According to the Energy Star program, about 20 percent of the air traveling through ductwork in the average home is lost through leaks and holes. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory pegs that figure more broadly at 10 to 30 percent. Regardless, any leaking at all is a problem, says Benjamin Meredith, whose company, Building Knowledge, performs home inspections and home energy audits in and around Harrisonburg. Call it death by a thousand leaks. If your home is like pretty much every other American home that heats or cools with a forced-air system (where the heated or cooled air travels through ducts and out registers in the floor or ceiling), one if its most inefficient features is almost certainly that ductwork. According to the Energy Star program, about 20 percent of the air tra... 10/23/2013

Imagine for a moment that something has gone wrong with you climate control system at home – maybe the AC seems to have conked out, or maybe you’re facing a heating fail. You might well have to place an emergency call to your friendly Harrisonburg HVAC contractor. But before you pick up the phone, says Jay Monger, heating and cooling manager for Harrisonburg’s Excel Heating and Cooling, consider the following preliminary steps to pave the way for a smooth and speedy service call – or help you avoid the hassle and expense of that service call in the first place. Make sure the air filter is clean. If it isn’t, replace it with a new one and give the system a few hours. If nothing improves, go ahead and call. Nothing, though, says Monger, frustrates technicians and homeowners like an emerge... 10/23/2013

Buying or building a home will likely be one of the single most expensive investments you’ll ever make. That makes it important to have a good understanding of the budget you’ll develop with your contractor before construction begins. There are two basic kinds of contracts used for home construction or renovation jobs: fixed contracts or time and materials contracts. For new houses and large additions or remodels, the fixed contract is more common, as it puts a final price tag on the project. “Most people want to know what they’re going to be spending,” says Mike Herr of Herr & Co. Building Contractors, a custom home building company with 25 years of experience in Harrisonburg and the Shenandoah Valley. The major elements of a fixed contract are estimated materials and labor costs plus ... 10/23/2013

Click here to download Market Update charts for September 2013. The Harrisonburg area real estate market achieved a major milestone in its recovery from the crash of a few years ago. For the first time in nearly 5 years, there have been over 1000 homes sold in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County in the past 12 months, with 1003 sales. This 12-month “rolling average” is a very good measure of the market, far better than monthly totals which can vary greatly. What this tells us is the recovery trend is continuing and strengthening. What it doesn’t tell us is how much more the market has to go to reach a normal or healthy pace of sales. I believe we still have 10 – 15% more to go in terms of the annual pace of sales and will level off around 1100 – 1200 homes per year. Prices remained flat ... 10/08/2013

Hello all, Aimee here blogging on behalf of Kline May Realty and our family of agents. Today we'd like to make you aware of a great community event going on this weekend! If you're looking for something to do this Saturday, from noon until 6:00PM, consider visiting Hillandale Park for the International Festival. The Harrisonburg International Festival is a program of the Civic Engagement branch of the Fairfield Center, a nonprofit organization working to advance dialogue and understanding in our community.image courtesy of Festival website This great annual festival started in 1997, and it is a multi-faceted festival with sports and activities, music, food, and more. If you have the time, browse the festival website. It has lots of information on activities and also important info on pa... 09/26/2013

Click here to download Market Update charts for August 2013. August 2013 has proven to be, by one home, the best month of the year for home sales in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. According to the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Association of Realtors® Multiple Listing Service 109 homes sold in August, surpassing July’s total of 108. In fact, homes sales have averaged over 100 per month for the past five months – something that hasn’t happened since 2007, and the year-to-date total of 695 home sales is the best since 2007. Further encouraging news is contract activity remained strong in August, with Buyers placing contracts on 103 homes. Home prices were steady in August, with the 12 month average of $197,603 slightly more than 2% higher than last year at this time. Although inventory has... 09/06/2013

image courtesy of Preston Lake Facebook pageimage courtesy of Preston Lake Facebook page In 2007, the talk of the town was Preston Lake, a new community just east of Harrisonburg that embodied the "planned community" concept. Over 500 residences seamlessly integrated with amenities such as a community center, sports fields, walking trails, swimming pool and, of course, the lake. Despite intense interest from the community and over 200 properties reserved by potential buyers, the development fell victim to the real estate bust and financial crisis in late 2008. Eventually the lender foreclosed on the property and it has since been sold to a new developer, the Michael Companies, who have hired an experienced construction firm to complete the residential portion of the project. Evergreene ... 09/03/2013

