Sales stats show Valley’s promise

The News Virginian / News Virginian
Published: December 9, 2007

That the housing slide that has gripped much of the rest of the country has scarcely been palpable here is instructive. The number of sales and average sale prices in greater Augusta are marginally down in the first 10 months of the year from 2006, but pending sales are up by more than a third, according to Virginia Association of Realtors statistics.

Driving the trends in our area - or at least counterbalancing the sales dip triggered by the subprime lending collapse - has been a push from retiring baby boomers to buy second homes in the mountains. Wintergreen Resort sold 23 homes in the six-month period ending in September at an average sales price of more than $530,000. The pace in August and September roughly matched that of the same period in 2006.

Nelson County builder Steve Crandall says his business similarly remains robust, with retirees growingly attracted to rural regions outside the world of crowded streets and traffic jams. Places such as Stuarts Draft and Fishersville offer a mix of the quieter country life in tight proximity to the bustling retail district in Waynesboro's west end.

The piece still missing, of course, is a vibrant downtown Waynesboro. That element is crucial to our city realizing its potential, especially given the reasonable expectation that more people will continue to look toward the Shenandoah Valley for a second home or a place to settle after retirement. In addition to the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains, our region offers affordability - the median home price in greater Augusta is $205,706, compared to more than $280,000 statewide.

Add to the second-home market the chance to pull in travelers from the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive, visitors to Shenandoah National Park and hikers from the Appalachian Trail and the picture gets clearer. A downtown district, complete with riverfront shops, restaurants and other attractions, not only would rejuvenate the city, it would give Waynesboro an economic base with staying power.

Neither the parkway nor Skyline is going anywhere. Nor is Shenandoah park. Building on those amenities and a growing residential base composed of people with plenty of disposable income would put the city on a path to greater long-term prosperity.

In next weekend's editions, we'll be taking a two-part look at the city's downtown and the riverfront area along with other towns of similar character. We've heard from plenty of readers already offering their ideas on this topic. We'd love to hear more. E-mail City Hall reporter Jimmy LaRoue at or Managing Editor R. Lee Wolverton at .

We all know how special our community is. Let's work together to move it forward.