Tempted to move to great falls from McLean as prices seem to be falling

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like GF is good if you work in Reston or Tysons.

I do expect prices to continue to slide, however, as places need to capture a decent share of high-paid DC workers to maintain price levels as high as GF's historical levels. It doesn't matter if a handful of GF residents live close enough to catch a bus on Route 7 to a Metro station. For the most part, GF is the epitome of a car-dependent suburb with limited access to public transportation.

The distance to the middle and high schools is a negative, too. Imagine how much more convenient it would be if Langley were near 193 and River Bend Road, rather than near the Arlington County border. Unfortunately, there is only one high school in FCPS west of the Beltway and north of the Toll Road - Herndon.

But GF also works for those of us who cannot afford the $1 million + homes in Arlington/Falls Church/McLean/Vienna. I looked in all those areas last year and could afford hardly any of them; the few homes that were in my budget were old, old teardowns or homes that needed major renovations -- and these were still at the top of my budget. Great Falls was the only place relatively close that offered homes with the features I wanted, good schools, and under $800k. Personally, I don't really care what the market is doing right now; we have the home we want, and do not regret it in the least.

Great that you found a house you like. But people would not be talking about houses in GF below $800K as a less expensive alternative to Arlington, etc., unless prices there were coming down, and that's what OP was asking about in the first place.

I will bet GF will eventually go the way of Mclean, Vienna and the like: as the older folks sell their homes and the available open land becomes less available, new builds will go up in place of these old homes, prices will increase, etc.

Except...due to your limited knowledge of RE development, you cannot just tear down and rebuild in GF as you can elsewhere (Arl, vienna, FC) because GF DOES NOT have public utilities (sewer, water, particularly) which greatly inhibit redeveloping old homes due to environmental requirements. For example, for new homes an old septic drainfield cannot be reused and the state new requires 100% reserve area for new drainfields. new wells must also be drilled and they must be a minumum of 100 ft from the new drainfield. Even with 2-acre lots, this is a challenge - believe me. You will never see the tear down and redo activity in GF that you see in Vienna, Arl, and FC now. This will limit growth as GF runs out of virgin land and with no new construction, prices will not be heading up...

About 1/2 of GF south of 193 is on city water/sewer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like GF is good if you work in Reston or Tysons.

I do expect prices to continue to slide, however, as places need to capture a decent share of high-paid DC workers to maintain price levels as high as GF's historical levels. It doesn't matter if a handful of GF residents live close enough to catch a bus on Route 7 to a Metro station. For the most part, GF is the epitome of a car-dependent suburb with limited access to public transportation.

The distance to the middle and high schools is a negative, too. Imagine how much more convenient it would be if Langley were near 193 and River Bend Road, rather than near the Arlington County border. Unfortunately, there is only one high school in FCPS west of the Beltway and north of the Toll Road - Herndon.

HAHAHAHAHHAAA!!! Have you not heard about all the high tech west of the beltway????

AOL? UUNET? Please, tell me about all the high tech employment centers in Reston and Dulles? Acres of raised floor devoid of humans do not count.

r

Reston Town Center and Chantilly. Herndon as well

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like GF is good if you work in Reston or Tysons.

I do expect prices to continue to slide, however, as places need to capture a decent share of high-paid DC workers to maintain price levels as high as GF's historical levels. It doesn't matter if a handful of GF residents live close enough to catch a bus on Route 7 to a Metro station. For the most part, GF is the epitome of a car-dependent suburb with limited access to public transportation.

The distance to the middle and high schools is a negative, too. Imagine how much more convenient it would be if Langley were near 193 and River Bend Road, rather than near the Arlington County border. Unfortunately, there is only one high school in FCPS west of the Beltway and north of the Toll Road - Herndon.

HAHAHAHAHHAAA!!! Have you not heard about all the high tech west of the beltway????

It's less like Silicon Valley and more like the back-office operations you find in Jersey City or Schaumburg. Good jobs that typically pay salaries that make Ashburn and Chantilly affordable, not Great Falls at its current prices. That's why there is so much inventory there and why, insofar Great Falls is being repositioned as a residential area for those who work in Tysons or points west, prices are coming down.

