$899k for a rambler.

[Anonymous]

I don't know why it bothers people quite so much that other people are willing to spend more than they would on houses in Arlington, unless they are being outbid for the same properties. Many of us in other areas are also homeowners and can luxuriate in our own phantom equity for now.

Arlington has captured a certain segment of the market that doesn't want to live further out. It includes, for example, people who can't tolerate the idea of a commute that's more than X miles or Y minutes, and people who moved into Arlington when they were younger, liked it, and decided to stick around.

Its location isn't going to change, but its other advantages aren't necessarily quite so entrenched. If car traffic diminishes in the region, or mass transit expands to other areas, Arlington's proximity to DC becomes less of an advantage. If other jurisdictions build more housing that appeals to younger residents, they'll be more likely to stay in those places, rather than seek alternatives like Arlington. But until these things happen, Arlington appeals to a lot of people, so you get high prices. Personally, it's not where I'd want to live, but I don't dictate the market (as much as I might like to).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Am I the only one who caught that it says "Manners" in the subdivision name?

All I can think is "Thank goodness I don't need to live in Arlington"

My house (about the same size and half the price) was being used as a 5 BR when we saw it - because they had turned the den/family room into a bedroom for one of their 4 adult children who had been living at home.

Yeah, I don't see how these prices are sustainable, really. But someone will pay it ...

What is the alternative for this area? An older brick colonial in that price range and similar or slightly more sq.ft would cost over a million easily. New construction starts at 1.5 mil. Ramblers are not bad, at least most living sleeping places are on one floor, less stairs and some people prefer it this way.

I wasn't saying there was an alternative. If you insist on Arlington, this is Arlington prices. Not a shocker, really. As I said, glad I don't need to live in Arlington - I'm 20 miles out in a neighborhood in Fairfax that cost half as much. Neither of us work downtown. Neither of us make big bucks. We're fine where we are - glad we didn't have to pay 2X the price to live closer in with similar schools.

Paying these prices is a choice, though - there are others. You just may not like them.

In this case, you can contribute nothing to the discussion, you are not in position to understand. People who must be close to DC and who can afford to pay this much have choices and can either choose short commute, or a bigger, newer subdivision house in distant burbs. for you, there is no need to choose, you don't need to be close to DC, you choose from different areas altogether. It's like me going to Manhattan and being shocked at prices there, if I don't need to be there, what's the point.

whoa, whoa - I lived in Arlington at one point in my life and worked downtown, too. I'm not allowed to have an opinion at all just because I no longer live there and can't afford a near $1M house? That's some elitist bullshit if I ever heard it.

We all have to make choices based on commute, price range and other needs/preferences.

Oh, poor you with your large budget and "limited choices" because you just MUST live in one of the most expensive close-in burbs. Even you said people with that budget might choose larger, newer subdivisions in the burbs. There you go - choices.

[Anonymous]

2000 is actually a lot. I've seen a lot of 2000 sq. ft. houses in various configurations (cape cod, rancher, colonial) that have 4 bedrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room and a couple bathrooms.

In fact, I have a neighbor (not in NOVA, by the way) who has a 1500 sq. ft. cape code with no basement, and he has 4 reasonable bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living room, kitchen, small dining area and a laundry rooms. And I wouldn't describe it as a sardine can.

Just sayin... I still think the prices in the area are outrageous (I posted earlier), but this house seems to be priced like others in the area, so I don't think there's anything in particular that makes this house horrible.

[Anonymous]

what if other major job metro accessible job hubs as big as DC farther out popup? What will happen?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know why it bothers people quite so much that other people are willing to spend more than they would on houses in Arlington, unless they are being outbid for the same properties. Many of us in other areas are also homeowners and can luxuriate in our own phantom equity for now.

Arlington has captured a certain segment of the market that doesn't want to live further out. It includes, for example, people who can't tolerate the idea of a commute that's more than X miles or Y minutes, and people who moved into Arlington when they were younger, liked it, and decided to stick around.

