Anonymous
Post 03/29/2013 13:42     Subject: Re:Another new Pimmit Hills Home on the market
Anonymous wrote:If only the PH buyers had waited a day, they could have bid on this house. Also a big Colonial, but all brick, better styling, and in a nicer neighborhood with less chain link an peeling paint:

http://franklymls.com/FX8039503


To me it's just as ugly, the finishes inside are cheap and ugly, I haven't seen that PH house inside, so can't compare. The area around looks like a subdivision, not enough mature trees. It's comparable to PH in terms of location and convenience. I don't like either of the homes or locations and for this money would rather have a remodeled older home in nicer established closer-to DC neighborhoods with mature trees. I do see the appeal of both areas and new construction, it's just not my personal taste.
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2013 13:27     Subject: Re:Another new Pimmit Hills Home on the market
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If only the PH buyers had waited a day, they could have bid on this house. Also a big Colonial, but all brick, better styling, and in a nicer neighborhood with less chain link an peeling paint:

http://franklymls.com/FX8039503

Perhaps they decided that four sides of brick veneer are not worth an extra hour of daily commuting??


Hard to see how living there vs. PH would extend anyone's commute that much. Same MS, same HS.
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2013 13:22     Subject: Another new Pimmit Hills Home on the market
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
I think this is spot-on. Still, from an aesthetic perspective, if the new houses going up in PH were bungalows or Craftsmen, they would fit in better with the existing homes. They could still be big, like a Mickey Simpson or a Tradition Homes house. They just wouldn't be these giant Colonials better suited to a subdivision in Ashburn. But, the latter are cheaper to build per SF, so you end up with a lot of schlock in PH and a neighborhood that is a jumble.

I agree with this, and no one would say that PH is an aesthetically compelling location. I think this is a taste problem, not necessarily something caused by external rationalities. If a new bungalow or craftsman is more expensive to build, that makes colonial an easy choice. If they cost the same to build, that's a taste issue.

I would also say that very few older neighborhoods without HOA in this area are aesthetically consistent.

I did see a few craftsmen in PH, they are a lot less common than colonials, but they do exist. A guy moved into one around the corner from us, it's good-looking, moderate size house. About 2,500 sqft I would guess. NDI built.


There is a blue/gray four-square Craftsman somewhere in PH. It's got a nice front porch and a dormer on the roof. It fits in very nicely with the other houses because it's a simpler vernacular, but you can tell it's a new house and that it wasn't a cheap build. It's also set back a bit from the street. Definitely one of the nicest new houses in PH.
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2013 13:21     Subject: Re:Another new Pimmit Hills Home on the market
Anonymous wrote:If only the PH buyers had waited a day, they could have bid on this house. Also a big Colonial, but all brick, better styling, and in a nicer neighborhood with less chain link an peeling paint:

http://franklymls.com/FX8039503

Perhaps they decided that four sides of brick veneer are not worth an extra hour of daily commuting??
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2013 13:13     Subject: Re:Another new Pimmit Hills Home on the market
If only the PH buyers had waited a day, they could have bid on this house. Also a big Colonial, but all brick, better styling, and in a nicer neighborhood with less chain link an peeling paint:

http://franklymls.com/FX8039503
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2013 13:08     Subject: Another new Pimmit Hills Home on the market
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:of course, all of this pushes anyone who is truly middle class in this area completely out of the inner burbs. Let's be honest, Pimmit is one of the last places where anyone making around Fairfax median income can still buy a SFH. You may think they are ugly shitboxes, but they are SOME families only shot at the "American Dream." The options are ridiculously limited for so many families.


There are other parts of Annandale, Falls Church, Springfield, Alexandria and South Arlington to consider. People who are "truly middle class" can send their kids to schools with lower GreatSchools ratings than Marshall.

None of those is as close to DC, with schools as good, and community as safe as PH.


Some are closer to DC, just as safe, and far prettier. The schools will not be as highly ranked.

The only ones on that list closer to DC are South Arlington and perhaps parts of Falls Church. These have other problems.

Annandale, Alexandria and Springfield are all further out.

