The Morgantown Board of REALTORS® had the pleasure of listening to a presentation this week about Ascend WV. If you do not know what that is, check out their website at Ascendwv.com. However, allow me to offer you some highlights. This program was started by Brad and Alys Smith. He is a native of WV and former CEO of Intuit. Their belief is they “Want you to experience work-life balance in a brand-new way – through community, purpose and the outdoors so you can bring your remote work to the mountains of West Virginia”. They had 7,000 applicants and chose 50 people to participate in the program.
The Youth Cycling Coalition (YCC) is another program working with the Brad and Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative. The YCC has partnered with 10 Organizations to offer an opportunity for youth ages 6-18 to have access to biking, training and education, racing, and much more all funded by grants and donations. Morgantown was chosen as a pilot program because of our unique proximity to great outdoor activities and an already established rails to trails.
According to their research, within an hour of Morgantown, there are thousands of mountain climbing opportunities, over 50 white water rafting runs and many miles of biking trails. This sets Morgantown apart from larger cities in that you can live here, work here and play here all the while enjoying our beautiful state. Is this the draw for people to live in West Virginia? Possibly. We don’t have large amusement parks, beaches or other main attractions but we do have some beautiful mountains and scenery to explore. West Virginia, specifically Morgantown, is a great place to live. I can attest to this as I am a lifelong resident.
How does this apply to our real estate market? Currently, we have a lack of inventory as does the rest of the country. Research shows Covid produced many buyers, but sellers were still leery of listing. As things start to reopen, we are seeing an increase of listings, especially in Morgantown. The problem is that there are people wanting to sell, but they won’t have anywhere to go if they do. Low interest rates are a huge contributor to this issue.
So, what do we do? Good question. As a buyer, be patient and keep looking. Contact your REALTOR® as soon as you see a house pop up on the market that interests you. For a seller? This is a good time to list if you can. It is a sellers’ market and properties are being sold for over asking price with multiple offers. Morgantown has always weathered the real estate market during its ups and downs. We hope to see more prosperity in our community as these two programs are introduced.
Have a wonderful Memorial Day! Be safe and remember to do good things!
Stephanie Lemley, 2021 MBOR President
