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

[Anonymous]

Our family has a 3 year old and had targeted Kensington (Parkwood Elementry) or Garrett Park/GPE (Garrett Park Elementary) to buy in a year or two once our child gets to kindergarten age. So we aren’t in a rush. But I have been following the Woodward High School build and am wondering when MoCo will announce which homes will be rezoned into this new high school? I assume that the change could mean homes zoned for Walter Johnson now go to Woodward, and maybe homes zoned for Einstein as well? Does anyone know when this will be decided and announced?

Right now it seems the main price differential between Kensington homes is whether or not they are zoned for Einstein or Walter Johnson. So I am curious what impact these decisions will have on real estate values as well. What do folks think about this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our family has a 3 year old and had targeted Kensington (Parkwood Elementry) or Garrett Park/GPE (Garrett Park Elementary) to buy in a year or two once our child gets to kindergarten age. So we aren’t in a rush. But I have been following the Woodward High School build and am wondering when MoCo will announce which homes will be rezoned into this new high school? I assume that the change could mean homes zoned for Walter Johnson now go to Woodward, and maybe homes zoned for Einstein as well? Does anyone know when this will be decided and announced?

Right now it seems the main price differential between Kensington homes is whether or not they are zoned for Einstein or Walter Johnson. So I am curious what impact these decisions will have on real estate values as well. What do folks think about this?

In the fall of the year before Woodward HS opens - so around November 2024, if everything stays on schedule.

[Anonymous]

I'd suggest renting for a few years until you see what the changes mean for WJ and Woodward. This way you are safe from losing $$ equity if you end up on the wrong side.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd suggest renting for a few years until you see what the changes mean for WJ and Woodward. This way you are safe from losing $$ equity if you end up on the wrong side.

We are aiming to move by the time our first starts kindergarten, which is in two years. We are also planning on a second and our current space will not accommodate. Now I’m starting to wonder if we should reconsider MoCo because of all this uncertainty. Our main goal was always to buy a home with the best public schools we could afford. Aren’t they also going to rezone all the other high schools in the lower portion of the county as well? Sigh.

[Anonymous]

You can't buy for the public schools in Montgomery County unless you buy right on top of the school. You could look at the area right next to Churchill or Whitman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd suggest renting for a few years until you see what the changes mean for WJ and Woodward. This way you are safe from losing $$ equity if you end up on the wrong side.

We are aiming to move by the time our first starts kindergarten, which is in two years. We are also planning on a second and our current space will not accommodate. Now I’m starting to wonder if we should reconsider MoCo because of all this uncertainty. Our main goal was always to buy a home with the best public schools we could afford. Aren’t they also going to rezone all the other high schools in the lower portion of the county as well? Sigh.

OP, Walter Johnson isn't any better than Einstein. Really. This is what the test scores measure: the affluence of the students who attend the school. The facilities aren't better, the teachers aren't better, the curriculum isn't better, the administrators aren't better. The only thing that is better is the average standardized test scores.

Find a home you like and can afford, in a neighborhood you like, with a commute that works for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd suggest renting for a few years until you see what the changes mean for WJ and Woodward. This way you are safe from losing $$ equity if you end up on the wrong side.

We are aiming to move by the time our first starts kindergarten, which is in two years. We are also planning on a second and our current space will not accommodate. Now I’m starting to wonder if we should reconsider MoCo because of all this uncertainty. Our main goal was always to buy a home with the best public schools we could afford. Aren’t they also going to rezone all the other high schools in the lower portion of the county as well? Sigh.

OP, Walter Johnson isn't any better than Einstein. Really. This is what the test scores measure: the affluence of the students who attend the school. The facilities aren't better, the teachers aren't better, the curriculum isn't better, the administrators aren't better. The only thing that is better is the average standardized test scores.

Find a home you like and can afford, in a neighborhood you like, with a commute that works for you.

This. KP and GP are fine schools, as are the middle schools they feed to. Whether they'll be WJ or Woodward in the future, no one knows. But both of them will also be fine high schools. If facilities are important to you, you might consider Luxmanor/Tilden/likely Woodward--all of which will soon have brand-new buildings. Which also means they shouldn't be overcrowded, at least not right away.

[Anonymous]

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.

[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.

Oh God. Mass Exodus, lol!

[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.

Which of the proposals would cause a mass exodus? And from what areas?

I agree that someone might want to hold off on a property near a border to avoid buying right before a change occurs. But once the change happens and becomes built into prices, I don't think you will see a flood of people leaving. To the extent you see people move, they could just as easily move to the preferred school in MoCo once the borders are set. It's not like the VA jurisdictions aren't going through the same thing.

[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.

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].

[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.

If you are that worried use the difference for private school.

[Anonymous]

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.

[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.

I believe Fairfax and Howard are also looking at redistricting so...

[Anonymous]

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.