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Chesterfield vs. Henrico

I keep hearing you get more house for your money in Chesterfield. Is this true?

I've always heard the same thing -- for years! I've also noticed that once someone settles on one side of the river, they rarely move across it. You would think there was a wall running down the middle of the James!

There are actually two pieces to this pie. First -- we always want to buy a home for as little as possible. That's just plain ole human nature.

Second, we also want to sell our homes for as much as we can get. That too, is human nature. Unfortunately, all things being equal, it's really hard to sell high and buy low.

So, how does this translate to where you want to live?

If you buy in a location that is reasonably priced, then you probably won't see as much appreciation when you go to sell that home. The upside, however, is that you'll usually get more house and better condition/features than a home in a pricier location.

So, how does this translate to Chesterfield vs. Henrico vs. Richmond City -- the three major localities in our Metro area?

Over the years, and also based on my own experience, I have found that you can get more house for the money in Chesterfield. I've also found less appreciation and a longer time on the market when it's time to sell that house.

What's interesting is what is going on now.

Below there are some hot off the press figures from our Multiple Listing Service (MLS) that compare the third quarter of 2008 (Q3 08) with the same period in 2007. Based on those numbers, it actually looks as though Chesterfield is holding its own.

That's a great story for our south of the river folks and sort of throws out the window the beliefs from the past.

And just as an FYI, there are also some generally reassuring trends that should bring comfort to all of us. For example, our sales activity was stronger in the third quarter of 2008 than for the rest of 2008, and only slightly lower than the 3rd quarter of 2007. Yeah!

The two areas that did the best were Henrico and The City. They were both up by about 2 percent -- but the difference isn't dramatically greater than Chesterfield.

There is a great hunger out there on the part of Buyers (and remember Sellers -- that's also you on the other side!) to find deals and the figures bear that out. Forty percent of the homes that sold in Q3 08 were priced below $200,000.

So now to the stats.

Remember, if you look at the comparisons between Richmond City, Chesterfield and Henrico, you'll see that they are all tracking fairly closely together.

                      Units Sold    Ave.                                Sales Price

                      Q3 08   Q3 07    percent change           Q3 08           Q3 07            percent change

Chesterfield    936       929       0.8 percent                  $271,104        $270,766        0.1 percent

Henrico           938       919       2.1 percent                 $271,941        $273,694        - 0.6 percent

Richmond         618       606       2.0 percent                 $244,657        $245,802        - 0.5 percent

Under Contract         Q3 08            Q3 07            percent change

Chesterfield                   930              941               - 1 percent

Henrico                         884              898                - 2 percent

Richmond                      610              623                 - 2 percent

Sold units -- broken down by price -- 2008 (in thousands)

               <100            100-          200-           300-          400-       500-       600-        700-       800-     900-     +1mil

                                199            299            399            499         599        699           799         899      999

Chesterfield       9       308       327       182         59       24       10       10       0       4       3       936

Henrico         23       339       331       118         51       25       26         6       8       2       9       938

Richmond       102       210       158         76        29        18         9         2       4         2      8       618

Under Contact units broken down by price -- 2008 (in thousands)

          <100            100-          200-           300-          400-       500-       600-        700-       800-     900-     +1mil

                                199            299            399            499         599        699         799        899      999

Chesterfield       12     332       302       166         65       27       11         8       1        1       5       930

Henrico           26     350       301       104         45       30       10         4       5       4       5       884

Richmond        140     228       117         71         21       16         4         5       2        2      4       610

Active units -- broken down by price -- 2008 (in thousands)

          <100         100-              200-           300-         400-       500-       600-        700-       800-     900-     +1mil

                             199              299            399          499         599        699          799         899      999

Chesterfield   16     612       1003       461      238       89       72       41      21      20     36     2,609

Henrico             43    607         653       280      149       76       64       35      24       14     15     1,960

Richmond      255    642         348       169        77       36       24       16        5         7     19     1,598

Leigh Hulcher is the Associate Broker of Napier ERA's Carytown office. She has been a Realtor since 1994 and with her appraiser husband, Ron Cloninger, become a serial Buyer … Renovator … and Seller. She's lived it so she can knowledgably help you through every stage of the home buying and selling experience.

Questions for Ask the Agent can be submitted to asktheagent@richmond.com .