There is another factor in favor of PH that no one likes to talk about. PH is an ethnically diverse place but it does not have any one dominant minority, unlike, say, Alexandria or South Arlington. That makes it attractive to many middle class families.
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2013 13:05     Subject: Another new Pimmit Hills Home on the market
Anonymous wrote:
I think this is spot-on. Still, from an aesthetic perspective, if the new houses going up in PH were bungalows or Craftsmen, they would fit in better with the existing homes. They could still be big, like a Mickey Simpson or a Tradition Homes house. They just wouldn't be these giant Colonials better suited to a subdivision in Ashburn. But, the latter are cheaper to build per SF, so you end up with a lot of schlock in PH and a neighborhood that is a jumble.

I agree with this, and no one would say that PH is an aesthetically compelling location. I think this is a taste problem, not necessarily something caused by external rationalities. If a new bungalow or craftsman is more expensive to build, that makes colonial an easy choice. If they cost the same to build, that's a taste issue.

I would also say that very few older neighborhoods without HOA in this area are aesthetically consistent.

I did see a few craftsmen in PH, they are a lot less common than colonials, but they do exist. A guy moved into one around the corner from us, it's good-looking, moderate size house. About 2,500 sqft I would guess. NDI built.
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2013 13:04     Subject: Another new Pimmit Hills Home on the market
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:of course, all of this pushes anyone who is truly middle class in this area completely out of the inner burbs. Let's be honest, Pimmit is one of the last places where anyone making around Fairfax median income can still buy a SFH. You may think they are ugly shitboxes, but they are SOME families only shot at the "American Dream." The options are ridiculously limited for so many families.


There are other parts of Annandale, Falls Church, Springfield, Alexandria and South Arlington to consider. People who are "truly middle class" can send their kids to schools with lower GreatSchools ratings than Marshall.


OK, so what you are saying is they can move farther out OR send their kids to lesser schools? So kind of you

Of course there are other parts of the area to consider - I was merely pointing out that a family making the Fairfax median income who needs to commute downtown AND want some of the best schools AND want to live in a house with a yard have precious few options.

Yes, I get that this area is about trade offs - that is why I, on that Fairfax median HHI, live 20 miles from the city, but luckily, I don't commute downtown.
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2013 13:03     Subject: Another new Pimmit Hills Home on the market
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:of course, all of this pushes anyone who is truly middle class in this area completely out of the inner burbs. Let's be honest, Pimmit is one of the last places where anyone making around Fairfax median income can still buy a SFH. You may think they are ugly shitboxes, but they are SOME families only shot at the "American Dream." The options are ridiculously limited for so many families.


There are other parts of Annandale, Falls Church, Springfield, Alexandria and South Arlington to consider. People who are "truly middle class" can send their kids to schools with lower GreatSchools ratings than Marshall.

None of those is as close to DC, with schools as good, and community as safe as PH.


Some are closer to DC, just as safe, and far prettier. The schools will not be as highly ranked.
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2013 13:00     Subject: Another new Pimmit Hills Home on the market
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:of course, all of this pushes anyone who is truly middle class in this area completely out of the inner burbs. Let's be honest, Pimmit is one of the last places where anyone making around Fairfax median income can still buy a SFH. You may think they are ugly shitboxes, but they are SOME families only shot at the "American Dream." The options are ridiculously limited for so many families.


There are other parts of Annandale, Falls Church, Springfield, Alexandria and South Arlington to consider. People who are "truly middle class" can send their kids to schools with lower GreatSchools ratings than Marshall.

None of those is as close to DC, with schools as good, and community as safe as PH.
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2013 12:57     Subject: Re:Another new Pimmit Hills Home on the market
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:No one reluctantly buys anything one day after it got listed. That's a pretty quick turnaround for a reluctant buyer. I'd call someone who buys after one day on the market a very eager buyer, not a reluctant one.


Who knows? Maybe it's someone who got outbid on houses in nicer neighborhoods deciding they needed to act quickly. Or maybe this is the dream home for someone who wants big, new and close-in and doesn't care if it screams "tacky McMansion" to other people. The bottom line is that the tax assessment on that address is going to increase, so it's not bad for the county.


Tacky mcmansion? Sorry that term is only used for tract housing that look the same this is a single tear down.

