$1,565,000 million in Gaithersburg

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a really nice house. OP, you seem to have strange hangups about Gaithersburg, but if you do a streetview, you'll see that this is a beautiful neighborhood.

It is far out from DC and Nova and when I was house hunting in 2017 Gaithersburg, Rockville were the cheaper areas due to longer commute and non-w schools, now the prices are getting nuts out there.

If you work at Astra Zeneca, you’ve got a 5 minute commute. Some people don’t work in DC.

My neighbor in Potomac works at Astra Zeneca and last kid graduated HS was going to sell home last fall and move to Gaithersburg to be closwer to work and he no longer need a W school.

In the end he bought another home in Potomac as he said I am not paying Potomac prices in Gaithersburg.

Here is a townhome in Gaithersburg for $1,150,000. With 13k taxes and $157 a month HOA. Great location but no land and attached.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/606-Crown-Park-Ave-Gaithersburg-MD-20878/119331492_zpid/

meanwhile I could buy a single family home in Potomac for that price

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/10104-Colebrook-Ave-Potomac-MD-20854/37260379_zpid/

I am one comparing 2017 prices and back then you got ALOT for your money in Gaithersburg. the last 9 years it has flipped.

Potomac is so intensely unwalkable. It would drive me insane.

I love being able to walk to 3 grocery stores, haircut places for the entire family, my dentist’s office, multiple locally owned restaurants, my kid’s dance studio, etc.

I love that we have a Christmas tree/menorah lighting right in our town square.

I love our summer festival, with food trucks and bands.

I love that we get thousands of kids for Halloween.

Reducing it to just “Potomac vs Gaithersburg” is really minimizing what Kentlands/Lakelands is. We’re basically a small town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a really nice house. OP, you seem to have strange hangups about Gaithersburg, but if you do a streetview, you'll see that this is a beautiful neighborhood.

It is far out from DC and Nova and when I was house hunting in 2017 Gaithersburg, Rockville were the cheaper areas due to longer commute and non-w schools, now the prices are getting nuts out there.

If you work at Astra Zeneca, you’ve got a 5 minute commute. Some people don’t work in DC.

My neighbor in Potomac works at Astra Zeneca and last kid graduated HS was going to sell home last fall and move to Gaithersburg to be closwer to work and he no longer need a W school.

In the end he bought another home in Potomac as he said I am not paying Potomac prices in Gaithersburg.

Here is a townhome in Gaithersburg for $1,150,000. With 13k taxes and $157 a month HOA. Great location but no land and attached.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/606-Crown-Park-Ave-Gaithersburg-MD-20878/119331492_zpid/

meanwhile I could buy a single family home in Potomac for that price

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/10104-Colebrook-Ave-Potomac-MD-20854/37260379_zpid/

I am one comparing 2017 prices and back then you got ALOT for your money in Gaithersburg. the last 9 years it has flipped.

Potomac is so intensely unwalkable. It would drive me insane.

I love being able to walk to 3 grocery stores, haircut places for the entire family, my dentist’s office, multiple locally owned restaurants, my kid’s dance studio, etc.

I love that we have a Christmas tree/menorah lighting right in our town square.

I love our summer festival, with food trucks and bands.

I love that we get thousands of kids for Halloween.

Reducing it to just “Potomac vs Gaithersburg” is really minimizing what Kentlands/Lakelands is. We’re basically a small town.

Except did you see the traffic today? When an accident happens like this morning (I work in NOVA) nearly everyone in Germantown and Gaithersburg who drives to work in DC or NOVA that extra drive is a killer. Pre 2020 that was a huger issue.

However, since 2020 more people are either remote or 2-3 days a week in office so it blew up out there.

However, MoCo has a way of PUNISHING high home prices. By 2030 you will see 15K-18K property tax in the Kentlands/Lakelands as rising assessments kick in. The new Crown HS and new retail is making it even more desirable. But that also brings higher prices and higher property taxes.

