Question about Woodward High School and Kensington/Garrett Park real estate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m the OP. I do not want to pay 200K more for a home zoned for Walter Johnson and then get rezoned in a few years when we could have bought a home for $200K less across Connecticut Ave zoned for Einstein. A home is the largest purchase we will ever make. I want to know definitively which schools we are getting for the price, and if we are stretching for a home zones for good schools, I can’t afford to then pay for private if resining doesn’t go well. And yes, test scores and schools do matter to a lot of people. That is why the current price differential in this area exists. If it didn’t matter, the homes in Kensington zones for different schools would not be so differently priced. The main reason we are moving to the burbs is schools and because we need another bedroom. Private schools around here go for $40K a year so with 2 children only $100K will not cover that difference - unless you are only talking a year of high school. I’m trying to understand the situation better but 4 years seems a long time to wait to make decisions that significantly impact real estate value and families.

Good luck with that - school zoning is NEVER guaranteed - as much as people might want it to be. That said, you are not going to be significantly affected between Woodward and WJ - the demographics will be much the same for either one - indeed that's what rezoning would try to accomplish as much as it can without resorting to cross-county busing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:also would note that WJ is looking at putting a magnet program in Woodward which would mean that it would be a choice whether to switch from WJ to Woodward. KP is not one of the closest schools to Woodward and we're not in the middle school closest to Woodward (we go to N. Bethesda not Tilden) so that's another reason I don't think we'll be rezoned to Woodward. But even if we were, I think it will be a great school.

What do you mean that "WJ is looking at putting a magnet program in Woodward". WJ is doing nothing. It is MCPS making these decisions. My crystal ball says that Woodward will become part of the DCC and house either a DCC-wide or county-wide audition only, performing arts magnet.

Isn't Northwood already a performing arts school?

In my view, they need to create a computer science magnet. I know that Blair is the science school and they have computer science but computer science is where the jobs are going and having a school with a lot of offerings in different languages and skillsets would be very helpful in getting a leg up.

Northwood has a musical theater academy, and Einstein has a visual and performing arts academy. But neither is a magnet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Woodward is going to be a beautiful, brand new school, likely with an amazing performing arts magnet. It’s going to be really nice - not sure what people are so worried about?

+1. If I were buying now, I'd get a house in the Viers Mill ES zone. Currently zoned to Wheaton HS, but highly likely to be rezoned to Woodward. It's the closet DCC school to Woodward, and would provide some much-valued diversity in demographics.

The advantage of this would be, even if the expected rezoning doesn't happen, you haven't really lost. You will have paid Wheaton prices and you can sell based on Wheaton prices, if you decide to move. Of course moving is a pain and has transaction costs, but for an OP who seems incredibly concerned about buying with a school premium only to see it zoned away, this might be appealing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But there is 100k difference in the price of similar houses zoned for Einstein vs Walter Johnson!! So I think op is right to wonder if he should pay that premium only to see it disappear if re zoning occurs.

I agree, OP, that moco schools might be a gamble now.
I would hesitate to invest there. I would not discount a mass exodus to private schools if moco goes through with some of their proposals. You would have to factor that possibility into your budget I guess.

Einstein is already overcrowded, getting more so each year, and not getting an addition. The solution to that overcrowding is that some current Einstein-zoned areas are going to be rezoned elsewhere. Why do people keep insisting that more neighborhoods are going to be rezoned *to* Einstein? The reason Woodward is reopening is because they needed a school to be populated by rezoned students from WJ and the DCC [Einstein and Wheaton].

I hope not. We stay for Einstein.

Well depending where you are, there is absolutely a chance you’ll be refined to Woodward, Wheaton, or Northwood. Einstein is overcrowded and it gets worse each year.

[Anonymous]

Rezoned, not refined!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Woodward is going to be a beautiful, brand new school, likely with an amazing performing arts magnet. It’s going to be really nice - not sure what people are so worried about?

+1. If I were buying now, I'd get a house in the Viers Mill ES zone. Currently zoned to Wheaton HS, but highly likely to be rezoned to Woodward. It's the closet DCC school to Woodward, and would provide some much-valued diversity in demographics.

The advantage of this would be, even if the expected rezoning doesn't happen, you haven't really lost. You will have paid Wheaton prices and you can sell based on Wheaton prices, if you decide to move. Of course moving is a pain and has transaction costs, but for an OP who seems incredibly concerned about buying with a school premium only to see it zoned away, this might be appealing.

