Advice on MoCo and PG Neighborhoods

[Anonymous]

I would look in Silver Spring. Not far out SS, but not necessarily DTSS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With both your commutes, I’d definitely pick Historic Hyattsville, University Park, Calvert Hills. Your budget will go far and the route 1 corridor is in the full upswing of revitalization to give you the walkable “downtown” feel. You’ll still need a car for sure, but you won’t feel so suburban/disconnected from DC. University Park in particular is a beautiful neighborhood with a well regarded elementary.

I might even bet on Riverdale Park (closest to Whole Foods) were you can get something nice for $500k or less, and the purple line coming makes it a good bet on long term continual improvement. The (elem) schools don’t seem to be as highly regarded in that pocket as nearby options though.

I’m sure the townhouses are nice but the real potential gem of Riverdale is the part right by the train station. It’s so cute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I would hesitate to purchase in Prince George’s county because another recession will hit in late 2020 according to financial markets. PGCo was hit really hard last time around which made selling really hard for people who might have wanted to move for other economic opportunities. It took PGCo much longer to bounce back than other places in the DMV area.

Eastern MOCO aka Silver Spring was hit just hard and too as long if not longer to recover. In fact, MOCO and PG county are partnered in an ongoing lawsuit against banks with predatory lending practices back then that hurt their respective areas.

Both areas have high populations of individuals living either under the poverty line or in what civic planners call situations of economic risk or instability. This means that a downturn, job loss or even just an extended government shutdown sends them into poverty sometimes in an unrecoverable state. MOCO has the higher risk profile though because it has local county based drivers for additional loss in a downtown or stable national situation. MOCO has the financial instability, school rezoning risks, less desirable commute location., growing level of poverty and a big bubble of retirees. Locally, PG is relatively stable and has potential factors that will lead to growth and appreciation. Plus if there is going to be a downturn in housing across the country you will lose less on a less expensive house in PG than buying an over valued house in Silver Spring.

I'd go with PG.

I’ll concede that eastern MoCo is like PGCo for the impoverished levels, predatory levels, but let’s not pretend PG local schools are anything to brag about. There are maybe 3-4 acceptable schools, most people do private over there and if Heaven forbid if the OP or her DH were to suffer the loss of an income they’d need to use the local public, which in this case PGCo is not better than eastern MoCo. The great option about MoCo is that the poverty is contained and not as widespread as PGCo. But if I had to live in PGCo I’d choose Hyattsville or College Park and maybe Mt. Rainier. Anything outside of those areas is high risk.......including Bowie, Clinton, Upper Marlboro. You can always move to a variety of high performing public school clusters in MoCo. PGCo doesn’t have as nearly as many high performing clusters.

OP, try also considering VA public schools as well.

What’s high risk about Bowie and Upper Marlboro????

[Anonymous]

20910, zoned for Woodlin elementary

[Anonymous]

Like a PP has stated, MOCO was hit hard too. We are looking in the <600k range and prices and listed prices are almost at their purchase price from a few years ago.

Sellers are just breaking even (other than what they've paid into the home) to cover realtor fees.

[Anonymous]

OP here. To clarify a bit about the schools, I'm only concerned about them in as much as they might affect resale value if we don't live there long-term, which we hopefully will. I'm very committed to sending our future kids to public school and think it's vital for families to invest in their public school system. As long as they won't be in physical danger, I'm good. I also work in education, so I know that ratings tell a very small part of the story. Statistically, our kids will have the same outcomes no matter where they go to school.

For what it's worth, I went to a very highly rated public high school with a lot of specialized programs, and the teaching and student experience was pretty mediocre. It definitely only had great scores because most who attended came from affluent families and it had tons of professors' kids.

[Anonymous]

University Park or Cheverly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. To clarify a bit about the schools, I'm only concerned about them in as much as they might affect resale value if we don't live there long-term, which we hopefully will. I'm very committed to sending our future kids to public school and think it's vital for families to invest in their public school system. As long as they won't be in physical danger, I'm good. I also work in education, so I know that ratings tell a very small part of the story. Statistically, our kids will have the same outcomes no matter where they go to school.

For what it's worth, I went to a very highly rated public high school with a lot of specialized programs, and the teaching and student experience was pretty mediocre. It definitely only had great scores because most who attended came from affluent families and it had tons of professors' kids.

The elementary schools are mostly fine. Not unlike DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like a PP has stated, MOCO was hit hard too. We are looking in the <600k range and prices and listed prices are almost at their purchase price from a few years ago.

Sellers are just breaking even (other than what they've paid into the home) to cover realtor fees.