The instiutions that created the demand for the 1.5 - 2.0M homes in Great Falls are either gone or shadows of what they were. Financial Services - Freddie Mac was a huge driver of employment and cash/option compensation. Bankruptcy wiped out all of that stock and options, and it is not generating the kind of compensation it once did. Tech bubble companies - AOL, Microstrategy, etc - are either gone, or much more mature and not spreading around cash like they did. Government contractors have been in a cycle of cuts since sequestration. There were at one point entire neighborhoods in Great Falls of folks who hit it big at AOL. 15 years on those folks have either downsized or are struggling to stay in their houses. It seems that if you give a purchasing manager a $2M option windfall, their skills and compensation are still that or a purchasing manager. So little by little they spend their windfall and then they need to move.

Really? We ARE one of those families. We own our house outright, and the 2 acre buildable lot next to it. So are a lot of my neighbors. Actually, one left to travel the country by mobile home, one moved to Ireland, one pair divorced. None 'spent all their money' or are 'struggling'

[Anonymous]

I think this is like Bethesda vs Potomac. Potomac is further out and has larger lot sizes, and large homes. Average selling price is higher accordingly, so you'll rarely see a home in Bethesda go for $2m+, but that's almost the norm in Potomac.

However, the "cost" to living in Potomac is traffic (all 3 paths home -- Macarthur Blvd, River Road, Bradley Blvd back up during evening rush), and like Great Falls, the shopping isn't great (Potomac Village is OK, not excellent).

As a result, average home prices in Bethesda seem to be going up. Now a lot more houses are going for $1.5m+, which was not as common even 5 years ago. You'll end up on a smaller lot, and with a somewhat smaller house, but you're also a lot closer to things. Our neighborhood is mostly new houses (former teardowns) that sold in the $1.3-1.9m range, and we can walk to downtown Bethesda and the metro in 20 minutes (or catch the Ride-On bus.. but only during the week).

Unfortunately, traffic in the entire area is getting worse over time, and I see no big change in that going forward. It's gotten so bad that people really do factor in traffic when thinking of where to live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just read an article in the Post reporting there is a huge inventory of unsold properties in Great Falls and that it would be even higher if many sellers hadn't taken their homes off the market around Christmas.

It's pretty out there but, from an investment perspective, I would feel much safer buying in Arlington, McLean or Falls Church than Great Falls. I don't see any trends that make Great Falls more attractive, except declining prices.

Land. We have land. It's fabulous. Lots of wildlife. Snakes handle the rodents so no rat issue. I can green, lie in my hammock, etc, and no one messes with me. Easy drive to Tysons for shopping; GF center had all you need for day to day. Reston easy shot for variety. Half hour to Leesburg; Lucketts not much farther. Heaven

I wish we could afford GF! Your life sounds great...noone around!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just read an article in the Post reporting there is a huge inventory of unsold properties in Great Falls and that it would be even higher if many sellers hadn't taken their homes off the market around Christmas.

It's pretty out there but, from an investment perspective, I would feel much safer buying in Arlington, McLean or Falls Church than Great Falls. I don't see any trends that make Great Falls more attractive, except declining prices.

Land. We have land. It's fabulous. Lots of wildlife. Snakes handle the rodents so no rat issue. I can green, lie in my hammock, etc, and no one messes with me. Easy drive to Tysons for shopping; GF center had all you need for day to day. Reston easy shot for variety. Half hour to Leesburg; Lucketts not much farther. Heaven

I wish we could afford GF! Your life sounds great...noone around!

It probably makes the sock puppeting seem more natural. Might as well talk to yourself if there's no one else around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like GF is good if you work in Reston or Tysons.

I do expect prices to continue to slide, however, as places need to capture a decent share of high-paid DC workers to maintain price levels as high as GF's historical levels. It doesn't matter if a handful of GF residents live close enough to catch a bus on Route 7 to a Metro station. For the most part, GF is the epitome of a car-dependent suburb with limited access to public transportation.

The distance to the middle and high schools is a negative, too. Imagine how much more convenient it would be if Langley were near 193 and River Bend Road, rather than near the Arlington County border. Unfortunately, there is only one high school in FCPS west of the Beltway and north of the Toll Road - Herndon.

