I don't live in Kensington but I live nearby and really like it. Adorable old town center, easy access to commuting and to everything else, useful retail like hardware and grocery stores. The families I know there seem to really feel a sense of community - and they throw some great parades and other events through the year.

All that said, I do think Woodward creates some uncertainty that you have to take into account - the simple reality is that houses in the BCC and WJ parts of Kensington right now command a premium. That *could* change depending on how MCPS draws the Woodward boundaries and associated changes. Be aware that the WJ zone is likely to change since the new HS is specifically intended to absorb overcrowding there. If you are buying for neighborhood more than or rather than a specific school, then you have nothing to worry about.

As PPs have said, depending on where you are in Kensington, it feeds into WJ, B-CC, or Einstein. The WJ parts tend to have older, smaller homes (with the exception the neighborhoods right around Holy Redeemer; those are larger but a lot of the kids go to HR). B-CC has some of those smaller homes, but also some quite large plots and larger houses. The Einstein cluster is more of a mix: many smaller homes but some new builds cropping up.

We live in the latter and for the most part, really like it. I've encountered some hardcore snobbery in the WJ/B-CC parts that's a real turn-off, and for which no amount of gorgeous homes or charming farmers market can compensate. As for how fast houses go, it all depends on pricing. A house down the street from us was under contract three days after listing, and I've seen those big, beautiful homes zoned for B-CC sit for months.

Location-wise, it's easy to get to downtown DC, and also SS and Bethesda. Having Rock Creek Park close is a great thing and depending on where you are, you could be walkable to a few options. The downtown area of Kensington has a lot of development potential, but I'm not sure how quickly that will be realized, if ever.

I was trying to get somewhere in Kensington and the police gave me a warning for making a right turn. Evidently there was no right turn certain hours of the day. Then I looked closer at it by going into Google Maps street view and Kinsington is full of signs like that. Very unfriendly for people that don’t know the area well. I don’t bother going there any more because of it.

Anonymous wrote:
The price differences you will see in Kensington depend nearly entirely on the school clusters.
School boundaries are scheduled to be studied this year in view of a possible change in ~2025, and Kensington will certainly be one of the neighborhoods that will be reworked, since parts of Kensington geographically close to Einstein HS (poorly ranked) now go to Walter Johnson (highly ranked). Property prices will correct themselves accordingly.

Conclusion: buyer beware. If you want to be sure you're making the right investment, always buy to the west of, and close to, the right high school.

Can’t have a conversation about Kensington without this PP, who presumably wants K-P moved out of WJ to make room for his ES to move in and improve his property values.

But seriously, Kensington is beautiful. Go take a look now in the spring, on a Saturday with the farmers market. You’ll love it.

Anonymous wrote:
The price differences you will see in Kensington depend nearly entirely on the school clusters.
School boundaries are scheduled to be studied this year in view of a possible change in ~2025, and Kensington will certainly be one of the neighborhoods that will be reworked, since parts of Kensington geographically close to Einstein HS (poorly ranked) now go to Walter Johnson (highly ranked). Property prices will correct themselves accordingly.

Conclusion: buyer beware. If you want to be sure you're making the right investment, always buy to the west of, and close to, the right high school.

Some of us want our kids at Einstein. Some of our kids are very happy there. Houses are generally $450K-850k+ now... but please stay away. We don't need people like you.

Anonymous wrote:
The price differences you will see in Kensington depend nearly entirely on the school clusters.
School boundaries are scheduled to be studied this year in view of a possible change in ~2025, and Kensington will certainly be one of the neighborhoods that will be reworked, since parts of Kensington geographically close to Einstein HS (poorly ranked) now go to Walter Johnson (highly ranked). Property prices will correct themselves accordingly.

Conclusion: buyer beware. If you want to be sure you're making the right investment, always buy to the west of, and close to, the right high school.

DCUM is obsessed with this prediction that all of Kensington will go to Einstein even though Einstein is overcrowded. It’s all speculation.

The price differences you will see in Kensington depend nearly entirely on the school clusters.
School boundaries are scheduled to be studied this year in view of a possible change in ~2025, and Kensington will certainly be one of the neighborhoods that will be reworked, since parts of Kensington geographically close to Einstein HS (poorly ranked) now go to Walter Johnson (highly ranked). Property prices will correct themselves accordingly.

Conclusion: buyer beware. If you want to be sure you're making the right investment, always buy to the west of, and close to, the right high school.

This is still risky as MCPS will reach further in and carve out islands of kids to send to the poor performing school and vice versa. The only safe areas are deeper inside Churchill or Whitman's boundaries. Just go to Virginia, rent rather than buy and be ready to move or prepare to pay for private school.

Anonymous wrote:I can only tell you what I have heard but lots of Republican Catholics.

#ugh

These neighborhoods all voted overwhemingly for Hillary Clinton.

Anonymous wrote:I can only tell you what I have heard but lots of Republican Catholics.

#ugh

That’s only in the tiny section near Holy Redeemer. The rest of us are run of the mill liberal DC types.

The price differences you will see in Kensington depend nearly entirely on the school clusters.
School boundaries are scheduled to be studied this year in view of a possible change in ~2025, and Kensington will certainly be one of the neighborhoods that will be reworked, since parts of Kensington geographically close to Einstein HS (poorly ranked) now go to Walter Johnson (highly ranked). Property prices will correct themselves accordingly.

Conclusion: buyer beware. If you want to be sure you're making the right investment, always buy to the west of, and close to, the right high school.

I can only tell you what I have heard but lots of Republican Catholics.

#ugh

Anonymous wrote:

One part feeds into BCC - houses go fast.
One part is very conservative and families primarily go to catholic schools. Neighborhood activities focus on the church community. Great if you're catholic and want to go to catholic school.
One part feeds Einstein. Great if your child wants to become a back up dancer.

PP is an asshole and is also missing that a large part of Kensington feeds into Walter Johnson.

Came here to say this. And I don't think the part that feeds into BCC has houses go fast.

One part feeds into BCC - houses go fast.
One part is very conservative and families primarily go to catholic schools. Neighborhood activities focus on the church community. Great if you're catholic and want to go to catholic school.
One part feeds Einstein. Great if your child wants to become a back up dancer.

PP is an asshole and is also missing that a large part of Kensington feeds into Walter Johnson.

There are 3 parts of Kensington.

One part feeds into BCC - houses go fast.
One part is very conservative and families primarily go to catholic schools. Neighborhood activities focus on the church community. Great if you're catholic and want to go to catholic school.
One part feeds Einstein. Great if your child wants to become a back up dancer.

People get edgy about what actually is in the TOK (Town of Kensington) vs the larger/expanding postal address of Kensington where most of the area is really Wheaton.

Check the crime maps. Some parts of Kensington (the Wheaton ones) will have more property crime than other areas.

If you live in the TOK area be prepared to run into people who use antiquing as a verb a lot.

What do I need to know about Kensington before starting looking there.