I like it there, just they will be a victim of their own success.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a really nice house. OP, you seem to have strange hangups about Gaithersburg, but if you do a streetview, you'll see that this is a beautiful neighborhood.

It is far out from DC and Nova and when I was house hunting in 2017 Gaithersburg, Rockville were the cheaper areas due to longer commute and non-w schools, now the prices are getting nuts out there.

If you work at Astra Zeneca, you’ve got a 5 minute commute. Some people don’t work in DC.

My neighbor in Potomac works at Astra Zeneca and last kid graduated HS was going to sell home last fall and move to Gaithersburg to be closwer to work and he no longer need a W school.

In the end he bought another home in Potomac as he said I am not paying Potomac prices in Gaithersburg.

Here is a townhome in Gaithersburg for $1,150,000. With 13k taxes and $157 a month HOA. Great location but no land and attached.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/606-Crown-Park-Ave-Gaithersburg-MD-20878/119331492_zpid/

meanwhile I could buy a single family home in Potomac for that price

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/10104-Colebrook-Ave-Potomac-MD-20854/37260379_zpid/

I am one comparing 2017 prices and back then you got ALOT for your money in Gaithersburg. the last 9 years it has flipped.

Potomac is so intensely unwalkable. It would drive me insane.

I love being able to walk to 3 grocery stores, haircut places for the entire family, my dentist’s office, multiple locally owned restaurants, my kid’s dance studio, etc.

I love that we have a Christmas tree/menorah lighting right in our town square.

I love our summer festival, with food trucks and bands.

I love that we get thousands of kids for Halloween.

Reducing it to just “Potomac vs Gaithersburg” is really minimizing what Kentlands/Lakelands is. We’re basically a small town.

Except did you see the traffic today? When an accident happens like this morning (I work in NOVA) nearly everyone in Germantown and Gaithersburg who drives to work in DC or NOVA that extra drive is a killer. Pre 2020 that was a huger issue.

However, since 2020 more people are either remote or 2-3 days a week in office so it blew up out there.

However, MoCo has a way of PUNISHING high home prices. By 2030 you will see 15K-18K property tax in the Kentlands/Lakelands as rising assessments kick in. The new Crown HS and new retail is making it even more desirable. But that also brings higher prices and higher property taxes.

I like it there, just they will be a victim of their own success.

Eh, traffic in this area is bad no matter what.

I did a Gaithersburg-NoVA commute for 8 years. It was terrible at times, but I survived.

Now I WFH but drive my kid to school in Potomac every morning. It’s 25-30 minutes each way.

Our house will be fully paid off when our kid goes to college in 9 years. We’ll sell and move out of this area. So I’m not too concerned.

[Anonymous]

That house is appropriately priced. It's clean and well staged and clearly sold quickly. This is not a surprise for 20878. That's the prices now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That house is appropriately priced. It's clean and well staged and clearly sold quickly. This is not a surprise for 20878. That's the prices now.

Yep. If my Lakelands townhouse can go for $900K or so, then I’m not surprised a SFH in probably the nicest part of Lakelands would go for $1.5.

[Anonymous]

https://www.redfin.com/MD/North-Potomac/12629-High-Meadow-Rd-20878/home/10626319

this might break this sales record

[Anonymous]

It costs 700k+ to buy a move in ready sfh near Glenmont metro now. I'm not surprised prices are this high in Gaithersburg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.redfin.com/MD/North-Potomac/12629-High-Meadow-Rd-20878/home/10626319

this might break this sales record

Are people posting here even familiar with 20878?
There are plenty of homes in excess of 2 million that have sold.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a really nice house. OP, you seem to have strange hangups about Gaithersburg, but if you do a streetview, you'll see that this is a beautiful neighborhood.

It is far out from DC and Nova and when I was house hunting in 2017 Gaithersburg, Rockville were the cheaper areas due to longer commute and non-w schools, now the prices are getting nuts out there.

If you work at Astra Zeneca, you’ve got a 5 minute commute. Some people don’t work in DC.