But GF also works for those of us who cannot afford the $1 million + homes in Arlington/Falls Church/McLean/Vienna. I looked in all those areas last year and could afford hardly any of them; the few homes that were in my budget were old, old teardowns or homes that needed major renovations -- and these were still at the top of my budget. Great Falls was the only place relatively close that offered homes with the features I wanted, good schools, and under $800k. Personally, I don't really care what the market is doing right now; we have the home we want, and do not regret it in the least.

Where we are in GF, we have public water and sewer.

Great that you found a house you like. But people would not be talking about houses in GF below $800K as a less expensive alternative to Arlington, etc., unless prices there were coming down, and that's what OP was asking about in the first place.

I will bet GF will eventually go the way of Mclean, Vienna and the like: as the older folks sell their homes and the available open land becomes less available, new builds will go up in place of these old homes, prices will increase, etc.

Except...due to your limited knowledge of RE development, you cannot just tear down and rebuild in GF as you can elsewhere (Arl, vienna, FC) because GF DOES NOT have public utilities (sewer, water, particularly) which greatly inhibit redeveloping old homes due to environmental requirements. For example, for new homes an old septic drainfield cannot be reused and the state new requires 100% reserve area for new drainfields. new wells must also be drilled and they must be a minumum of 100 ft from the new drainfield. Even with 2-acre lots, this is a challenge - believe me. You will never see the tear down and redo activity in GF that you see in Vienna, Arl, and FC now. This will limit growth as GF runs out of virgin land and with no new construction, prices will not be heading up...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like GF is good if you work in Reston or Tysons.

I do expect prices to continue to slide, however, as places need to capture a decent share of high-paid DC workers to maintain price levels as high as GF's historical levels. It doesn't matter if a handful of GF residents live close enough to catch a bus on Route 7 to a Metro station. For the most part, GF is the epitome of a car-dependent suburb with limited access to public transportation.

The distance to the middle and high schools is a negative, too. Imagine how much more convenient it would be if Langley were near 193 and River Bend Road, rather than near the Arlington County border. Unfortunately, there is only one high school in FCPS west of the Beltway and north of the Toll Road - Herndon.

But GF also works for those of us who cannot afford the $1 million + homes in Arlington/Falls Church/McLean/Vienna. I looked in all those areas last year and could afford hardly any of them; the few homes that were in my budget were old, old teardowns or homes that needed major renovations -- and these were still at the top of my budget. Great Falls was the only place relatively close that offered homes with the features I wanted, good schools, and under $800k. Personally, I don't really care what the market is doing right now; we have the home we want, and do not regret it in the least.

Where we are in GF, we have public water and sewer.

Great that you found a house you like. But people would not be talking about houses in GF below $800K as a less expensive alternative to Arlington, etc., unless prices there were coming down, and that's what OP was asking about in the first place.

I will bet GF will eventually go the way of Mclean, Vienna and the like: as the older folks sell their homes and the available open land becomes less available, new builds will go up in place of these old homes, prices will increase, etc.

Except...due to your limited knowledge of RE development, you cannot just tear down and rebuild in GF as you can elsewhere (Arl, vienna, FC) because GF DOES NOT have public utilities (sewer, water, particularly) which greatly inhibit redeveloping old homes due to environmental requirements. For example, for new homes an old septic drainfield cannot be reused and the state new requires 100% reserve area for new drainfields. new wells must also be drilled and they must be a minumum of 100 ft from the new drainfield. Even with 2-acre lots, this is a challenge - believe me. You will never see the tear down and redo activity in GF that you see in Vienna, Arl, and FC now. This will limit growth as GF runs out of virgin land and with no new construction, prices will not be heading up...

Where we are in Great Falls, we have public sewer and water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like GF is good if you work in Reston or Tysons.

I do expect prices to continue to slide, however, as places need to capture a decent share of high-paid DC workers to maintain price levels as high as GF's historical levels. It doesn't matter if a handful of GF residents live close enough to catch a bus on Route 7 to a Metro station. For the most part, GF is the epitome of a car-dependent suburb with limited access to public transportation.

The distance to the middle and high schools is a negative, too. Imagine how much more convenient it would be if Langley were near 193 and River Bend Road, rather than near the Arlington County border. Unfortunately, there is only one high school in FCPS west of the Beltway and north of the Toll Road - Herndon.

HAHAHAHAHHAAA!!! Have you not heard about all the high tech west of the beltway????

It's less like Silicon Valley and more like the back-office operations you find in Jersey City or Schaumburg. Good jobs that typically pay salaries that make Ashburn and Chantilly affordable, not Great Falls at its current prices. That's why there is so much inventory there and why, insofar Great Falls is being repositioned as a residential area for those who work in Tysons or points west, prices are coming down.

The instiutions that created the demand for the 1.5 - 2.0M homes in Great Falls are either gone or shadows of what they were. Financial Services - Freddie Mac was a huge driver of employment and cash/option compensation. Bankruptcy wiped out all of that stock and options, and it is not generating the kind of compensation it once did. Tech bubble companies - AOL, Microstrategy, etc - are either gone, or much more mature and not spreading around cash like they did. Government contractors have been in a cycle of cuts since sequestration. There were at one point entire neighborhoods in Great Falls of folks who hit it big at AOL. 15 years on those folks have either downsized or are struggling to stay in their houses. It seems that if you give a purchasing manager a $2M option windfall, their skills and compensation are still that or a purchasing manager. So little by little they spend their windfall and then they need to move.

Really? We ARE one of those families. We own our house outright, and the 2 acre buildable lot next to it. So are a lot of my neighbors. Actually, one left to travel the country by mobile home, one moved to Ireland, one pair divorced. None 'spent all their money' or are 'struggling'

+1

I smell a McLean Booster. PP, just ignore him - he thinks he knows everything. He just sounds like the ass that he is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like GF is good if you work in Reston or Tysons.

I do expect prices to continue to slide, however, as places need to capture a decent share of high-paid DC workers to maintain price levels as high as GF's historical levels. It doesn't matter if a handful of GF residents live close enough to catch a bus on Route 7 to a Metro station. For the most part, GF is the epitome of a car-dependent suburb with limited access to public transportation.

The distance to the middle and high schools is a negative, too. Imagine how much more convenient it would be if Langley were near 193 and River Bend Road, rather than near the Arlington County border. Unfortunately, there is only one high school in FCPS west of the Beltway and north of the Toll Road - Herndon.

HAHAHAHAHHAAA!!! Have you not heard about all the high tech west of the beltway????

It's less like Silicon Valley and more like the back-office operations you find in Jersey City or Schaumburg. Good jobs that typically pay salaries that make Ashburn and Chantilly affordable, not Great Falls at its current prices. That's why there is so much inventory there and why, insofar Great Falls is being repositioned as a residential area for those who work in Tysons or points west, prices are coming down.

The instiutions that created the demand for the 1.5 - 2.0M homes in Great Falls are either gone or shadows of what they were. Financial Services - Freddie Mac was a huge driver of employment and cash/option compensation. Bankruptcy wiped out all of that stock and options, and it is not generating the kind of compensation it once did. Tech bubble companies - AOL, Microstrategy, etc - are either gone, or much more mature and not spreading around cash like they did. Government contractors have been in a cycle of cuts since sequestration. There were at one point entire neighborhoods in Great Falls of folks who hit it big at AOL. 15 years on those folks have either downsized or are struggling to stay in their houses. It seems that if you give a purchasing manager a $2M option windfall, their skills and compensation are still that or a purchasing manager. So little by little they spend their windfall and then they need to move.

Yes, because everyone in this situation is as you dictate - not reality, at all. Maybe they invested their "windfall" (much more than you think, BTW), and maybe they have family money, inheritances (plural) or other investments you know nothing about.

But since you know everyone and every single person's situation, I suppose reality is not a possibility, in your tiny mind. You think so, so it must be true.

You must be correct - the falling property values are just a big conspiracy. There cannot be market forces at play.

You have quite an imagination!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like GF is good if you work in Reston or Tysons.

I do expect prices to continue to slide, however, as places need to capture a decent share of high-paid DC workers to maintain price levels as high as GF's historical levels. It doesn't matter if a handful of GF residents live close enough to catch a bus on Route 7 to a Metro station. For the most part, GF is the epitome of a car-dependent suburb with limited access to public transportation.

The distance to the middle and high schools is a negative, too. Imagine how much more convenient it would be if Langley were near 193 and River Bend Road, rather than near the Arlington County border. Unfortunately, there is only one high school in FCPS west of the Beltway and north of the Toll Road - Herndon.

HAHAHAHAHHAAA!!! Have you not heard about all the high tech west of the beltway????

It's less like Silicon Valley and more like the back-office operations you find in Jersey City or Schaumburg. Good jobs that typically pay salaries that make Ashburn and Chantilly affordable, not Great Falls at its current prices. That's why there is so much inventory there and why, insofar Great Falls is being repositioned as a residential area for those who work in Tysons or points west, prices are coming down.

The instiutions that created the demand for the 1.5 - 2.0M homes in Great Falls are either gone or shadows of what they were. Financial Services - Freddie Mac was a huge driver of employment and cash/option compensation. Bankruptcy wiped out all of that stock and options, and it is not generating the kind of compensation it once did. Tech bubble companies - AOL, Microstrategy, etc - are either gone, or much more mature and not spreading around cash like they did. Government contractors have been in a cycle of cuts since sequestration. There were at one point entire neighborhoods in Great Falls of folks who hit it big at AOL. 15 years on those folks have either downsized or are struggling to stay in their houses. It seems that if you give a purchasing manager a $2M option windfall, their skills and compensation are still that or a purchasing manager. So little by little they spend their windfall and then they need to move.

Yes, because everyone in this situation is as you dictate - not reality, at all. Maybe they invested their "windfall" (much more than you think, BTW), and maybe they have family money, inheritances (plural) or other investments you know nothing about.

But since you know everyone and every single person's situation, I suppose reality is not a possibility, in your tiny mind. You think so, so it must be true.

You must be correct - the falling property values are just a big conspiracy. There cannot be market forces at play.

You have quite an imagination!

The decline in Great Falls prices is well documented.

http://www.zillow.com/great-falls-va/home-values/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like GF is good if you work in Reston or Tysons.

I do expect prices to continue to slide, however, as places need to capture a decent share of high-paid DC workers to maintain price levels as high as GF's historical levels. It doesn't matter if a handful of GF residents live close enough to catch a bus on Route 7 to a Metro station. For the most part, GF is the epitome of a car-dependent suburb with limited access to public transportation.

The distance to the middle and high schools is a negative, too. Imagine how much more convenient it would be if Langley were near 193 and River Bend Road, rather than near the Arlington County border. Unfortunately, there is only one high school in FCPS west of the Beltway and north of the Toll Road - Herndon.

HAHAHAHAHHAAA!!! Have you not heard about all the high tech west of the beltway????

It's less like Silicon Valley and more like the back-office operations you find in Jersey City or Schaumburg. Good jobs that typically pay salaries that make Ashburn and Chantilly affordable, not Great Falls at its current prices. That's why there is so much inventory there and why, insofar Great Falls is being repositioned as a residential area for those who work in Tysons or points west, prices are coming down.

The instiutions that created the demand for the 1.5 - 2.0M homes in Great Falls are either gone or shadows of what they were. Financial Services - Freddie Mac was a huge driver of employment and cash/option compensation. Bankruptcy wiped out all of that stock and options, and it is not generating the kind of compensation it once did. Tech bubble companies - AOL, Microstrategy, etc - are either gone, or much more mature and not spreading around cash like they did. Government contractors have been in a cycle of cuts since sequestration. There were at one point entire neighborhoods in Great Falls of folks who hit it big at AOL. 15 years on those folks have either downsized or are struggling to stay in their houses. It seems that if you give a purchasing manager a $2M option windfall, their skills and compensation are still that or a purchasing manager. So little by little they spend their windfall and then they need to move.

Yes, because everyone in this situation is as you dictate - not reality, at all. Maybe they invested their "windfall" (much more than you think, BTW), and maybe they have family money, inheritances (plural) or other investments you know nothing about.

But since you know everyone and every single person's situation, I suppose reality is not a possibility, in your tiny mind. You think so, so it must be true.

You must be correct - the falling property values are just a big conspiracy. There cannot be market forces at play.

You have quite an imagination!

The decline in Great Falls prices is well documented.

http://www.zillow.com/great-falls-va/home-values/

That's interesting - down 4.2%. But if you plug in close in neighborhoods like McLean or Bethesda, they are only up like 1%. I would have thought it would be more from all the bidding wars documented on DCUM. Or are the bidding wars over the just the few 'perfect' houses?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just read an article in the Post reporting there is a huge inventory of unsold properties in Great Falls and that it would be even higher if many sellers hadn't taken their homes off the market around Christmas.

