Anonymous wrote:Not quite your typical Target, but hey, feel free to stay away so that I can enjoy free movies on the Angelika lawn, a splash fountain for the kids, the organic market, the fresh butcher, and quite a few pretty tasty restaurants.

Guess all of the hispters have to leave Columbia Heights, too. It's big-box heaven now.

Anonymous wrote:Pretty sure I wouldn't pay $850,000 to live near retail anchored by ... Target.

Kind of like saying I wouldn't pay $900,000 to live in Arlington because there's a ginormous Cheesecake Factory on Clarendon Blvd.

There's a lot else in Mosaic - a Mom's Organic Market and the Angelika Film Center. Love Four Sisters, Taylor Gourmet and CAVA Grill, too.

For $850k, I'd get a bit older townhouse in either the Courthouse or Ballston sections of Arlington.
I like the mosaic district, but everything around it is a dump. I went to a shopping center within blocks of there last weekend, and my DH and I were commenting how it's a different world out there. People were flooding to the Unique thrift store, and there were police cars stationed out in front.
Not the environment I'd want for $850k.

Not quite your typical Target, but hey, feel free to stay away so that I can enjoy free movies on the Angelika lawn, a splash fountain for the kids, the organic market, the fresh butcher, and quite a few pretty tasty restaurants.

Pretty sure I wouldn't pay $850,000 to live near retail anchored by ... Target.

kkhanna wrote:Hi,

We are new to this area and are looking to buy, we came across these new townhomes in Mosaic District which look really nice but are going at 850K for about 2100 sqft, wanted to get some feedback on if this will be a good investment in the long run, if there is any potential for the price to go up in the next several years.

Thanks

We looked at those and they are nice, close to Metro, in a urban like area with a tennis court across the street. the whole area is changing so the potential is for growth. What bothered us are the big antenas/towers close by. Wonder what the health impact of living so close to these things is.

BTW, what is wgucg?

thanks everyone for your feedback, this is very helpful for us as we are not too familiar with the area. We did like the style of the house and the location. We do want to live here for a bit but definitely not a long term house once our family expands. At this point we are ok if there isn't much appreciation in the near future but just don't want the house to depreciate in value.

That's a great area--close to everything and walkable to Metro, but I don't see it appreciating significantly in the near-term.

Mosaic is still growing and developing so it will be a while before it reaches maximum attractiveness as a place to live (still a bit chaotic and messy looking now). So in theory you could see appreciation - but probably not for quite a while (and in the meantime other newer places will have been built wgucg would also be your market competition). I doubt you should plan on making money on the transaction - so only worth it if worth it to you to live there (ie if it's where you want to be).

Honestly that is a really high price for how far out those townhouses are. I can't see the price going up anymore or even holding steady. I'd look in Ballston, Clarendon, or Courthouse instead. Lots more stuff going on, closer to DC, and more metro accessible.

Comps are ranging between 750-850k but mainly because some of these houses were built late last year and we were told that prices have only been going up.
Our concern is that these are the most expensive houses in the neighborhood and not sure if there will be any new (more expensive) development that will be coming up.

Price sounds about right. Maybe a bit high. How are the comps?

If you are going to live there for a long time and think you will enjoy it, then I do think it'd be a good investment for you. If you are looking to buy/sell within 5-7 years I wouldn't imagine there would be a huge increase in value in that time. You'd probably gain enough to recoup realtor fees, etc., but it's not going to double in value or anything like that.

Arlington 2.0

Hi,

We are new to this area and are looking to buy, we came across these new townhomes in Mosaic District which look really nice but are going at 850K for about 2100 sqft, wanted to get some feedback on if this will be a good investment in the long run, if there is any potential for the price to go up in the next several years.

Thanks