My neighbor in Potomac works at Astra Zeneca and last kid graduated HS was going to sell home last fall and move to Gaithersburg to be closwer to work and he no longer need a W school.

In the end he bought another home in Potomac as he said I am not paying Potomac prices in Gaithersburg.

Here is a townhome in Gaithersburg for $1,150,000. With 13k taxes and $157 a month HOA. Great location but no land and attached.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/606-Crown-Park-Ave-Gaithersburg-MD-20878/119331492_zpid/

meanwhile I could buy a single family home in Potomac for that price

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/10104-Colebrook-Ave-Potomac-MD-20854/37260379_zpid/

I am one comparing 2017 prices and back then you got ALOT for your money in Gaithersburg. the last 9 years it has flipped.

Potomac is so intensely unwalkable. It would drive me insane.

I love being able to walk to 3 grocery stores, haircut places for the entire family, my dentist’s office, multiple locally owned restaurants, my kid’s dance studio, etc.

I love that we have a Christmas tree/menorah lighting right in our town square.

I love our summer festival, with food trucks and bands.

I love that we get thousands of kids for Halloween.

Reducing it to just “Potomac vs Gaithersburg” is really minimizing what Kentlands/Lakelands is. We’re basically a small town.

Except did you see the traffic today? When an accident happens like this morning (I work in NOVA) nearly everyone in Germantown and Gaithersburg who drives to work in DC or NOVA that extra drive is a killer. Pre 2020 that was a huger issue.

However, since 2020 more people are either remote or 2-3 days a week in office so it blew up out there.

However, MoCo has a way of PUNISHING high home prices. By 2030 you will see 15K-18K property tax in the Kentlands/Lakelands as rising assessments kick in. The new Crown HS and new retail is making it even more desirable. But that also brings higher prices and higher property taxes.

I like it there, just they will be a victim of their own success.

So few people commute like that anymore though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It costs 700k+ to buy a move in ready sfh near Glenmont metro now. I'm not surprised prices are this high in Gaithersburg.

Right? We bought a house for about that much near Forest Glen metro recently. It was renovated but smaller, older and schools aren't as good. But it is a great neighborhood and more convenient location wise. And my wife and I both make respectable salaries but you have to make some sacrifices with a limited budget around here.

If you want something more in that ~$700-800K range up that way I think you have to look more on the other side of 270, which obviously isn't as desirable but there were some solid houses and the neighborhoods seemed nice enough (not talking Montgomery Village which I understand has a bit of a bad reputation).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a really nice house. OP, you seem to have strange hangups about Gaithersburg, but if you do a streetview, you'll see that this is a beautiful neighborhood.

It is far out from DC and Nova and when I was house hunting in 2017 Gaithersburg, Rockville were the cheaper areas due to longer commute and non-w schools, now the prices are getting nuts out there.

You seem to have a 2017 view on it, though. This house is NOT Bethesda prices in 2026 - a similar house in Bethesda would go for $2.5M now I believe. New construction is $3.5M+.

DP. The point is that this house is selling for 2017 Bethesda prices. So in just 9 years, what was an affordable area for families to buy in is now too expensive for most middle class families. So where do we go?

9 years ago, this house would have sold for 900k. But most of us didn't see a commensurate increase in incomes over that time. And of course rates are higher now than they were in 2017, so you need even more income to cover the mortgage even if you have the down payment.

It just sucks, especially for those of us in industries where we will simply never be able to afford a house that costs this much. This area used to have a lot of decent options for middle class people, especially if you were willing to live a bit further out. Rockville and Gaithersburg were popular because you'd even have the option of commuting by Metro, which could save you money on a second car and the costs of parking downtown. But now even these places are out of reach for many.

Housing prices are out of control. And it's not like rent is any cheaper -- it's still actually more expensive to rent than to buy in most of this area, despite interest rates. Especially if you need a home for a family.