On August 5th, Kline May Realty passed $100 Million in sales volume for 2013 as measured by the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Association of Realtors (HRAR). Kline May Realty has reached this milestone well ahead of 2012's sales volume pace, a positive sign for both the company and our local real estate market. Keith May, owner of Kline May Company, commented "We have over 50 agents and staff who are committed to helping our residential and commercial clients by providing the best service possible. We focus on each client, and at the end of the transaction we allow every customer to evaluate us. Based on these evaluations, we have over a 98.7% client satisfaction rate for both buyers and sellers. Our success has been based upon the focus our agents give every single transaction." This origina... 08/12/2013

Click here to download Market Update charts for July 2013. When campaigning for the 1920 Presidential election Warren G. Harding famously promised a “return to normalcy”, meaning Americans would return to the life they knew before World War I. While the real estate downturn of the past several years does not compare to a World War, I think the same phrase is an appropriate description of what is happening in our local real estate market - we are seeing the return to normalcy. Compared to the past 5 years, not only are more homes selling but they are selling more quickly and for higher prices. During the month of July, 108 homes sold in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, representing the highest monthly total of 2013. More importantly than the single month’s total, the trend for this ye... 08/08/2013

  Hello, this is Aimee blogging on behalf of Kline May Realty and our family of REALTORS®. Need something to do this Tuesday? Consider taking a trip to the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum and Botanical Gardens right here in Harrisonburg, VA. The grounds are free to the public and open from dawn until dusk every day of the year. -Click here for directions. -Click here for maps of the Arboretum. -Click here for policies and rules. -And click here for the current weather in Harrisonburg. During the summer, the arboretum is great place for a picnic lunch, reading a book, or an evening run. I recently started running, and I love to take my runs in the Arboretum. The scenery is beautiful, and the shade from the trees is a nice relief in this summer heat.According to the Arboretum website, "The Ed... 07/12/2013

Click here to download Market Update charts for June 2013. The Harrisonburg and Rockingham County real estate market remained strong in June, and the really good news is we may be seeing the first signs of price appreciation! Ninety-two residential properties sold in June, similar to May’s total of 95 properties. Most areas of the County have seen substantial increase in year-to-date sales over last year, with the two exceptions being the northwest portion of the County and Massanutten. Sales in the City of Harrisonburg are up 35% over the first six months of last year. Sales prices are the big story this month. For the first time since the downturn, the average sold price of homes (12 month average) is higher than the average sales price one year earlier! Further, if we look at an aver... 07/08/2013

Click here to download Market Update charts for May 2013. The Harrisonburg and Rockingham County real estate market seems to be strengthening at an increasing pace as we head into Summer. The numbers for May, 2013 show continued strong sales with 95 residential closings for the month and 379 residential closings for the first five months of the year – both figures representing a dramatic improvement over prior years. In fact, sales through the first five months of the year are 25.91% ahead of last year. I expected an increase in sales (around 10%) in 2013 due to the rebounding market but have been pleasantly surprised by the tremendous activity this year. The number of homes going under contract in May took a big jump to 143, indicating June and July will be very strong months for close... 06/12/2013

Hello there, Aimee again blogging on behalf of Kline May Realty and our family of agents. It's Staycation Tuesday, and I'm writing to you with another Shenandoah Valley staycation idea. The Explore More Discovery Museum in downtown Harrisonburg is a great spot to take your children, nieces/nephews, little brother/little sister, on a summer day. Here is a video that gives you a taste of what the museum has to offer. It's located in the heart of downtown at 150 South Main Street Harrisonburg, VA 22801, right by the Massanutten Regional Library. With almost 55,000 visitors a year, the museum stays busy, and people visit from all over, including 100 different municipalities in Virginia, over 40 different states, and even different countries: Germany, Canada, and England. The museum's hours ... 06/11/2013

