Forum Index
»
Off-Topic
Anyone know anything about the McLean real estate market?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| My husband and I are looking to buy a house in McLean for 800-900k. We're starting to feel pressure with mortgage rates going up but even with an agent we don't feel like we have a good feel for the market there. Has it held steady for houses in that range during the past year or gone down? Are houses in that price range selling for ask/close to ask? Any feedback/comments anyone has would be much appreciated. One more thing - does the school district really matter? For us it would be an issue of resale not actually attending the school, because we probably wont live in the house for 12+ years. There seems to be a preference for Langley, but is that something that is actually going to affect the resale value? My understanding was that all of the school districts there are good, so I'm not really getting the Langley preference. TYIA |
Anonymous
|
Being in the McLean/Langley zone isn't really going to affect things at all. A few of the ES feeders to McLean might (key word might) be problematic (free/reduced price lunch percentage is trending somewhat high), but being in the McLean zone is always always always going to be a draw.
I also suspect there's TH and garden condos aplenty in the "suspect" feeders and if you're in an area of 800k-900k homes you will be just fine. You can always try the cheapest house in an expensive neighborhood trick... Out of curiosity, how long DO you plan on staying in that house? If you're planning on moving in 5 years, why not rent for that duration and avoid risking being underwater or losing the down payment. A bad market might involve Arlington holding steady, McLean dropping 5%, Vienna 10%, Burke 20%, and Lorton 30%. Or it might involve drops of 10/20/30/40 percent in each of those areas. You don't know, as the next recession will be different. |
Anonymous
| Thank you for your insight. We're thinking we'll live there 5-10 years. We don't want to wait much longer to buy. We're in our mid-thirties and will be first time homebuyers. We feel like we'll be throwing our $$ away if we keep renting. We're looking for a single family home - and like everyone else, would love the cheapest house in the best neighborhood. Any advice on where to look? we're not interested in chesterbrook/anything down kirby road but are open to everywhere else (DH hated kirby for some reason and didn't want to drive that road every day) |
Anonymous
|
It is funny you say that about your DH not liking the Kirby/Chesterbrook area. I read an article about the Virginia AG Ken Cucinelli, about how he'd say he grew up on "the wrong side of the tracks" in McLean, that being Kirby/Chesterbrook. I thought it was kind of a ridiculous statement, to try to appear "down home." (Though, I like him otherwise in some ways.)
I grew up in this area and went to school in McLean, but the real estate prices have changed LOTS since then. I agree with you about the least expensive house in the best area... I'd also say get the best location for your commute. We did that and are very happy, though out-of-town relatives think we paid a fortune for a very small old home (yeah, we did). You will certainly find something in the $800-900k price range. I like the area close to Haycock Elementary. I'd get close to Langley HS, if it is possible to afford anything near there. |
Anonymous
| Seriously, consider renting instead. You can "throw away" money on a house you own, too, especially if it turns out that it needs more renovations than you thought, and/or if the market turns in the wrong direction around the time you want to sell. |
Anonymous
| Why would free reduced lunch percentages be problematic? |
Anonymous
Does this really need to be spelled out for anyone on this board? Free and reduced-price lunches are made available for low-income families. The percentage of children at a school who receive free or reduced-price lunch indicates the percentage of low income children in the school. Generally, schools with high-income families have highly motivated children, more parental involvement, a less transient student body, etc. It is kind of a given, and I'm surprised someone didn't know it. Having to spell it out, yes, it sounds kind of mean. |
Anonymous
Are you suggesting that they wait until the market stabilizes because you think it's still erratic? Or is the suggestion just that they rent forever |
Anonymous
100% agree with you PP. Such a ridiculous question, and I seriously doubt that the poster didn't know why it's problematic. |
Anonymous
| I've heard that the market in McLean is starting to go up again, at least in the under $1 million range. Heard the same about Arlington. |
Anonymous
I'm with you as well, but I bet someone will be on here spouting nonsense about how great title I schools are what with the transience and uninvolved parents. I'll keep my kids at our Bethesda school with 2% of kids getting FARMS, tyvm. |
Anonymous
I'm not the PP, but just want to point out- another factor in favor of buying now is inflation. When that happens, it would be better to already be a homeowner. Frankly, too many homeowners are underwater right now (30% I just read, nationwide) for that not to be the policy choice/inevitable event. |
Anonymous
| In general, the Langley school district is better than McLean. But most of McLean is still very good. You want to be in McLean proper with public water and sewer versus Great Falls/outside the Beltway. If it were a choice between McLean and McLean schools versus Great Falls and Langley schools, I would probably go with McLean because the location is better and closer in versus further away. Five years is a pretty short time frame given the unknowns in the market right now. If you were committed to staying for more than 7 years, I would be more likely to suggest you buy versus rent. Right now the market is pretty strong relative because there isn't a lot of inventory. That could change in a few years, so its hard to know how resale will go. |
Anonymous
| Inflation is coming. Seriously, it's going to be like the 70s all over again. Buy now. Buy before interest rates shoot up. Buy before house prices rise with inflation. Owning a home with a fixed interest rate payment is an excellent hedge against inflation. When rents are jumping 10-20% per year, you will wonder why you didn't buy right now. |
Anonymous
| I keep an eye on the signs in the neighborhood and generally, a appropriately priced house sells in 30-60 days right now. Higher priced ones can sit forever for obvious reasons. Inventory in your price range isn't huge which is a good thing for the market. We bought 6 years ago and our price has held steady, not increased but not decreased. I'd buy in whatever part of Mclean makes you happy - Langley side is great but commutes can be longer. |