Lots of perfectly nice houses can be found between the Forest Glen and Wheaton metro stations for $500K to $600K. They might not look like something out of a Pottery Barn catalog but they're perfectly fine and probably resemble the sort of house you might have lived in growing up. Keep in mind that the median household income in Moco is approximately $150K, so these houses are perfectly affordable. Many people buy these sorts of houses, lead happy and productive lives, have easy commutes, and don't sit around whining about how unaffordable everything is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a really nice house. OP, you seem to have strange hangups about Gaithersburg, but if you do a streetview, you'll see that this is a beautiful neighborhood.

It is far out from DC and Nova and when I was house hunting in 2017 Gaithersburg, Rockville were the cheaper areas due to longer commute and non-w schools, now the prices are getting nuts out there.

You seem to have a 2017 view on it, though. This house is NOT Bethesda prices in 2026 - a similar house in Bethesda would go for $2.5M now I believe. New construction is $3.5M+.

DP. The point is that this house is selling for 2017 Bethesda prices. So in just 9 years, what was an affordable area for families to buy in is now too expensive for most middle class families. So where do we go?

9 years ago, this house would have sold for 900k. But most of us didn't see a commensurate increase in incomes over that time. And of course rates are higher now than they were in 2017, so you need even more income to cover the mortgage even if you have the down payment.

It just sucks, especially for those of us in industries where we will simply never be able to afford a house that costs this much. This area used to have a lot of decent options for middle class people, especially if you were willing to live a bit further out. Rockville and Gaithersburg were popular because you'd even have the option of commuting by Metro, which could save you money on a second car and the costs of parking downtown. But now even these places are out of reach for many.

Housing prices are out of control. And it's not like rent is any cheaper -- it's still actually more expensive to rent than to buy in most of this area, despite interest rates. Especially if you need a home for a family.

Lots of perfectly nice houses can be found between the Forest Glen and Wheaton metro stations for $500K to $600K. They might not look like something out of a Pottery Barn catalog but they're perfectly fine and probably resemble the sort of house you might have lived in growing up. Keep in mind that the median household income in Moco is approximately $150K, so these houses are perfectly affordable. Many people buy these sorts of houses, lead happy and productive lives, have easy commutes, and don't sit around whining about how unaffordable everything is.

Or you buy a townhouse and — shocker! — stay in it.

We bought our Lakelands townhouse for $665K in 2018. We put $100K into a gut reno.

We refinanced into a 15 year fixed with a sub-2% interest rate.

No plans to move, even though our HHI has been $650-1.1M/year ever since, depending on how stock options play out.

When DD goes to college, we will have paid off our townhouse. We’ll take the equity and move somewhere else.

Not all of us feel the need to buy the absolute most expensive house we can possibly get ourselves into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a really nice house. OP, you seem to have strange hangups about Gaithersburg, but if you do a streetview, you'll see that this is a beautiful neighborhood.

It is far out from DC and Nova and when I was house hunting in 2017 Gaithersburg, Rockville were the cheaper areas due to longer commute and non-w schools, now the prices are getting nuts out there.

You seem to have a 2017 view on it, though. This house is NOT Bethesda prices in 2026 - a similar house in Bethesda would go for $2.5M now I believe. New construction is $3.5M+.

DP. The point is that this house is selling for 2017 Bethesda prices. So in just 9 years, what was an affordable area for families to buy in is now too expensive for most middle class families. So where do we go?

9 years ago, this house would have sold for 900k. But most of us didn't see a commensurate increase in incomes over that time. And of course rates are higher now than they were in 2017, so you need even more income to cover the mortgage even if you have the down payment.

It just sucks, especially for those of us in industries where we will simply never be able to afford a house that costs this much. This area used to have a lot of decent options for middle class people, especially if you were willing to live a bit further out. Rockville and Gaithersburg were popular because you'd even have the option of commuting by Metro, which could save you money on a second car and the costs of parking downtown. But now even these places are out of reach for many.

Housing prices are out of control. And it's not like rent is any cheaper -- it's still actually more expensive to rent than to buy in most of this area, despite interest rates. Especially if you need a home for a family.

