potential for development in Blue Ridge Mountains

[Anonymous]

I love the idea of a second home about an hour away and with a water view. Since a beach is out, I've decided a house on the Shenandoah River, maybe near Front Royal, sounds great on paper. Do you think there will ever be a time when this area gets popular? I wonder if there's a rental market. Any thoughts? It's so underdeveloped now. It reminds me of how many of our parents or grandparents wish they bought a place at the beach, before whatever beach town that exists now was there. Think that's possible?

[Anonymous]

It's already popular and not all that underdeveloped. Front Royal can get crowded during the summer and definitely gets crowded this time of year due to Skyline Drive and leaf peeping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's already popular and not all that underdeveloped. Front Royal can get crowded during the summer and definitely gets crowded this time of year due to Skyline Drive and leaf peeping.

Really? Because there's no nice hotel, so where are people staying? VRBO type places?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's already popular and not all that underdeveloped. Front Royal can get crowded during the summer and definitely gets crowded this time of year due to Skyline Drive and leaf peeping.

+1.
Also, I've never met anybody who enjoyed renting out their personal vacation home: it's hard to make it yours when you have to make it clean and neutral for other people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's already popular and not all that underdeveloped. Front Royal can get crowded during the summer and definitely gets crowded this time of year due to Skyline Drive and leaf peeping.

Really? Because there's no nice hotel, so where are people staying? VRBO type places?

Yes, lots of them along the Shenandoah from there to Luray.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's already popular and not all that underdeveloped. Front Royal can get crowded during the summer and definitely gets crowded this time of year due to Skyline Drive and leaf peeping.

Really? Because there's no nice hotel, so where are people staying? VRBO type places?

Syline Dr. itself has a lot of nice lodges. Also, this is heavy winery/B&B country. Cabins and camping are also popular so there are many RVs on the roads in the area. The mountain/river vibe is very different from the East Coast beach vibe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love the idea of a second home about an hour away and with a water view. Since a beach is out, I've decided a house on the Shenandoah River, maybe near Front Royal, sounds great on paper. Do you think there will ever be a time when this area gets popular? I wonder if there's a rental market. Any thoughts? It's so underdeveloped now. It reminds me of how many of our parents or grandparents wish they bought a place at the beach, before whatever beach town that exists now was there. Think that's possible?

I think you should go for it. Sounds great!!

[Anonymous]

There are several nice boutique hotels. Front Royal isn’t the destination. You should get to know the area a bit better before committing.

[Anonymous]

We look at this too and the dealbreaker for us is often the Redfin flood map. Check that out a few times and your dream of a nice waterfront house starts to look like a potential money pit.