Not in my immediate neighorboood 20910. Houses are going for at least $100 more than than did 7-10 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to everyone so far who gave thoughtful advice! In terms of Hyattsville, what do you think is a good benchmark for price per square foot for something that has been completely updated? This is probably too specific a question, but I might as well ask! We saw a house we loved, but it was significantly more expensive than the other houses on the surrounding blocks. However, it was at least 1,000 sq ft larger than them and was a new build. We also thought we might feel awkward being in the nicest house on the block.

You honestly seem to have some bias against Hyattsville. We live in Mount Rainier and at the time bought the most expensive house ever sold here. Guess what? Two years later the most expensive house in Mount Rainier sold for 100k more. There is a lot of change happening in this area but if you are going to look down on it, maybe you belong in another area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look in 20910, especially if your husband will continue to work in College Park.

For now, he'd have to drive (15 minutes) or bus (30 minutes) but the Purple Line will connect Downtown Silver Spring and College Park within a few years.

East Silver Spring seems like a great compromise. There is a lot of variety in home and lot size, so you should be able to find something that meets both of your needs.

Something like this with a smaller lot: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/632-Mississippi-Ave-Silver-Spring-MD-20910/37278281_zpid/

This is a bigger lot, same street: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/512-Mississippi-Ave-Silver-Spring-MD-20910/37278525_zpid/

Op, I would NOT suggest East Silver Spring because the school is high FARMS, and thus your children would be surrounded by highly impoverished, often first generation students. This in turn would affect the kind of education your children receive, the PTA make up and other things. But it would also affect your real estate values in the future.

Here is the link for East Silver Spring ES data: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/02756.pdf

Here are better suggestions:

https://www.trulia.com/p/md/silver-spring/1209-millgrove-rd-silver-spring-md-20905--2019109401
https://www.trulia.com/p/md/silver-spring/14740-locustwood-ln-silver-spring-md-20905--1042429399
https://www.trulia.com/p/md/silver-spring/10115-meadowneck-ct-silver-spring-md-20910--2019130880




By the way you can also look up demographic data and other kinds of data using this link here, its helpful to help you determine purchasing in a diverse neighborhood but also getting a quality education for your future children.
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/glance/


MoCo is in the middle of redoing boundaries because its building more schools. For example,

Why are you the racist way that you are?

Please don’t listen to this poster OP. A few immigrants move in (ones who families are most likely wealthy and affluent) means nothing.

[Anonymous]

Hyattsville or university park but budget for parochial schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like a PP has stated, MOCO was hit hard too. We are looking in the <600k range and prices and listed prices are almost at their purchase price from a few years ago.

Sellers are just breaking even (other than what they've paid into the home) to cover realtor fees.

Not in my immediate neighorboood 20910. Houses are going for at least $100 more than than did 7-10 years ago.

I wouldn’t think DTSS would see a downward spiral in prices, but other parts of SS are effected.

Just one example that comes to mind as we are house hunting in SS, but this part if too far out.

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Silver-Spring/14901-McIntosh-Ct-20905/home/10557761?utm_source=ios_share&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=copy_link&utm_nooverride=1&utm_content=link

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like a PP has stated, MOCO was hit hard too. We are looking in the <600k range and prices and listed prices are almost at their purchase price from a few years ago.

Sellers are just breaking even (other than what they've paid into the home) to cover realtor fees.

Not in my immediate neighorboood 20910. Houses are going for at least $100 more than than did 7-10 years ago.

I wouldn’t think DTSS would see a downward spiral in prices, but other parts of SS are effected.

Just one example that comes to mind as we are house hunting in SS, but this part if too far out.

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Silver-Spring/14901-McIntosh-Ct-20905/home/10557761?utm_source=ios_share&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=copy_link&utm_nooverride=1&utm_content=link

That house is way the hell out there. And on the market only two years after last sale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like a PP has stated, MOCO was hit hard too. We are looking in the <600k range and prices and listed prices are almost at their purchase price from a few years ago.

Sellers are just breaking even (other than what they've paid into the home) to cover realtor fees.

Not in my immediate neighorboood 20910. Houses are going for at least $100 more than than did 7-10 years ago.

I wouldn’t think DTSS would see a downward spiral in prices, but other parts of SS are effected.

Just one example that comes to mind as we are house hunting in SS, but this part if too far out.

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Silver-Spring/14901-McIntosh-Ct-20905/home/10557761?utm_source=ios_share&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=copy_link&utm_nooverride=1&utm_content=link

That is so far away.