Lots of perfectly nice houses can be found between the Forest Glen and Wheaton metro stations for $500K to $600K. They might not look like something out of a Pottery Barn catalog but they're perfectly fine and probably resemble the sort of house you might have lived in growing up. Keep in mind that the median household income in Moco is approximately $150K, so these houses are perfectly affordable. Many people buy these sorts of houses, lead happy and productive lives, have easy commutes, and don't sit around whining about how unaffordable everything is.

Or you buy a townhouse and — shocker! — stay in it.

We bought our Lakelands townhouse for $665K in 2018. We put $100K into a gut reno.

We refinanced into a 15 year fixed with a sub-2% interest rate.

No plans to move, even though our HHI has been $650-1.1M/year ever since, depending on how stock options play out.

When DD goes to college, we will have paid off our townhouse. We’ll take the equity and move somewhere else.

Not all of us feel the need to buy the absolute most expensive house we can possibly get ourselves into.

So your advice, time travel to 2018 and buy a house cheap right before prices shot up in 2020 then magically shortly after purchasing mortgages have mortgage rates fall to a historic once in a lifetime low and lock in a low rate magically right at the bottom. Then count on the greatest bull runs ever from 2019-2026 to make your stock optons fly through roof, oh year maanage to find a cheap fixer upper to renovate that you can also magically time travel back to pre-Covid before prices doubled.

this is all useless info for a 2026 first time buyer. That townhome is now 900k and with 20 percent down the mortgage alone is $3,362 a month and thats before property taxes and insurance. Even worse that is a $180,000 downpayment. You only paid $650,000. If you put down that same downpayment you have a $480,000 mortgage. A 480K mortgage at 1.9 interest rate is a joke. The 15 year payment is like only $1,725 a month. And that is just 15 years. THe new buyer is paying $3,362 for 30 years. Yes they are paying double the mortgage payment for twice as long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a really nice house. OP, you seem to have strange hangups about Gaithersburg, but if you do a streetview, you'll see that this is a beautiful neighborhood.

It is far out from DC and Nova and when I was house hunting in 2017 Gaithersburg, Rockville were the cheaper areas due to longer commute and non-w schools, now the prices are getting nuts out there.

You seem to have a 2017 view on it, though. This house is NOT Bethesda prices in 2026 - a similar house in Bethesda would go for $2.5M now I believe. New construction is $3.5M+.

DP. The point is that this house is selling for 2017 Bethesda prices. So in just 9 years, what was an affordable area for families to buy in is now too expensive for most middle class families. So where do we go?

9 years ago, this house would have sold for 900k. But most of us didn't see a commensurate increase in incomes over that time. And of course rates are higher now than they were in 2017, so you need even more income to cover the mortgage even if you have the down payment.

It just sucks, especially for those of us in industries where we will simply never be able to afford a house that costs this much. This area used to have a lot of decent options for middle class people, especially if you were willing to live a bit further out. Rockville and Gaithersburg were popular because you'd even have the option of commuting by Metro, which could save you money on a second car and the costs of parking downtown. But now even these places are out of reach for many.

Housing prices are out of control. And it's not like rent is any cheaper -- it's still actually more expensive to rent than to buy in most of this area, despite interest rates. Especially if you need a home for a family.

Lots of perfectly nice houses can be found between the Forest Glen and Wheaton metro stations for $500K to $600K. They might not look like something out of a Pottery Barn catalog but they're perfectly fine and probably resemble the sort of house you might have lived in growing up. Keep in mind that the median household income in Moco is approximately $150K, so these houses are perfectly affordable. Many people buy these sorts of houses, lead happy and productive lives, have easy commutes, and don't sit around whining about how unaffordable everything is.

Or you buy a townhouse and — shocker! — stay in it.

We bought our Lakelands townhouse for $665K in 2018. We put $100K into a gut reno.

We refinanced into a 15 year fixed with a sub-2% interest rate.

No plans to move, even though our HHI has been $650-1.1M/year ever since, depending on how stock options play out.

