are the TH's nearby also newer? I know some people have issues with older homes, too.

We could have "moved up" to a 10-year old TH with more square footage than the 40-year old SFH we wound up buying, but for US, moving up was more about the yard than the space. Don't get me wrong, we more than doubled our indoor space when we moved, but having a little bit of land with a fence around it is important to us.

People have different priorities. And there is nothing wrong with that. I'm just thinking there might be something not so great about those houses that we aren't seeing in those pictures since otherwise, location and price are favorable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


Houses in that price range in Vienna usually go quickly. You might get a slightly bigger house for that amount of money further west in the 22181 zip code.

that was what I thought. I assume there is a pretty good reason they aren't selling considering the area and price. Has anyone been inside these homes and can clue us in on why they aren't moving?

I've noticed in 22182/22181 a lot of reasonably priced SFHs (let's say, 650K and under) aren't selling as fast as Townhouses. A lot of the townhouses are newly remodeled, granite countertops, new kitchens, etc. I feel like a lot of buyers are opting for a TH with nicer finishes over a comparably priced SFH, which is not conventional wisdom for sure, but families are smaller now, need less yard space, maybe that explains it.

Definitely the case that Vienna-area schools that have a lot of upscale townhouses within their boundaries, like Westbriar and Freedom Hill ES, are seeing increasing enrollments, while schools that draw almost entirely from expensive neighborhoods of single-family homes are projected to see their enrollments decline as current residents "age in place."

Anonymous wrote:
Is Marshall THAT bad?! So weird that its the same elementary, middle schools and different high schools. I've never heard of that before.

Marshall's been in the top quarter of FCPS neighborhood high schools for years now, and both Marshall and Madison are very good schools. Overall, Madison has more affluent demographics than Marshall, but there are two Vienna schools that split between Marshall and Madison (Wolftrap and Westbriar ES) where the neighborhoods that are assigned to Marshall generally are more expensive than those assigned to Madison. The two "cheap homes" in the Wolftrap district mentioned by the OP are zoned for Madison. The wealthiest areas assigned to Madison are zoned for other elementary schools (Archer, Flint Hill and Oakton) that don't send any students to Marshall.

It might make more sense if all of Kilmer MS went to Marshall HS, and all of Thoreau MS went to Madison HS (right now about 25% of Kilmer goes to Madison and about 15% of Thoreau goes to Marshall), but that would require boundary changes, which are rarely popular. Westbriar ES is like Wolftrap ES, in that all the students go to Kilmer MS, but some go to Madison HS while others go to Marshall HS (Wolftrap is a more or less even Madison/Marshall split, whereas there are only a few areas assigned to Westbriar than are zoned for Madison).

Marshall is comparable to Madison and McLean in recent years, at least in terms of test scores. I think it's more diverse than some of the other schools nearby. I don't really think you could go wrong with either Marshall or Madison schools, personally. (we're not zoned for either school.) I know families who happily buy townhouses when they could buy SFH - they're often newer, sometimes bigger and generally have less lawn maintenance. I miss my townhouse at times!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


Houses in that price range in Vienna usually go quickly. You might get a slightly bigger house for that amount of money further west in the 22181 zip code.

that was what I thought. I assume there is a pretty good reason they aren't selling considering the area and price. Has anyone been inside these homes and can clue us in on why they aren't moving?

I've noticed in 22182/22181 a lot of reasonably priced SFHs (let's say, 650K and under) aren't selling as fast as Townhouses. A lot of the townhouses are newly remodeled, granite countertops, new kitchens, etc. I feel like a lot of buyers are opting for a TH with nicer finishes over a comparably priced SFH, which is not conventional wisdom for sure, but families are smaller now, need less yard space, maybe that explains it.

We're the type of family who has done that and will do it again for our next home. We also like that there is less yard to upkeep!

Anonymous wrote:Huh, I think they're OK, but of course, I also can't afford those prices. Is there anything else in that general area that is nicer in the $600K range? I wouldn't know.

LOL I think there is a perspective issue here! We COULD afford a 600K home, but that would be more than triple our base salary so it would be a stretch and painful if the home continued to lose value.

I live in a neighborhood down the street with homes on the market for 580-680K range that are in much worse shape and no garages, so that's where I'm coming from.

You can find homes in Vienna for 450K+ but many are very tiny homes (3 bedroom, no garage). Both of those homes have 4 or 5 bedrooms and a garage.

Is Marshall THAT bad?! So weird that its the same elementary, middle schools and different high schools. I've never heard of that before.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


Houses in that price range in Vienna usually go quickly. You might get a slightly bigger house for that amount of money further west in the 22181 zip code.

that was what I thought. I assume there is a pretty good reason they aren't selling considering the area and price. Has anyone been inside these homes and can clue us in on why they aren't moving?

I've noticed in 22182/22181 a lot of reasonably priced SFHs (let's say, 650K and under) aren't selling as fast as Townhouses. A lot of the townhouses are newly remodeled, granite countertops, new kitchens, etc. I feel like a lot of buyers are opting for a TH with nicer finishes over a comparably priced SFH, which is not conventional wisdom for sure, but families are smaller now, need less yard space, maybe that explains it.

Anonymous wrote:


Houses in that price range in Vienna usually go quickly. You might get a slightly bigger house for that amount of money further west in the 22181 zip code.

that was what I thought. I assume there is a pretty good reason they aren't selling considering the area and price. Has anyone been inside these homes and can clue us in on why they aren't moving?

Anonymous wrote:Huh, I think they're OK, but of course, I also can't afford those prices. Is there anything else in that general area that is nicer in the $600K range? I wouldn't know.

Houses in that price range in Vienna usually go quickly. You might get a slightly bigger house for that amount of money further west in the 22181 zip code.

If you can handle a single car garage, I like the second one listed. Vienna is great.

Huh, I think they're OK, but of course, I also can't afford those prices. Is there anything else in that general area that is nicer in the $600K range? I wouldn't know.

If you're talking about these two houses, they are both in Madison district:

http://franklymls.com/FX7727383

http://franklymls.com/FX7695039

All the houses on the market now in Wolftrap district that feed into Marshall are more expensive. The least expensive appears to be this house in Sun Valley listed for $725K:

http://franklymls.com/FX7773594

The less expensive houses in the Wolftrap district generally are in the Madison district, and the more expensive houses generally are in the Marshall district. It's a nice area. The less expensive homes in Madison neighborhoods like Eudora are fine, just 1970s properties that may not be as big or as modern as the houses in other developments off Beulah.

Wolf trap does split between Madison and Marshall for high school. Are these houses in the Marshall pyramid. 610 does sound a little cheap for Wolf Trap. Great school!

So 'cheap' is a relative term for our area but I'm seeing two listings at 610K and the homes look decent (4bdrm 3 bath). Been on the market for a while...what am I missing?