OP take this advice. Given that you can’t risk a drop in home value, I’d buy somewhere where prices are more likely to go up or stay the same. Or just rent for a few years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Woodward is going to be a beautiful, brand new school, likely with an amazing performing arts magnet. It’s going to be really nice - not sure what people are so worried about?

+1. If I were buying now, I'd get a house in the Viers Mill ES zone. Currently zoned to Wheaton HS, but highly likely to be rezoned to Woodward. It's the closet DCC school to Woodward, and would provide some much-valued diversity in demographics.

The advantage of this would be, even if the expected rezoning doesn't happen, you haven't really lost. You will have paid Wheaton prices and you can sell based on Wheaton prices, if you decide to move. Of course moving is a pain and has transaction costs, but for an OP who seems incredibly concerned about buying with a school premium only to see it zoned away, this might be appealing.

OP take this advice. Given that you can’t risk a drop in home value, I’d buy somewhere where prices are more likely to go up or stay the same. Or just rent for a few years.

You all honestly think this OP would be happy living in the Viers Mill ES zone? Really?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We avoided the same area for the same reason, OP. Even if they are not reassigned, it is guaranteed 4 years of non-stop stress, politics, attending inane BOE meetings, involvement in community, PTA, all that jazz. I liked the areas, but no way was I going to sign up for all this. I simply took most elementary schools in Walter Johnson off my Redfin notification list.

Where did you buy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Woodward is going to be a beautiful, brand new school, likely with an amazing performing arts magnet. It’s going to be really nice - not sure what people are so worried about?

+1. If I were buying now, I'd get a house in the Viers Mill ES zone. Currently zoned to Wheaton HS, but highly likely to be rezoned to Woodward. It's the closet DCC school to Woodward, and would provide some much-valued diversity in demographics.

The advantage of this would be, even if the expected rezoning doesn't happen, you haven't really lost. You will have paid Wheaton prices and you can sell based on Wheaton prices, if you decide to move. Of course moving is a pain and has transaction costs, but for an OP who seems incredibly concerned about buying with a school premium only to see it zoned away, this might be appealing.

OP take this advice. Given that you can’t risk a drop in home value, I’d buy somewhere where prices are more likely to go up or stay the same. Or just rent for a few years.

Like where?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m the OP. I do not want to pay 200K more for a home zoned for Walter Johnson and then get rezoned in a few years when we could have bought a home for $200K less across Connecticut Ave zoned for Einstein. A home is the largest purchase we will ever make. I want to know definitively which schools we are getting for the price, and if we are stretching for a home zones for good schools, I can’t afford to then pay for private if resining doesn’t go well. And yes, test scores and schools do matter to a lot of people. That is why the current price differential in this area exists. If it didn’t matter, the homes in Kensington zones for different schools would not be so differently priced. The main reason we are moving to the burbs is schools and because we need another bedroom. Private schools around here go for $40K a year so with 2 children only $100K will not cover that difference - unless you are only talking a year of high school. I’m trying to understand the situation better but 4 years seems a long time to wait to make decisions that significantly impact real estate value and families.

So don't do that. Because you'd be paying more than you can afford for a a school that isn't actually better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But there is 100k difference in the price of similar houses zoned for Einstein vs Walter Johnson!! So I think op is right to wonder if he should pay that premium only to see it disappear if re zoning occurs.

I agree, OP, that moco schools might be a gamble now.
I would hesitate to invest there. I would not discount a mass exodus to private schools if moco goes through with some of their proposals. You would have to factor that possibility into your budget I guess.

How many people would constitute a mass exodus? MCPS currently has over 160,000 students. Would 25% be a mass exodus, so about 40,000 students? Do the private schools in the area have seats for an additional 40,000 students? Or maybe 10% would be a mass exodus, and they'd only have to have seats for an additional 16,000 students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Woodward is going to be a beautiful, brand new school, likely with an amazing performing arts magnet. It’s going to be really nice - not sure what people are so worried about?

+1. If I were buying now, I'd get a house in the Viers Mill ES zone. Currently zoned to Wheaton HS, but highly likely to be rezoned to Woodward. It's the closet DCC school to Woodward, and would provide some much-valued diversity in demographics.

The advantage of this would be, even if the expected rezoning doesn't happen, you haven't really lost. You will have paid Wheaton prices and you can sell based on Wheaton prices, if you decide to move. Of course moving is a pain and has transaction costs, but for an OP who seems incredibly concerned about buying with a school premium only to see it zoned away, this might be appealing.

OP take this advice. Given that you can’t risk a drop in home value, I’d buy somewhere where prices are more likely to go up or stay the same. Or just rent for a few years.

You all honestly think this OP would be happy living in the Viers Mill ES zone? Really?

Actually, there’s some brand new townhomes going up and there are some pretty houses (just small) back in there. Overlooking the park etc. beautiful land and location. A lot of those homes just need a little TLC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Woodward is going to be a beautiful, brand new school, likely with an amazing performing arts magnet. It’s going to be really nice - not sure what people are so worried about?

+1. If I were buying now, I'd get a house in the Viers Mill ES zone. Currently zoned to Wheaton HS, but highly likely to be rezoned to Woodward. It's the closet DCC school to Woodward, and would provide some much-valued diversity in demographics.

The advantage of this would be, even if the expected rezoning doesn't happen, you haven't really lost. You will have paid Wheaton prices and you can sell based on Wheaton prices, if you decide to move. Of course moving is a pain and has transaction costs, but for an OP who seems incredibly concerned about buying with a school premium only to see it zoned away, this might be appealing.

OP take this advice. Given that you can’t risk a drop in home value, I’d buy somewhere where prices are more likely to go up or stay the same. Or just rent for a few years.

You all honestly think this OP would be happy living in the Viers Mill ES zone? Really?

Actually, there’s some brand new townhomes going up and there are some pretty houses (just small) back in there. Overlooking the park etc. beautiful land and location. A lot of those homes just need a little TLC.

It doesn't seem likely to me that a person who wants to pay more than they ought to (aka "stretch") for a house, in the belief that this would buy a better education for their child, would be happy at a school with so many students from low-income families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Woodward is going to be a beautiful, brand new school, likely with an amazing performing arts magnet. It’s going to be really nice - not sure what people are so worried about?

+1. If I were buying now, I'd get a house in the Viers Mill ES zone. Currently zoned to Wheaton HS, but highly likely to be rezoned to Woodward. It's the closet DCC school to Woodward, and would provide some much-valued diversity in demographics.

The advantage of this would be, even if the expected rezoning doesn't happen, you haven't really lost. You will have paid Wheaton prices and you can sell based on Wheaton prices, if you decide to move. Of course moving is a pain and has transaction costs, but for an OP who seems incredibly concerned about buying with a school premium only to see it zoned away, this might be appealing.

OP take this advice. Given that you can’t risk a drop in home value, I’d buy somewhere where prices are more likely to go up or stay the same. Or just rent for a few years.

You all honestly think this OP would be happy living in the Viers Mill ES zone? Really?

Actually, there’s some brand new townhomes going up and there are some pretty houses (just small) back in there. Overlooking the park etc. beautiful land and location. A lot of those homes just need a little TLC.

It doesn't seem likely to me that a person who wants to pay more than they ought to (aka "stretch") for a house, in the belief that this would buy a better education for their child, would be happy at a school with so many students from low-income families.

The bolded is what I meant. It's not about the pretty houses (which I'm sure are there), it's about the neighbors.

[Anonymous]

OP take this advice. Given that you can’t risk a drop in home value, I’d buy somewhere where prices are more likely to go up or stay the same. Or just rent for a few years.


You all honestly think this OP would be happy living in the Viers Mill ES zone? Really?

+1 The OP posts that she wants to move into an area with the best public schools and instead you try to convince her to move into an area with the worst schools in the county??

Seriously, they are crap. Its fine to think an advanced kid can do well anywhere so the quality of the school doesn't matter but somehow I don't think that even those booster for low schools believe this. If they did they would move over to PG county where the schools are rated worse than Einstein or Wheaton. The reality is that people buy the best schools that their money can buy. Some people will trade school quality for house size rationalizing that school quality doesn't matter but they are just drawing the line lower, they really don't believe that either.

WJ is in an odd spot where it is next to Einstein one of the worst schools. In areas further west, the top schools sit next to schools that rank more in the upper middle around 8 not the bottom like Einstein. As for Woodward, its likely that it will not be anywhere near a 10 or 9 school. It may end up being a 7 which will draw tons of people out of the DCC into it IF they can afford to move but it could also be another 4 like the other DCC schools. The OP is not off when she worries that she could lose hundreds of thousands in equity AND need to pay for private schools.