David Bruce

May 13th, 2011

Twin Hickory, Richmond’s Most Convenient Neighborhood!

Picture a neighborhood with an elementary, middle and high school in walking distance.  Picture a neighborhood with a grocery store, restaurants, ice cream shop, cleaners, pharmacy and other shops in walking distance.  Picture a neighborhood with a YMCA and public library in walking distance.  Picture a neighborhood with sidewalks, walking paths, playgrounds and pools. Sound to good to be true?  Not if you live in Twin Hickory!  Twin Hickory offers all this plus easy access to all area interstates, a 5 minute drive to Short Pump Town Center and West Broad Village, 3 minutes to Innsbrook, 5 minutes to 2 championship golf courses, 15 minutes to downtown Richmond and a straight shot down I-295 to Richmond International Airport. This planned development in the Richmond suburb of Glen Allen is a wonderful community and offers a wide range of homes. Check out these homes featured by Skye Bruce Properties! Read the rest of this entry »

May 5th, 2011

Maintenance-Free Homes in Richmond are a Popular Alternative for Busy Lifestyles

The American Dream: A two-story house with a yard, picket fence, 2.5 children and a golden retriever, RIGHT?  The challenge: Someone has to mow the lawn, weed the beds, paint the fence, replace the roof etc, etc.

For many homeowners the notion of home maintenance is overwhelming. They grew up watching their parents spend weekends with honey-do lists, and they are not going to follow in their footsteps. They don’t want to do that stuff. They want to be watching the kids on the soccer field Saturday morning, they want to hang out at the local Starbucks Sunday morning with the paper or their i-pad! Read the rest of this entry »

May 4th, 2011

Richmond Home Sales Up so far in 2011

Overall, home sales for the first quarter of 2011 were up in the Richmond region as compared to the first quarter of 2010 according to the Central Virginia MLS, but the persistent inventory of foreclosures and short sales continues to put downward pressure on prices, making it necessary to sell off this inventory for the market to continue to heal. 

National and Local Economic Overview
The national economy continued to show strength by several measures as 2011 has begun, and the Central Virginia region appears to be gaining some economic momentum as well. At the national level, the economy would be gaining even more traction were it not for the problems in the Middle East and subsequent increases in oil prices, and the continued malaise of thehousing market at the national level. After a very weak job market in Central Virginia, it appears that the region is turning the corner and is now adding jobs and should show growth in 2011. Read the rest of this entry »

April 25th, 2011

Housing Starts, Permits Rise in all 4 Regions Nationally!

Positive news in real estate for new home starts from YAHOO Real Estate! We are seeing a similar rise in the Richmond area.  Local builders are reporting more starts and an increase in activity in Central Virginia. 

Housing Starts rose in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 549,000 from 512,000 in February, an increase of 7.2%. Also, the February numbers were revised sharply higher from 479,000, so it is possible to see the increase as 70,000, or 14.6%. Relative to a year ago they are down 13.4%. Quite frankly, a year ago was also a pretty lousy time for homebuilders, so the fall is off a pretty easy comp. Read the rest of this entry »

April 4th, 2011

Kerry Kreis Joins Skye Bruce Properties!

Skye Bruce Properties is pleased to announce the addition of REALTOR® Kerry Kreis to our firm. He has earned a GRI designation as a Graduate of REALTOR® Institute, attended the University of Utah and holds a BA in Business Management from University of Phoenix. Originally from Indiana, Kerry has called the Richmond area home for more than 12 years.

Previously affiliated with Keller Williams, he is making the transition to take advantage of Skye Bruce Properties’ unique market position as both a full service real estate firm and a real estate media company. “Skye Bruce Properties is providing me incredible business, marketing and support services which will enable me to raise the level of service to my clients and help me accelerate the growth of my business,” said Kreis.

“With Kerry’s unique and valuable business, customer service and real estate skill set, we are excited he has chosen to move his business to Skye Bruce Properties,” commented Skye Bruce, Principal Broker.

Skye Bruce Properties is growing!  Learn more at SkyeBruceProperties.com and on our Agent Studios FACEBOOK page!

March 21st, 2011

The Dominion Club Bankruptcy: Will it affect area Real Estate?

As REALTORS in the Wyndham, Twin Hickory and Nuckols Road corridor we have been asked a lot lately about how The Dominion Club’s bankruptcy might affect the area real estate market.  The Dominion Club was built in the early 1990′s and was the centerpiece of the HHHunt master planned community, Wyndham.  It was the reason people moved to an area of Richmond known more for the county dump than anything else.  Build it and they will come not only worked out in the movie Field of Dreams, but also for Wyndham and the surrounding neighborhoods. It seemed like overnight the area went from a remote area of Henrico County to the most popular area of Richmond to live.

Not only did Wyndham thrive with the attraction of a first class country club, but many other large neighborhoods were successfully developed in the area including Wyndham Forest and Twin Hickory.   Plus there were scores of other smaller neighborhoods up and down both Nuckols and Pouncey Tract Roads. The area real estate market has thrived and even with the downturn in the economy the Wyndham area has consistently outperformed other areas of Richmond.

So what went wrong at The Dominion Club? Read the rest of this entry »

March 2nd, 2011

Skye Bruce Properties Welcomes Catherine Babcock!

Skye Bruce Properties is delighted to announce the addition of REALTOR, Catherine Babcock to our firm. Catherine, a graduate of Texas Christian University has more than 25 years of real estate sales experience. In 1984 she began her career with Murray REALTORS in Dallas. In the Richmond area she worked for 14 years as a top producer with HHHunt Realty where she posted more than $75,000,000 in home sales in the communities of Wellesley, Wyndham and Twin Hickory. Catherine joins us after 2 years with Long and Foster REALTORS (Short Pump).

“Catherine has a reputation of delivering a high level of service to her clients along with her track record of high volume home sales. We are excited to have her join our organization and look forward to working with her as she continues to grow her business” Skye & David Bruce, Owners of Skye Bruce Properties.

February 6th, 2011

Richmond Real Estate STAT of the Week

2% Percent increase in contracts signed on U.S. homes in December. This follows a 3.1% increase in November. Every region of the country experienced an increase in contract signings except for the West. The South experienced an 11.5% increase, the Midwest an 8% increase, the Northeast a 1.8%. Contracts signed in the West fell 13.2%. Since June 2010, contract signings are up 24%. The signs continue to point towards recovery!

January 23rd, 2011

More Richmond Area House Hunting Advice

It sounds like a the perfect home when you see the listing online.  It’s in your price range, in a great Richmond neighborhood, with all the features you want in a home. You’re excited, but when you visit the home you find the yard a mess, tacky wallpaper inside, the kitchen cabinets are painted bright blue, there is gold carpeting in the family room, etc, etc.

Should you run? Maybe, maybe not. To fully determine whether you should take this house off your list of possibilities you’ll need more information, and possibly look past the blemishes to evaluate the home’s potential. How do you do that? Here are some suggestions from the experts at Skye Bruce Properties…. Read the rest of this entry »

January 20th, 2011

Economists: Housing industry looking much brighter in 2011

Positive news continues for the housing market.  Ran across the below article from USA TODAY. We are seeing some similar signs in Central Virginia.  A little renewed optimism feels good!

By Julie Schmit, USA TODAY

The housing industry is poised to gain strength this year after coming off one of its worst years ever in 2010, economic forecasts and new data released Wednesday show. One cause for optimism: Building permits for new single-family homes rose 5.5% last month, the third consecutive monthly increase and the strongest showing since March, the Commerce Department said. Read the rest of this entry »