Its location isn't going to change, but its other advantages aren't necessarily quite so entrenched. If car traffic diminishes in the region, or mass transit expands to other areas, Arlington's proximity to DC becomes less of an advantage. If other jurisdictions build more housing that appeals to younger residents, they'll be more likely to stay in those places, rather than seek alternatives like Arlington. But until these things happen, Arlington appeals to a lot of people, so you get high prices. Personally, it's not where I'd want to live, but I don't dictate the market (as much as I might like to).

There's also the fact that half the area bordering DC is PG County, and that's a big "no go" zone for most people. If PG County ever fixed its issues and became attractive to people, I wonder what would happen to the prices in these areas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:2000 is actually a lot. I've seen a lot of 2000 sq. ft. houses in various configurations (cape cod, rancher, colonial) that have 4 bedrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room and a couple bathrooms.

In fact, I have a neighbor (not in NOVA, by the way) who has a 1500 sq. ft. cape code with no basement, and he has 4 reasonable bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living room, kitchen, small dining area and a laundry rooms. And I wouldn't describe it as a sardine can.

Just sayin... I still think the prices in the area are outrageous (I posted earlier), but this house seems to be priced like others in the area, so I don't think there's anything in particular that makes this house horrible.

There is a model in my NoVA neighborhood just like this. Our next door neighbors live in one with their child. I also know a family with 3 children in the same model. Now, 3 kids is pushing it, but it is still doable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know why it bothers people quite so much that other people are willing to spend more than they would on houses in Arlington, unless they are being outbid for the same properties. Many of us in other areas are also homeowners and can luxuriate in our own phantom equity for now.

Arlington has captured a certain segment of the market that doesn't want to live further out. It includes, for example, people who can't tolerate the idea of a commute that's more than X miles or Y minutes, and people who moved into Arlington when they were younger, liked it, and decided to stick around.

Its location isn't going to change, but its other advantages aren't necessarily quite so entrenched. If car traffic diminishes in the region, or mass transit expands to other areas, Arlington's proximity to DC becomes less of an advantage. If other jurisdictions build more housing that appeals to younger residents, they'll be more likely to stay in those places, rather than seek alternatives like Arlington. But until these things happen, Arlington appeals to a lot of people, so you get high prices. Personally, it's not where I'd want to live, but I don't dictate the market (as much as I might like to).

There's also the fact that half the area bordering DC is PG County, and that's a big "no go" zone for most people. If PG County ever fixed its issues and became attractive to people, I wonder what would happen to the prices in these areas?

see, another option - live in PG for 1/3 the price and send your kid private.

[Anonymous]

I live in NWDC, not North Arlington, but I see its appeal. If it were not for the whole bridge thing to commute into DC we might be living there. Commute is huge to us, so we live small and close in with good schools. The demand is high so we pay through the nose. My marriage would be less happy and I would have less time with my kids if lived farther out no matter how nice a house we had so those are the choices we make.

I think that it is more likely that South Arlington starts improving their school test scores as the demographics change before the traffic diminishes in the area and commute becomes less of an issue. I am, however, of the opinion that South Arlington schools are likely as good as North Arlington schools and the difference in their performance is due to SES influence rather than school quality. As the demographics changes, so will the school performance and up will go the real estate prices. I do not think that will, however, be a short term phenomenon and I think that the demand for close in housing with good schools will only go higher s I do not see this dropping the prices for North Arlington houses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know why it bothers people quite so much that other people are willing to spend more than they would on houses in Arlington, unless they are being outbid for the same properties. Many of us in other areas are also homeowners and can luxuriate in our own phantom equity for now.

Arlington has captured a certain segment of the market that doesn't want to live further out. It includes, for example, people who can't tolerate the idea of a commute that's more than X miles or Y minutes, and people who moved into Arlington when they were younger, liked it, and decided to stick around.

Its location isn't going to change, but its other advantages aren't necessarily quite so entrenched. If car traffic diminishes in the region, or mass transit expands to other areas, Arlington's proximity to DC becomes less of an advantage. If other jurisdictions build more housing that appeals to younger residents, they'll be more likely to stay in those places, rather than seek alternatives like Arlington. But until these things happen, Arlington appeals to a lot of people, so you get high prices. Personally, it's not where I'd want to live, but I don't dictate the market (as much as I might like to).

