TH near Ballston- Good Price?

[Anonymous]

Looking at a new construction TH in the Buckingham Commons development in Ballston. Largest unit on offer:

3300 sq ft; 5 bedrooms; 4.5 bathrooms; upscale finishings (granite, hardwood, berber, cherry cabinets etc.) throughout; 0.7 miles from metro; shorter walk to other shops, restos etc.

Asking is $885k. Of course it's expensive, but does it seem like the right market price to you?

[Anonymous]

I have no idea on the price- what are comparable townhouses going for?

I walk by a lot of the townhouses, coming from North of Fairfax Drive, to the Metro every morning. I've almost NEVER seen those townhouses go up for sale.

There are a couple townhouses there (probably 2 blocks from Metro) that have English basement apartment units- about half the unit below ground so probably decent windows and good rental income. I've never seen those units for sale, and am curious how much they'd go for.

Alex Ovechkin lives in some of the townhouses there- in two townhouses merged into one, I heard.

Is this a brand new townhouse just south of North Fairfax Drive? There is a lot of nice construction, both commercial and residential, going on there right now, and continuing on into the Virginia Square direction.

I'd want to compare the new townhouse price to the existing townhouse prices. Have you checked Zillow?

[Anonymous]

I think you are talking about the Bromptons near Ballston metro. The development OP is referring to is near the Harris Teeter and is called Buckingham Commons. They tore down several old garden apt. complexes and are building something like 90 townhouses, I think they've already built 20 or 30. They look quite nice from the outside and some of them seem huge for THs. Close to Ballston stuff, but a little further then the Bromptons.

[Anonymous]

I think it's pricey for the neighborhood. The Buckingham Apt. are sketchy. I wouldn't want to live right there esp. for 885K.

[Anonymous]

PP The Buckingham apartments have mostly gone away in that area, including the block where these townhouses are being built and the block across the street where a new apartment building is now being built. The remaining apartments in that area have condo ownership and are not that bad. The Buckingham apartments that remain and are mostly low-income are near Glebe and Pershing. One interesting thing to follow in that area is Barret Elementary School. It has changed a lot as the Buckingham apartments have been torn down and its low income population continues to decline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's pricey for the neighborhood. The Buckingham Apt. are sketchy. I wouldn't want to live right there esp. for 885K.

90 luxury TH going up altogether, sounds like a whole new neighborhood...given that there's not much space left for new construction close to the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, seems like premium real estate. 3300 sq feet is massive for a TH in the area, so seems like a price-point that makes sense. A similarly sized place in the Bromptons THs closer to the metro is at $1M, so seems like the appropriate discount for a further from center location that's still proximate to Ballston.

[Anonymous]

For that square footage it does seem in the ballpark, but probably lots of room for negotiation (either on price or add-ons). I don't think those THs have any outdoor space though (patio). And it's not the best location...

[Anonymous]

Don't know if it's the same developer or just inconviently located, but those townhomes along 29 were the ones that were condemned for like 3 years. Looks like they never tore them down, but are just refurbishing them... so what happened, anyway?

[Anonymous]

Seems in the ballpark to me, especially considering condo's in ballston (2 bed, 2 bath) easily go for 500k+. For 5 bedrooms, that price seems reasonable.

Agree that it sounds like that development is right up against a somewhat sketchy part of Glebe Road. I don't think its unsafe, its just not very nice. Something to consider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't know if it's the same developer or just inconviently located, but those townhomes along 29 were the ones that were condemned for like 3 years. Looks like they never tore them down, but are just refurbishing them... so what happened, anyway?

Actually, those were the condos, not the townhouses. The townhouses were built and have been occupied for several years. The condos were sinking and there were some legal issues for several years around that. The issue has been fixed and they are now finally finishing them. Oh, and those were part of the "Bromptons" franchise, not the ones the OP is talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't know if it's the same developer or just inconviently located, but those townhomes along 29 were the ones that were condemned for like 3 years. Looks like they never tore them down, but are just refurbishing them... so what happened, anyway?

Do you mean the Bromptons at Cherrydale?

http://www.tbd.com/blogs/tbd-neighborhoods/2010/08/progress-report-bromptons-at-cherrydale-condos-in-arlington-30.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP The Buckingham apartments have mostly gone away in that area, including the block where these townhouses are being built and the block across the street where a new apartment building is now being built. The remaining apartments in that area have condo ownership and are not that bad. The Buckingham apartments that remain and are mostly low-income are near Glebe and Pershing. One interesting thing to follow in that area is Barret Elementary School. It has changed a lot as the Buckingham apartments have been torn down and its low income population continues to decline.

Yes, Barrett is changing a lot and also getting way more crowded as families from Arlington Forest send their children there. We used to be able to transfer their from our elementary (Glebe) since they have a science and technology program, but we are not able to now, since they are at such high capacity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems in the ballpark to me, especially considering condo's in ballston (2 bed, 2 bath) easily go for 500k+. For 5 bedrooms, that price seems reasonable.

Agree that it sounds like that development is right up against a somewhat sketchy part of Glebe Road. I don't think its unsafe, its just not very nice. Something to consider.

I agree that it seems to be priced well. That's not the very best neighborhood in North Arlington, but the price reflects that. The area is certainly convenient and you will have the benefit of a new community of families moving in together.

It also sounds like a generously sized unit. Similarly sized townhouses in Roslyn (Palisades neighborhood) and Courthouse (Hillcrest neighborhood) sell for much higher -- $1M and above, and they're 10+ years old. That said, those neighborhoods are much nicer and the $1M+ units have very private views of forrests and protected parkland. They also feed to some of the most desireable North Arlington schools (Choice of Key/Taylor/Science Focus + Yorktown HS)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems in the ballpark to me, especially considering condo's in ballston (2 bed, 2 bath) easily go for 500k+. For 5 bedrooms, that price seems reasonable.

Agree that it sounds like that development is right up against a somewhat sketchy part of Glebe Road. I don't think its unsafe, its just not very nice. Something to consider.

I agree that it seems to be priced well. That's not the very best neighborhood in North Arlington, but the price reflects that. The area is certainly convenient and you will have the benefit of a new community of families moving in together.

It also sounds like a generously sized unit. Similarly sized townhouses in Roslyn (Palisades neighborhood) and Courthouse (Hillcrest neighborhood) sell for much higher -- $1M and above, and they're 10+ years old. That said, those neighborhoods are much nicer and the $1M+ units have very private views of forrests and protected parkland. They also feed to some of the most desireable North Arlington schools (Choice of Key/Taylor/Science Focus + Yorktown HS)

I've seen the Courthouse Hill ones go for mid-800ks. These aren't the ones behind Barnes&Noble--but the ones behind Courthouse Metro Station. They are older....but agree the location is sooooo much better than Ballston and you are in a much better school district. The Clarendon/Courthouse area is much nicer than Ballston...BUT a major renovation of the Ballston corridor is coming..things are moving their way up..older buildings coming down for more retail..etc so it could be a good investment.

[Anonymous]

From an investment angle the TH the OP is talking about may actually be better than Rosslyn/Courthouse/Clarendon. That side of Ballston is slated for major developments (which includes the one you would be buying into) and so there is still more dramatic growth potential ahead, whereas the other areas are already pretty well established so I think returns would be good but more flat over time. The Ballston sub-area of Buckingham, esp the blocks where the THs are, is no longer "emerging" in terms of crime etc. (those blocks are perfectly safe now), but in a few years it would be hard to imagine that much sq footage at that price-point, esp. for a "luxury" unit. Plus, very hard to find new construction THs that size in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor.