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

[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.

This generally helps the entire DMV close-in area, not a specific state. Plenty of people as an example choose to live in Bethesda BECAUSE they have a job in Tysons since it's a quick jump over the bridge on 495 and a quicker commute than many VA suburbs. Similarly, a person that lives in Frederick is actually more likely to pick a job in Loudon over Rockville because it's quicker to shoot over the bridge when you factor in rush hour traffic.

[Anonymous]

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/redfin/viz/shared/2KMCG2C5K

Look how much we are lagging other metro areas. All were in the same range in 2013.

[Anonymous]

Is this another MD bashing post from a VA perspective? Getting old.

In my little corner of Bethesda, prices have skyrocketed so much that many of us are priced out of our own neighborhoods. Starter home it is!

[Anonymous]

I think it's apples and oranges. The parts of MoCo with easier commutes into DC and good schools have appreciated at pretty much the same rate as similar in NoVa. Same in DC -- the places with better schools and easier commutes to downtown have appreciated faster than parts of the city with weak IB schools and poor access to public transit and other amenities.

I do think Amazon has given a big boost to Alexandria despite relatively weak schools. But that's a special case. Generally in NoVa, prices track school districts with proximity to DC and commuting corridors (or transit) offering a boost.

Interestingly, I think Capitol Hill, Navy Yard, and the Wharf in DC has also benefited from Amazon. Appreciation in CH and Navy Yard is better than in other parts of the the East side and I suspect Amazon has played a role in this based on how many people I know who work at Amazon and live on CH. It makes sense because the Venn diagram of tech workers and people who want to live in walkable neighborhoods has a lot of overlap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

This generally helps the entire DMV close-in area, not a specific state. Plenty of people as an example choose to live in Bethesda BECAUSE they have a job in Tysons since it's a quick jump over the bridge on 495 and a quicker commute than many VA suburbs. Similarly, a person that lives in Frederick is actually more likely to pick a job in Loudon over Rockville because it's quicker to shoot over the bridge when you factor in rush hour traffic.

Yeah right a quick jump over the bridge. Sure. 495 is backed up constantly from 123 to the bridge thanks to that stupid hot lane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I'm aware. Our schools are underperforming because of it, and our taxes have been going up for years to cover it. I pass through the neighborhoods where the low skilled, undocumented immigrants live daily. There are entire elementary schools filled with them here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's apples and oranges. The parts of MoCo with easier commutes into DC and good schools have appreciated at pretty much the same rate as similar in NoVa. Same in DC -- the places with better schools and easier commutes to downtown have appreciated faster than parts of the city with weak IB schools and poor access to public transit and other amenities.

I do think Amazon has given a big boost to Alexandria despite relatively weak schools. But that's a special case. Generally in NoVa, prices track school districts with proximity to DC and commuting corridors (or transit) offering a boost.

Interestingly, I think Capitol Hill, Navy Yard, and the Wharf in DC has also benefited from Amazon. Appreciation in CH and Navy Yard is better than in other parts of the the East side and I suspect Amazon has played a role in this based on how many people I know who work at Amazon and live on CH. It makes sense because the Venn diagram of tech workers and people who want to live in walkable neighborhoods has a lot of overlap.

They will move to VA when they have kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/redfin/viz/shared/2KMCG2C5K

Look how much we are lagging other metro areas. All were in the same range in 2013.

It's incomes. DC has seen huge investment by the tech industry but the average incomes will always be pulled down a bit by the public sector here. Which is honestly fine -- runaway housing prices pose a huge problem for cities because you will always still have to house working and middle class people performing necessary jobs. In Seattle and LA, this gets resolved via sprawl and having all the lower paid workers living very far away and commuting in, which creates other negative externalities. DC benefits from having pockets of lower cost housing throughout the region, even close in, where government workers, teachers, police and firefighters, IT personnel (not white collar tech workers but IT services), retail workers, administrators, etc. can live.

But there will always be pockets that attract our highest earners and if you just look at those neighborhoods, home values have shot up as fast if not faster than in similar cities. But having a variety of housing and housing prices is good for a city. DC still has an affordability crisis but I'm glad it's not as bad as in LA and Seattle, where they are dealing with significantly bigger issues regarding homelessness and availability of working class workers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's apples and oranges. The parts of MoCo with easier commutes into DC and good schools have appreciated at pretty much the same rate as similar in NoVa. Same in DC -- the places with better schools and easier commutes to downtown have appreciated faster than parts of the city with weak IB schools and poor access to public transit and other amenities.

I do think Amazon has given a big boost to Alexandria despite relatively weak schools. But that's a special case. Generally in NoVa, prices track school districts with proximity to DC and commuting corridors (or transit) offering a boost.

Interestingly, I think Capitol Hill, Navy Yard, and the Wharf in DC has also benefited from Amazon. Appreciation in CH and Navy Yard is better than in other parts of the the East side and I suspect Amazon has played a role in this based on how many people I know who work at Amazon and live on CH. It makes sense because the Venn diagram of tech workers and people who want to live in walkable neighborhoods has a lot of overlap.

They will move to VA when they have kids.

Some will. The ones I know already have kids and are happy at their elementary schools. Some will bail for VA when they hit MS because of the weak options on the Hill. But some will do charters or privates (Amazon pays well enough that if you are dual income you can afford private), and a small number will stick out out in the publics at least for MS.

There are not enough neighborhoods that offer the benefits of CH (walkability, vibe, proximity to attractive commercial corridors and amenities like museums) that everyone will leave over schools. The school situation on CH is okay, not great. It's better the more resources you have and Amazon employees often have a lot of resources.

[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.

OP -- real estate is almost pure supply and demand. There is more demand for No VA. There are reasons why but this is it at its core.

[Anonymous]

Jobs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

This generally helps the entire DMV close-in area, not a specific state. Plenty of people as an example choose to live in Bethesda BECAUSE they have a job in Tysons since it's a quick jump over the bridge on 495 and a quicker commute than many VA suburbs. Similarly, a person that lives in Frederick is actually more likely to pick a job in Loudon over Rockville because it's quicker to shoot over the bridge when you factor in rush hour traffic.

Yeah right a quick jump over the bridge. Sure. 495 is backed up constantly from 123 to the bridge thanks to that stupid hot lane.

It's no different trying to drive in from various VA locations, and if you don't have to be there during prime rush hour/5 days per week, it's a very quick drive.

The only point is that most folks don't care that much about the state in which they reside and the state of their employer...and the DMV is unique that 2 states and DC are all very close to many different employers.

[Anonymous]

This will continue to happen when rich folks are leaving MD for better tax states such as VA or NC. Crime, poor schools are other reasons MD will continue to suffer.

[Anonymous]

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

+100

[Anonymous]

Less crime