It's pretty out there but, from an investment perspective, I would feel much safer buying in Arlington, McLean or Falls Church than Great Falls. I don't see any trends that make Great Falls more attractive, except declining prices.

Land. We have land. It's fabulous. Lots of wildlife. Snakes handle the rodents so no rat issue. I can green, lie in my hammock, etc, and no one messes with me. Easy drive to Tysons for shopping; GF center had all you need for day to day. Reston easy shot for variety. Half hour to Leesburg; Lucketts not much farther. Heaven

I wish we could afford GF! Your life sounds great...noone around!

I much prefer the wildlife to city folk I'd like to move farther out in VA or down south for retirement. Depends on how things improve/deteriorate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like GF is good if you work in Reston or Tysons.

I do expect prices to continue to slide, however, as places need to capture a decent share of high-paid DC workers to maintain price levels as high as GF's historical levels. It doesn't matter if a handful of GF residents live close enough to catch a bus on Route 7 to a Metro station. For the most part, GF is the epitome of a car-dependent suburb with limited access to public transportation.

The distance to the middle and high schools is a negative, too. Imagine how much more convenient it would be if Langley were near 193 and River Bend Road, rather than near the Arlington County border. Unfortunately, there is only one high school in FCPS west of the Beltway and north of the Toll Road - Herndon.

HAHAHAHAHHAAA!!! Have you not heard about all the high tech west of the beltway????

It's less like Silicon Valley and more like the back-office operations you find in Jersey City or Schaumburg. Good jobs that typically pay salaries that make Ashburn and Chantilly affordable, not Great Falls at its current prices. That's why there is so much inventory there and why, insofar Great Falls is being repositioned as a residential area for those who work in Tysons or points west, prices are coming down.

The instiutions that created the demand for the 1.5 - 2.0M homes in Great Falls are either gone or shadows of what they were. Financial Services - Freddie Mac was a huge driver of employment and cash/option compensation. Bankruptcy wiped out all of that stock and options, and it is not generating the kind of compensation it once did. Tech bubble companies - AOL, Microstrategy, etc - are either gone, or much more mature and not spreading around cash like they did. Government contractors have been in a cycle of cuts since sequestration. There were at one point entire neighborhoods in Great Falls of folks who hit it big at AOL. 15 years on those folks have either downsized or are struggling to stay in their houses. It seems that if you give a purchasing manager a $2M option windfall, their skills and compensation are still that or a purchasing manager. So little by little they spend their windfall and then they need to move.

Really? We ARE one of those families. We own our house outright, and the 2 acre buildable lot next to it. So are a lot of my neighbors. Actually, one left to travel the country by mobile home, one moved to Ireland, one pair divorced. None 'spent all their money' or are 'struggling'

+1

I smell a McLean Booster. PP, just ignore him - he thinks he knows everything. He just sounds like the ass that he is.

I think you are right

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this is like Bethesda vs Potomac. Potomac is further out and has larger lot sizes, and large homes. Average selling price is higher accordingly, so you'll rarely see a home in Bethesda go for $2m+, but that's almost the norm in Potomac.

However, the "cost" to living in Potomac is traffic (all 3 paths home -- Macarthur Blvd, River Road, Bradley Blvd back up during evening rush), and like Great Falls, the shopping isn't great (Potomac Village is OK, not excellent).

As a result, average home prices in Bethesda seem to be going up. Now a lot more houses are going for $1.5m+, which was not as common even 5 years ago. You'll end up on a smaller lot, and with a somewhat smaller house, but you're also a lot closer to things. Our neighborhood is mostly new houses (former teardowns) that sold in the $1.3-1.9m range, and we can walk to downtown Bethesda and the metro in 20 minutes (or catch the Ride-On bus.. but only during the week).

Unfortunately, traffic in the entire area is getting worse over time, and I see no big change in that going forward. It's gotten so bad that people really do factor in traffic when thinking of where to live.

We factored in traffic when choosing a house. From some locations in Great Falls it was quicker to get to Tysons than it was from North Arlington or some areas in Mclean. Mclean bordering Great Falls was quick not downtown Mclean or east. Into DC in pm rush hour is a nightmare on 123 /Chain bridge. Beltway to MD is horrible.