Why don't you post a picture of your dream house or own house


I think the term covers a generic Colonial built by a flipper in a teardown neighborhood.

My dream house? Something like:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/19015-Shaker-Blvd_Shaker-Hts_OH_44122_M36047-28639



OMG, Shaker Heights! I grew up near there. It is beautiful. Some pockets are transitional/rougher but overall the housing stock is gorgeous.
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2013 12:51     Subject: Another new Pimmit Hills Home on the market
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Another spec home; the re-development of the area seems to be still in early days, and could back track. You can read many other threads about being a 'pioneer' and having a radically more expensive home than is normal for an area. Why aren't these homes being replaced by modest middle-class homes, rather than trying to push PH into a new McLean. That would be a gradual evolution that integrates into the neighborhood better and builds a community.

No argument that being an urban pioneer in DC or S. Arl would be just as fraught, except location of those areas are generally not nestled between the toll road and the beltway and i-66, ie. an island in a sea of highways. There are limits to what can be done with the neighborhood b/c of these significant boundaries.

I agree that PH's re-development still has ways to go, but it's incorrect to think that large, new houses in this area are unheard of. There's quite a few of them around, a couple to most blocks. They are a minority, but a sizable and growing one.

Why aren't these homes being replaced by modest middle-class homes? Because it's not cost-efficient to demolish a small, poor-quality tract home only to put a modest-size one in its place. Modest, middle-class homes in PH are original PH houses with modest additions and inside remodeling - typically go for 500-600K, and fast. That's a product of addition and remodeling, not demolition. Once you factor in the cost of demolition and site prep, building a smaller home there ends up too expensive for its size. The lowest cost new home would a small craftsman by NDI - still about 2500 sq ft and around 700-800K, all told.

Yes, there are limits to what can be done with PH considering its location. That's a good thing, because it's zoned for SFH, and the community has resisted all attempts to build townhouses within its limits. Otherwise, I don't see the relationship between hard boundaries and neighborhood future.


I think this is spot-on. Still, from an aesthetic perspective, if the new houses going up in PH were bungalows or Craftsmen, they would fit in better with the existing homes. They could still be big, like a Mickey Simpson or a Tradition Homes house. They just wouldn't be these giant Colonials better suited to a subdivision in Ashburn. But, the latter are cheaper to build per SF, so you end up with a lot of schlock in PH and a neighborhood that is a jumble.
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2013 12:41     Subject: Another new Pimmit Hills Home on the market
Anonymous wrote:of course, all of this pushes anyone who is truly middle class in this area completely out of the inner burbs. Let's be honest, Pimmit is one of the last places where anyone making around Fairfax median income can still buy a SFH. You may think they are ugly shitboxes, but they are SOME families only shot at the "American Dream." The options are ridiculously limited for so many families.


There are other parts of Annandale, Falls Church, Springfield, Alexandria and South Arlington to consider. People who are "truly middle class" can send their kids to schools with lower GreatSchools ratings than Marshall.
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2013 12:36     Subject: Re:Another new Pimmit Hills Home on the market
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:No one reluctantly buys anything one day after it got listed. That's a pretty quick turnaround for a reluctant buyer. I'd call someone who buys after one day on the market a very eager buyer, not a reluctant one.


Who knows? Maybe it's someone who got outbid on houses in nicer neighborhoods deciding they needed to act quickly. Or maybe this is the dream home for someone who wants big, new and close-in and doesn't care if it screams "tacky McMansion" to other people. The bottom line is that the tax assessment on that address is going to increase, so it's not bad for the county.

None of these scenarios qualify as "reluctant", don't you think? Whoever bought this house must have decided pretty quickly that this house was what they wanted.


The flipper is a local guy who bought the property in late 2011 and the house has been under construction for months, so it's possible he's been discussing a sale with potential buyers for months before deciding to go ahead and list the property. It's now under contract, but I couldn't say whether the buyers are eager or reluctant. If they are going to spend close to a million, one would hope they'd be happy with the decision.
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2013 12:33     Subject: Another new Pimmit Hills Home on the market
12:27 - I LOVE that one in Bronxville, NY. That is close to MY dream house, as well.