This week NerdWallet.com released the best places in Virginia where first-time homebuyers can be assured of a good decision to buy a new home. Fishersville topped the list with Stuarts Draft coming in close behind at number six.
The West Coast-based consumer finance website used value appreciation, housing cost, and prosperity to rank communities in Virginia with populations over 5,000 residents.
Fishersville’s steady population growth of 8.2 percent from 2010 to 2013, a 10 percent increase in home prices in the area during the same time, and a median property tax almost half of that found in the cities analyzed earned Fishersville the top spot. Nearby Stuarts Draft is similar to Fishersville in that the communities share the same affordable Augusta County tax rates, but Stuarts Draft saw slightly less growth, around five percent, from 2010 to 2013.
“This study uses empirical data to prove what we know and experience here locally,” said Amanda Glover, Director of Economic Development. “This ranking is the result of the combination of a lower cost of living combined with ample good-paying job opportunities and a high quality of life. You can’t beat the value of living and working in Augusta County,” said Glover.
For more details about the study, see NerdWallet’s mortgage blog at www.nerdwallet.com/blog/mortgages/buying-a-home/first-time-home-buyer-virginia-2015/