There are many horse boarding opportunities in Charlottesville Virginia and Shadowfax LLC is one of the best choices.

Shadowfax has recently moved to a new facility and I thought I’d share some pictures of the new farm.

The upper barn has spacious airy stalls, tack room and wash stall.

The horses on this side can watch what is going on in the ring.

The lower barn is so cute!

Imagine riding in the ring with gorgeous views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The Charlottesville real estate market offers many choices for horse owners.  There is a good selection of various sizes and prices of horse properties.  Or if a farm is not what you are searching for I can show you homes and you can choose from the selection of local boarding facilities.

This Albemarle County Va real estate market report will look at the sales of farms of 10 acres and up during the month of July 2010.

July 2009 average list price $4,881,666.
July 2010 average list price $1,184,975.

July 2009 average sale price $3,866,666.
July 2010 average sale price $1,057,750.

July 2009 median sold price $3,200,000.
July 2010 median sold price $1,237,500.

July 2009 %sold/list 79.20%.
July 2010 %sold/list 89.26%.

July 2009 months inventory at the current rate of sales 44.66 months.
July 2010 months inventory at the current rate of sales 33.50 months.

From 1/1/2009, 21 farms sold on the Albemarle County real estate market.  During the same time frame in 2010, 26 Albemarle farms sold.  Currently there are 134 properties of 10 acres and up actively listed for sale on the Albemarle County market.  This is not the portion of our market that has been selling.  However, I have begun to get inquiries about horse properties again, but more of those are for mini farms or the lower priced offerings.

Information is from the mls and while it is presumed to be correct it is not guaranteed.

When you are buying a Charlottesville Virginia  horse farm don’t forget to consider the barn design.

With the extreme heat that Viginia has been experiencing barn design becomes even more important.  What features should you look for to make sure that your horses can stay comfortable on these 90+ degree days?  One of the first things to look for is plenty of ventilation.  Center aisle ways with large doors at either end can allow for air flow, particularly if combined with windows or dutch doors in the back of each stall that can be open in the summer and closed in the winter.  Open soffits are also a good idea to give ventilation in all kinds of weather.  Additional helpful features are roof vents and large exhaust fans in the peak.  Plenty of electric outlets to provide power for individual fans in each stall are essential. 

Don’t forget the comfort of your pasture horses who might live out 24-7.  At the very least you want to have some large trees so that they have access to shade at all hours of the day.  Even better are large runin sheds which can provide shelter in all seasons.  Of course, there needs to be access to water as well.  Creeks are great, but during drought years many creeks will be low or dry up altogether so automatic waterers or proximity of water spigots are essential.

There is a nice selection of horse properties on the market and I even have one with river frontage and the perfect spot for enjoying splashing in the river with your horses.