Is there a reason real estate has appreciated so much more in VA than MD and DC?

[Anonymous]

I have been talking to a few co-workers who lived in Fairfax, and they mentioned how much their home valued have appreciated over the last 5-6 years and was amazed. I have been living in MoCo and our house price appreciation has barely kept up with inflation.

[Anonymous]

Taxes are lower in VA.
Amazon

[Anonymous]

Amazon. Plus all the companies in the McLean/Reston tech hub.

[Anonymous]

Keep on trollin' OP. This fight has gotten old.

You hate MD, for some reason. So, don't come here.

[Anonymous]

Moco had more foreclosures to work through after the financial crisis compared to Fairfax. The difference in appreciation between the two is not very significant. What is more significant is how much the entire metro area has lagged places like LA, Seattle, and Boston since the financial crisis.

[Anonymous]

Also there are winners depending on the neighborhood and type of house you own. New houses appreciated the most in the last 5-6 years due to increase in costs. Normally, land appreciates and the house itself depreciates over time. Prices for old houses that need updating have not appreciated that much while new construction and renovated home prices went through the roof.

[Anonymous]

Virginia is a very desirable place to live. Great schools, parks, libraries, shopping, activities, etc.

[Anonymous]

Amazon bubbled prices. Popped.
It's lower taxes, lower human services expenditures, more room for sprawl. Or close in, good Metro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Keep on trollin' OP. This fight has gotten old.

You hate MD, for some reason. So, don't come here.

+1. The appreciation in close-in Moco has been insane. Teardowns are now $1 million in outer parts of Bethesda, much more in close-in Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Amazon. Plus all the companies in the McLean/Reston tech hub.

Unfortunately, Amazon has not come through as promised, and Arlington's office vacancy rate is now higher than MoCo. This means taxes in Arlington will be going up soon:

https://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/office-vacancy-crisis-taxes-arlington-virginia/

https://www.arlnow.com/2024/11/27/arlington-county-forecasting-30-40-million-budget-gap/

[Anonymous]

Yes. Taxes. VA has a Republican governor, and MD has a Democratic one. MoCo is a sanctuary county and as a result attracts low skilled immigrants who hold menial jobs and don't pay taxes.
I grew up in MD, but live in VA now. The state taxes are about 50% lower in VA than they are in MD and for what? Your schools are mediocre at best and you don't have a strong in state university system.
Virginia has been able to attract many, many more jobs than Maryland has. Naturally, people want to live near where they work. Companies don't want to go to MD, they want to go to VA.

[Anonymous]

Be very wary of anecdotes about how much people's houses have increased in value. Often people will compare this s***shack to some property down the street that has been totally renovated. Or they'll fail to tell you that they spent hundreds of thousands on renovations.

But yes, in the past several years, there has been dramatic appreciation, especially in close-in areas. This is true throughout the DMV, and is most true for single-family houses. Not sure why you think it's VA only, OP, because you can look at data and see that it's true everywhere. But really, this is not news unless you've been living under a rock for the past several years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been talking to a few co-workers who lived in Fairfax, and they mentioned how much their home valued have appreciated over the last 5-6 years and was amazed. I have been living in MoCo and our house price appreciation has barely kept up with inflation.

It's weird you would start this thread based on anecdotes vs. actual data covering specific areas and price appreciation.

Clearly, there is a factual empirical answer to your comments that you can research down to the county/zip code level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Taxes. VA has a Republican governor, and MD has a Democratic one. MoCo is a sanctuary county and as a result attracts low skilled immigrants who hold menial jobs and don't pay taxes.
I grew up in MD, but live in VA now. The state taxes are about 50% lower in VA than they are in MD and for what? Your schools are mediocre at best and you don't have a strong in state university system.
Virginia has been able to attract many, many more jobs than Maryland has. Naturally, people want to live near where they work. Companies don't want to go to MD, they want to go to VA.

FYI, Arlington might not call itself a sanctuary county but it is:

https://www.arlnow.com/2024/03/04/arlington-considers-removing-immigration-status-requirements-for-low-income-housing-grants/

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/northern-virginia/arlington-debates-police-collaboration-with-ice/3773440/

If you don't think there are tons of low-skilled immigrants in NoVa, you're living in a bubble and just don't visit the many neighborhoods where they are a majority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been talking to a few co-workers who lived in Fairfax, and they mentioned how much their home valued have appreciated over the last 5-6 years and was amazed. I have been living in MoCo and our house price appreciation has barely kept up with inflation.

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/redfin/viz/shared/WPX22DYDD

It has not really appreciated so much more. A little bit more. Fairfax County was 12% higher in 2013 and now it is 17% higher. Not a significant difference.