April home resales selling for 3.4% above assessments

Lisa Billings/Chesterfield Observer While some homes are appraising for less than their assessed values, Greg Cuenin, area manager for First Horizon Home Loans, says at the same time many banks have tightened requirements on equity lines, too.

The average resale home in the county sold for 3.4 percent above assessment value in April. According to data from the Chesterfield Real Estate Assessor's Office, 257 homes sold last month for a combined total of $69,462,212, which is $2,300,812 higher than the combined assessed value.

That probably provides some comfort to homeowners who believe their homes are assessed at higher values than they can command on the market. But the resale homes only reflect those condominiums, townhouses and single-family homes that sold and not those that didn't - some of which have been on the market for months.

The assessor's office tracks resales of existing homes. "That's how we're going to tell if home prices are increasing or not," said Director Jonathan Davis.

Some homes are selling for less than the previous selling price. A Birkdale home on Pebble Beach Court sold for $355,000 in 2006 and $314,000 last month. In The Grove, a residence on Scotter Hills Lane sold for $248,590 in 2005 and almost $5,000 less in April. Last year, a 4,904-square-foot home on Jennway Trail in Summer Lake sold for $600,000 and just $505,000 this time. In the Watermill subdivision, a home on Water Race Drive was purchased for $333,730 two years ago and $310,000 in April.

For last month, 386 transactions were reported, including homes, land and commercial properties. That's a slight increase from March with 363 sales but far below the 701 transactions in April 2007.

The most active communities in home sales last month were Charter Colony (20 sales), Brandermill (8) and Ashbrook, Birkdale, Deer Run, The Grove, The Highlands and Woodlake with five each.

Another impact of the downturn in the real estate market is how it has changed the requirements for most home equity lines, affecting those who want to borrow against the value of their homes. "Last year, you could get an equity line if you had a home and a pulse," quipped Greg Cuenin, area manager of First Horizon Home Loans.

Not so today. His firm is owned by a bank, and Cuenin says many in the industry will let you borrow up to 80 percent of the value of your home - if your credit rating is 680 or higher - compared to full market value before.

That's proving difficult for those families who want to roll their equity line into a refinanced mortgage. "We're seeing some appraisal values come in lower than assessed value," explained Cuenin. First Horizon sports an attractive 4.25 percent interest rate on equity lines.

According to CEO/President Larry Lyons, the subprime mortgage loan problem has had little impact on Central Virginia Bank. "What has changed is the rampant appreciation in value and assessments while [home] sales have slowed dramatically," he said. "It's a great time to buy a house if you don't have to sell one first. But if your credit score is good, we still loan money up to 95 percent."