There's an article on the Times Community Newspaper's web site regarding Rappahannock County and growth, or rather, the lack thereof.

It's an interesting piece and it makes a good place to jump off to a discussion about why the real estate market is so different in Rappahannock County.

While this county has also seen a slowing in the market, the effect is more muted here. Since there was never quite the "boom" you saw in surrounding counties, there's not likely to be the same level of downturn here either.

As this article points out, while Culpeper was the fastest growing county in the region with Madison and Fauquier not far behind, statistics suggest that the population growth in Rappahannock County is actually negative. While John McCarthy points to a small increase in population, what I've seen suggests that most of those additional people are weekenders and not full time residents. I don't believe there are any numbers available on the percentage of the population that are full time residents vs weekenders, but I suspect that the trend is for more part-timers.

All of which contributes to a very different real estate market. Average days on market can often be longer in Rappahannock County. But you see less variation over all. The prices are a little less "squishy" than in surrounding areas. There's less elasticity of demand, in part, because people who are selling second homes rarely feel the same pressure for a quick sale that someone does who's selling their primary dwelling. Most people don't have to sell in a hurry so they can get to the next house, job, etc.

Meanwhile, the debate about growth does continue in Rappahannock County. But John McCarthy is right in that no one is looking to turn this into the next Culpeper in terms of growth!