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.