two million is the new starter home price for close in neighborhoods

[Anonymous]

I agree with PPs - if you can afford to buy now, but what you can and think of it as a forever home. I’m in my early 40s and on my third home - first was really not workable for kids, but we bought as soon as we could to get out for foot in. We had help. And I’m sure glad we did - had help and bought early - because we’ve been able to roll up equity so that we can now live in a great neighborhood in a space that is great for kids (space, schools, community, etc.).

Many, many people in our close-in neighborhood buy whatever they can to get it, and then renovate when they can afford it.

[Anonymous]

I live in a sought after close-in neighborhood in N Arlington and my “move up home” is worth nowhere near $2m (our first home was in a much less desirable area, which we stuck out for 7 years). Our current house is older, we’ve had to put money into cosmetic and functional updates, the kitchen is still small, and my office has to double as our guest room when family visits. This will be our forever home at this point because we have college tuition and orthodontics and whatever else our kids need to prioritize now. I’m okay that my house isn’t perfect and feel happy to even be a home owner in a place I like!

I get that the market is really tough right now for first time buyers, but a new construction $2m+ home is not a “starter.” Most people will never live in that type of home let alone start out in one.

Also, a young family can still buy something like this inside the beltway for under $1m. If you want to be close-in then get off Pinterest and change your idea of what you “need” to live in. https://redf.in/C2KbOQ

[Anonymous]

$875K for that sh^thole?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TONS of SFH inventory under $1M in FCC, SS and PG County.

Alsi in Montgomery county. Just not new.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in a sought after close-in neighborhood in N Arlington and my “move up home” is worth nowhere near $2m (our first home was in a much less desirable area, which we stuck out for 7 years). Our current house is older, we’ve had to put money into cosmetic and functional updates, the kitchen is still small, and my office has to double as our guest room when family visits. This will be our forever home at this point because we have college tuition and orthodontics and whatever else our kids need to prioritize now. I’m okay that my house isn’t perfect and feel happy to even be a home owner in a place I like!

I get that the market is really tough right now for first time buyers, but a new construction $2m+ home is not a “starter.” Most people will never live in that type of home let alone start out in one.

Also, a young family can still buy something like this inside the beltway for under $1m. If you want to be close-in then get off Pinterest and change your idea of what you “need” to live in. https://redf.in/C2KbOQ

This home is in nice location close in, but buyers are not checking for those home. Most posters here feels entitled to a sfh while a TH is getting out of reach for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$875K for that sh^thole?

It’s an end unit with 3 BR plus a den, open concept, and very close to Ballston Quarter/metro. If you think you should get more for $875k then build a time machine or move to Manassas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$875K for that sh^thole?

This poster exemplifies the entitlement that I’m talking. He/she probably cannot even afford that home and yet, calling it a sh*hole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$875K for that sh^thole?

I had a budget of up to 900k back in 2019 and even then, pre-COVID run up, it didn’t go far in the close-in neighborhoods. We lost out on multiple bidding wars, bought as-is, and have had to pour more money into updates. 875k has not been a big budget for desirable inside the beltway neighborhoods for a very long time, certainly not for anything like OP is searching for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$875K for that sh^thole?

This poster exemplifies the entitlement that I’m talking. He/she probably cannot even afford that home and yet, calling it a sh*hole.

Agree! And it makes me sad because there are people who live in actual sh!tholes in this world, and even country. And yet spoiled posters think something is crap because why? There is a shared wall? Or it doesn’t have 5 giant bedrooms? Where will we put the home gym? Why is there no media room? The horror!

This place is actually cute for a family, walkable, fenced off outdoor space, recently updated kitchen, etc. I hope whoever moves there enjoys their new home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$875K for that sh^thole?

This poster exemplifies the entitlement that I’m talking. He/she probably cannot even afford that home and yet, calling it a sh*hole.

DP but entitled is a stupid word for this. That poster just thinks it’s too expensive for what you get. It’s nearly $1 million for less than 1800 so ft. You may be desensitized to this but many are not.

[Anonymous]

Prices have gone up for sure but obviously your definition of starter home is insane if you think the entry point is $2m. A starter home is not a new-build 5bd/4.5ba on a massive lot. A starter home is a dated 3bd/2ba with a weird layout and no parking

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are not talking Starter Home. You are talking about all the things on your ideal checklist. Big difference.

+1. Our starter home had 1.5 bathrooms

[Anonymous]

I live in N Arlington and it does feel like everything on the market near me is a 6,000 sq ft new build for over $2m. You aren't seeing normal houses for sale, though I'm sure there are some but they just go under contract instantly.

All of those gigantic new builds were previously normal sized houses at much lower prices, usually between 700k-1.5m. The redevelopment of those lots undoubtedly is making housing in N Arlington more expensive. The price of these new builds has also gone up dramatically. A few years ago, when we moved to Arlington, those new builds were also going for 1.25m-1.5m. Now they're 2m-2.5m. I'm consistently surprised by the price points, especially given interest rates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prices have gone up for sure but obviously your definition of starter home is insane if you think the entry point is $2m. A starter home is not a new-build 5bd/4.5ba on a massive lot. A starter home is a dated 3bd/2ba with a weird layout and no parking

That’s what a starter home used to be but currently, if you’re a first time homebuyer and want to buy a sfh closer in, most of the homes in the market at moment are new build starting starting at 2.1M, minus a few here and there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in N Arlington and it does feel like everything on the market near me is a 6,000 sq ft new build for over $2m. You aren't seeing normal houses for sale, though I'm sure there are some but they just go under contract instantly.

All of those gigantic new builds were previously normal sized houses at much lower prices, usually between 700k-1.5m. The redevelopment of those lots undoubtedly is making housing in N Arlington more expensive. The price of these new builds has also gone up dramatically. A few years ago, when we moved to Arlington, those new builds were also going for 1.25m-1.5m. Now they're 2m-2.5m. I'm consistently surprised by the price points, especially given interest rates.

New build are more like 2.5m - 4m+