There's also the fact that half the area bordering DC is PG County, and that's a big "no go" zone for most people. If PG County ever fixed its issues and became attractive to people, I wonder what would happen to the prices in these areas?

see, another option - live in PG for 1/3 the price and send your kid private.

No, a house like that in most of PG would be closer to 150k than 300k. So really, 1/6 the price.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

see, another option - live in PG for 1/3 the price and send your kid private.

No, a house like that in most of PG would be closer to 150k than 300k. So really, 1/6 the price.

I was thinking of the communities on the Metro lines, which are more pricey than the areas not connected to the city by Metro. But you are right, if you're talking on average across PG, it would be lower than 1/3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in NWDC, not North Arlington, but I see its appeal. If it were not for the whole bridge thing to commute into DC we might be living there. Commute is huge to us, so we live small and close in with good schools. The demand is high so we pay through the nose. My marriage would be less happy and I would have less time with my kids if lived farther out no matter how nice a house we had so those are the choices we make.

I think that it is more likely that South Arlington starts improving their school test scores as the demographics change before the traffic diminishes in the area and commute becomes less of an issue. I am, however, of the opinion that South Arlington schools are likely as good as North Arlington schools and the difference in their performance is due to SES influence rather than school quality. As the demographics changes, so will the school performance and up will go the real estate prices. I do not think that will, however, be a short term phenomenon and I think that the demand for close in housing with good schools will only go higher s I do not see this dropping the prices for North Arlington houses.

BS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would expect nicer upgrades for this price, more upgraded bathrooms and kitchen countertops, appliances, etc. This is dated.

Ditto. This place screams Home Depot Clearance Specials. Looks like the owners put $$$ into the wine in the garage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in NWDC, not North Arlington, but I see its appeal. If it were not for the whole bridge thing to commute into DC we might be living there. Commute is huge to us, so we live small and close in with good schools. The demand is high so we pay through the nose. My marriage would be less happy and I would have less time with my kids if lived farther out no matter how nice a house we had so those are the choices we make.

I think that it is more likely that South Arlington starts improving their school test scores as the demographics change before the traffic diminishes in the area and commute becomes less of an issue. I am, however, of the opinion that South Arlington schools are likely as good as North Arlington schools and the difference in their performance is due to SES influence rather than school quality. As the demographics changes, so will the school performance and up will go the real estate prices. I do not think that will, however, be a short term phenomenon and I think that the demand for close in housing with good schools will only go higher s I do not see this dropping the prices for North Arlington houses.

BS

you failed to read the next part about the difference in performance being due to SES. All Arlington schools teach the same general curriculum. It ALWAYS comes back to the SES breakdown of the student body - ALWAYS.

If the more affluent residents in PG ever decided to send their kids to public schools en masse, test scores would change for the better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know why it bothers people quite so much that other people are willing to spend more than they would on houses in Arlington, unless they are being outbid for the same properties. Many of us in other areas are also homeowners and can luxuriate in our own phantom equity for now.

Arlington has captured a certain segment of the market that doesn't want to live further out. It includes, for example, people who can't tolerate the idea of a commute that's more than X miles or Y minutes, and people who moved into Arlington when they were younger, liked it, and decided to stick around.

Its location isn't going to change, but its other advantages aren't necessarily quite so entrenched. If car traffic diminishes in the region, or mass transit expands to other areas, Arlington's proximity to DC becomes less of an advantage. If other jurisdictions build more housing that appeals to younger residents, they'll be more likely to stay in those places, rather than seek alternatives like Arlington. But until these things happen, Arlington appeals to a lot of people, so you get high prices. Personally, it's not where I'd want to live, but I don't dictate the market (as much as I might like to).

There's also the fact that half the area bordering DC is PG County, and that's a big "no go" zone for most people. If PG County ever fixed its issues and became attractive to people, I wonder what would happen to the prices in these areas?

see, another option - live in PG for 1/3 the price and send your kid private.

No one wants to live in PG with the crime, corruption, and generally blah environment.

[Anonymous]

I would definitely fire realtor "Sharon Chamberlin" after she listed my neighborhood name as "Golf Club Manners". WTF?