced above that median has been sitting. Not everything, but enough that I'm noticing it. When a buyer really wants a home, it's gone in a day or a weekend. That part hasn't changed. But homes that need TLC? Those are lingering.

The broader expectation for 2026 is flat to 1-3% appreciation, and honestly, if the current days-on-market trend holds through spring, that feels about right. Same story as last year, different chapter.

Albemarle & Charlottesville

Homes Listed This Week - 60 | Last Week - 85
Median Sold Price - $505,000 | Last Week - $505,000
3.46 Months of Inventory | Last Week - 4.04
Today’s rate - 6.55% with a 30 Yr. fixed conventional mortgage - Last Week 6.36%

What Most Consumers Aren't Watching

The Zillow VS Compass Wars

If you didn't know, we are in the middle of a war. Not the Middle East one. The battle over where your home gets listed online and who controls that information.

Compass sued Zillow last June over a policy that required any home being marketed publicly to appear on the MLS within one day, or Zillow would ban it from their platform. This week, Compass dropped the lawsuit after Zillow quietly rewrote those very rules. Zillow then launched "Zillow Preview," letting select partner brokerages show pre-market listings exclusively on their platform before hitting the MLS. Essentially doing the thing they punished Compass for, just on their own terms.

Here's the bottom line: when you click "I want to speak to an agent" on Zillow, that agent paid for that lead. It's not about you. It's about revenue. What this industry actually needs is a national MLS with one set of rules for everyone. Until then, just know that where you find a home online is being shaped by corporate strategy, not your best interest.

What this industry needs is a true national MLS. One set of rules, one database, fair access for every agent and every buyer in the country.

My Final Thoughts

This week I posted a video on open concepts vs. closed off rooms, and the comments were all over the place. "I love open concepts." "I want rooms!" But the comment I kept seeing over and over was something like: "Open, closed, backwards, forwards, it doesn't matter as long as we can afford housing at this point."

Hard to argue with that. We have an affordability problem, and the Habitat story at the top of this newsletter is a perfect example of why local regulations need to change to actually move the needle.

Thank you for Reading My mission with this newsletter is to showcase the amazing destinations in and around Charlottesville, Crozet Waynesboro, & Staunton. Together, let's explore the beauty of our community and make informed decisions on your real estate journey. www.massierealty.com

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