When DD goes to college, we will have paid off our townhouse. We’ll take the equity and move somewhere else.

Not all of us feel the need to buy the absolute most expensive house we can possibly get ourselves into.

So your advice, time travel to 2018 and buy a house cheap right before prices shot up in 2020 then magically shortly after purchasing mortgages have mortgage rates fall to a historic once in a lifetime low and lock in a low rate magically right at the bottom. Then count on the greatest bull runs ever from 2019-2026 to make your stock optons fly through roof, oh year maanage to find a cheap fixer upper to renovate that you can also magically time travel back to pre-Covid before prices doubled.

this is all useless info for a 2026 first time buyer. That townhome is now 900k and with 20 percent down the mortgage alone is $3,362 a month and thats before property taxes and insurance. Even worse that is a $180,000 downpayment. You only paid $650,000. If you put down that same downpayment you have a $480,000 mortgage. A 480K mortgage at 1.9 interest rate is a joke. The 15 year payment is like only $1,725 a month. And that is just 15 years. THe new buyer is paying $3,362 for 30 years. Yes they are paying double the mortgage payment for twice as long.

No. My advice is to live within or below your means.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a really nice house. OP, you seem to have strange hangups about Gaithersburg, but if you do a streetview, you'll see that this is a beautiful neighborhood.

It is far out from DC and Nova and when I was house hunting in 2017 Gaithersburg, Rockville were the cheaper areas due to longer commute and non-w schools, now the prices are getting nuts out there.

If you work at Astra Zeneca, you’ve got a 5 minute commute. Some people don’t work in DC.

My neighbor in Potomac works at Astra Zeneca and last kid graduated HS was going to sell home last fall and move to Gaithersburg to be closwer to work and he no longer need a W school.

In the end he bought another home in Potomac as he said I am not paying Potomac prices in Gaithersburg.

Here is a townhome in Gaithersburg for $1,150,000. With 13k taxes and $157 a month HOA. Great location but no land and attached.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/606-Crown-Park-Ave-Gaithersburg-MD-20878/119331492_zpid/

meanwhile I could buy a single family home in Potomac for that price

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/10104-Colebrook-Ave-Potomac-MD-20854/37260379_zpid/

I am one comparing 2017 prices and back then you got ALOT for your money in Gaithersburg. the last 9 years it has flipped.

Potomac is so intensely unwalkable. It would drive me insane.

I love being able to walk to 3 grocery stores, haircut places for the entire family, my dentist’s office, multiple locally owned restaurants, my kid’s dance studio, etc.

I love that we have a Christmas tree/menorah lighting right in our town square.

I love our summer festival, with food trucks and bands.

I love that we get thousands of kids for Halloween.

Reducing it to just “Potomac vs Gaithersburg” is really minimizing what Kentlands/Lakelands is. We’re basically a small town.

Except did you see the traffic today? When an accident happens like this morning (I work in NOVA) nearly everyone in Germantown and Gaithersburg who drives to work in DC or NOVA that extra drive is a killer. Pre 2020 that was a huger issue.

However, since 2020 more people are either remote or 2-3 days a week in office so it blew up out there.

However, MoCo has a way of PUNISHING high home prices. By 2030 you will see 15K-18K property tax in the Kentlands/Lakelands as rising assessments kick in. The new Crown HS and new retail is making it even more desirable. But that also brings higher prices and higher property taxes.

I like it there, just they will be a victim of their own success.

Eh, traffic in this area is bad no matter what.

I did a Gaithersburg-NoVA commute for 8 years. It was terrible at times, but I survived.

Now I WFH but drive my kid to school in Potomac every morning. It’s 25-30 minutes each way.

Our house will be fully paid off when our kid goes to college in 9 years. We’ll sell and move out of this area. So I’m not too concerned.

For those of us who live inside the beltway, that commute and traffic way out there are insane. No thank you. I dread even going up one exit to run an errand off of Montrose! Our house is paid off too.