Hello, this is Aimee, and I'm blogging on behalf of Kline May Realty and our family of agents. It's Staycation Tuesday (err Wednesday) everyone, and I promised an indoor adventure! This week you're lucky because you get staycation ideas on Tuesday and Thursday. Here's a riddle: Where can you find civil war memorabilia, home-style canned goods, vintage camo, and toys all under the same roof? The answer is 121 Carpenter Lane, which is where you will find the Shenandoah Heritage Market.We'll be blogging about the equally awesome The Shops at the Dayton's Farmers Market on Thursday. Often I like to go to both in one day, and they're always a place I take friends and family when they visit the Valley for the first time. So, here is a full list of things you can find at the Shenandoah Heritag... 05/29/2013

My name is Aimee, and I've been the person behind the latest Kline May Realty blog posts minus the monthly market report. I'm Kline May Realty's new Agent Marketing and IT Support Specialist. You see, I'm new to the real estate industry, and it seems like I started at just the right time. The agents and staff have embraced this bustling spring/soon-to-be summer market, and everyone is excited about the possibilities. I sat down with Karl Waizecker for a meeting the other day to ask him about the company's new now campaign. There's a website, TV ads, and radio ads to spread the word that now is the time to buy or sell! He said, "Urgency is back in the market, Aimee. Our agents are educated and ready to help."I have heard excited agents chatting about homes only being on the market a sing... 05/20/2013

Click here to download Market Update charts for April 2013. The market is back! April, 2013 saw more residential sales in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County than any month in the past several years, with the exception of June, 2010 (the Homebuyer Tax Credit deadline). Short and long term sales trend are heading in the right direction and the continued low inventory is bringing down average Days on Market and the supply of homes relative to the pace of sales. April’s 97 sales represent a dramatic increase over prior months and the April totals of prior years. Similarly, the first 4 months of 2013 saw more homes sold than any similar time periods since 2007, with 277 sales. These sales (January – April) represent a 23% increase over 2012. Equally encouraging are the number of properties f... 05/09/2013

Click here to download Market Update charts for March 2013. March brought more encouraging news for the 2013 Harrisonburg / Rockingham County real estate market. Short and long term sales trend are heading in the right direction and the continued low inventory is bringing down average Days on Market and the supply of homes relative to the pace of sales. In March, 67 residential units sold in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, according to the Harrisonburg Rockingham Association of REALTORS Multiple Listing Service (HRAR MLS), the highest March total since 2008. Similarly, the first quarter of 2013 saw more homes sold than any first quarter since 2008, with 180 sales. These first quarter sales represent a 19% increase of the first quarter of 2012. More encouraging than the closed transa... 04/15/2013

Spring is here! Disregard the thermometer. It’s the calendar that makes a difference when it comes to the Harrisonburg Farmers Market. Though the spring-like 70-degree temperatures are a week away, extended hours at the market have already started. From April until Thanksgiving, the market is open from 7AM to 1PM on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Did you know that 2013 is the third year in a row that the Harrisonburg Farmers Market was voted by the Daily News-Record as the “Best Place to Be on a Saturday Morning?” Though I can’t quite call myself a “market regular” yet, I would have to agree! The Farmers Market atmosphere is second to none! Even on the chilliest of spring mornings, the Farmers Market exudes warmth: from the cup of free-trade coffee in your hands to the fresh pastry you’re eat... 04/05/2013

This article about Harrisonburg Home Inspectors was originally published at www.LiveHB.com, Harrisonburg's Home Page. Harrisonburg Home Inspectors are a critical component to a residential real estate transaction.  This is the first in a series of articles that will feature one home inspector, Benjamin Meredith of Building Knowledge. After you enter a contract to buy a home in Harrisonburg, one item on the pre-closing checklist will be the home inspection (unless you actively decline one). The typical purpose of the home inspection is to make you, the buyer, aware of any “structural or mechanical defects” with the house before you complete the purchase. “I’m going to treat my buyer like I would if I’m doing an inspection for a relative,” said Benjamin Meredith, owner of the Harrisonburg... 03/13/2013

Click here to download Market Update charts for February 2013.. February continued the very encouraging trend in our local real estate market. The Harrisonburg-Rockingham Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service (HRAR MLS) reports significantly higher sales and contract numbers than have been seen at this time of year in the recent past. During February, 65 residential properties sold in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, far above the prior four February’s average of 46. The year to date total as of February 28 is also the highest since 2007 at 112 units, compared to 78 in each of the past 2 years – a 43% increase! So we know the year has started well… will it continue? When we look at the number of properties on which Buyers and Sellers successfully negotiated contracts durin... 03/11/2013