It depends on what you mean by most expensive, do you mean price per sq ft or price per home, do you mean average price or which has the most expensive homes or the most expensive neighborhoods

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apples to apples, northern Arlington is more expensive and has been for decades. I live in McLean (between Kirby, Old Dominion and Pimmit Run) and there are tons of people who moved here because they could not afford a comparable house in North Arlington.

This is why we moved to McLean. It was 7 years ago, and for the same price we would have been in a N Arlington house that we would have immediately outgrown to a McLean house with room to grow. None of the houses were new builds. Our house is 60 years old. We love the neighborhood but not so much the lack of walkability to shops/restaurants (we came from DC and Alexandria). To the person that is super into the 22101 zip code, we're in 22101, and there are many reasonably sized and not outrageously priced houses here.

We could have afforded a house in North Arlington similar to the house we bought in McLean, even assuming it cost more, but didn't see a net benefit when we'd get a larger lot and better schools in McLean. The houses in North Arlington similar to houses in McLean tend to be in the less walkable parts of North Arlington (more likely to be in 22205 or 22207 than 22201) and shaving 5-10 minutes off a commute to downtown would have been nice but not that big a deal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We chose FCC because we like the small town vibe, Harris Teeter, and private school experience. Our realtor said that the Whole Foods will increase our home values by 15 percent, so we are investing in other properties.

It will not. The average nice 4 bedroom house in FCC goes for 1.2m or so. People are not so desperate to get organic kumquats that they are suddenly going to pay nearly $200,000 more for the privilege of being able to walk to them. FCC already has a lot of walkable amenities, but as several PPs have pointed out, is really no more valuable than comparable properties in surrounding jurisdictions that are totally car-dependent. But real estate does tend to appreciate over time so it’s probably not a bad investment.

Average prices for a 4 bedroom in FCC is closer to 1.5 than 1.2. New builds close to 2. Taxes are higher.

The multiple new developments will increase home values especially since most people now want walkability. But not a huge increase since it’s already expensive.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Seems like Falls Church City is a good bargain relative to the other two locations. Are there downsides I'm not seeing besides distance to DC?

Yes, much higher taxes.

Anonymous wrote:We chose FCC because we like the small town vibe, Harris Teeter, and private school experience. Our realtor said that the Whole Foods will increase our home values by 15 percent, so we are investing in other properties.

It will not. The average nice 4 bedroom house in FCC goes for 1.2m or so. People are not so desperate to get organic kumquats that they are suddenly going to pay nearly $200,000 more for the privilege of being able to walk to them. FCC already has a lot of walkable amenities, but as several PPs have pointed out, is really no more valuable than comparable properties in surrounding jurisdictions that are totally car-dependent. But real estate does tend to appreciate over time so it’s probably not a bad investment.

Anonymous wrote:Apples to apples, northern Arlington is more expensive and has been for decades. I live in McLean (between Kirby, Old Dominion and Pimmit Run) and there are tons of people who moved here because they could not afford a comparable house in North Arlington.

This is why we moved to McLean. It was 7 years ago, and for the same price we would have been in a N Arlington house that we would have immediately outgrown to a McLean house with room to grow. None of the houses were new builds. Our house is 60 years old. We love the neighborhood but not so much the lack of walkability to shops/restaurants (we came from DC and Alexandria). To the person that is super into the 22101 zip code, we're in 22101, and there are many reasonably sized and not outrageously priced houses here.

Anonymous wrote:We chose FCC because we like the small town vibe, Harris Teeter, and private school experience. Our realtor said that the Whole Foods will increase our home values by 15 percent, so we are investing in other properties.

Are you suggesting FCCPS provides a "private school experience"? LOL.

We chose FCC because we like the small town vibe, Harris Teeter, and private school experience. Our realtor said that the Whole Foods will increase our home values by 15 percent, so we are investing in other properties.

Anonymous wrote: N Arl is huge compared to FCC. Per sq ft the prices are:

22201 N Arlington > FCC > Rest of N. Arlington > Mclean.

Overall prices due to huge lots are split between Mclean and Great Falls.

OP didn’t ask about Great Falls but the median prices in McLean are higher than Great Falls as well as North Arlington and FCC (22102 > 22101 > 22066 > North Arlington/FCC).

Anonymous wrote: N Arl is huge compared to FCC. Per sq ft the prices are:

22201 N Arlington > FCC > Rest of N. Arlington > Mclean.

Overall prices due to huge lots are split between Mclean and Great Falls.

That’s a pretty accurate analysis. OP if your budgets is 1.5-2 mil, the choice is more based on what you want in your ideal location.

Almost 100% of Mclean is suburban with very limited walkability. North Arlington, outside of 22201, is largely suburban with limited walkability. Falls Church City is very walkable but a tiny jurisdiction with a very small school system.

If your budget is 3-4 mil or above and you want a mansion then Mclean or Great Falls is the way to go.

N Arl is huge compared to FCC. Per sq ft the prices are:

22201 N Arlington > FCC > Rest of N. Arlington > Mclean.

Overall prices due to huge lots are split between Mclean and Great Falls.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many houses in McLean are priced higher than $5M. One is for sale now for $39M, with more than a few well over $10M.

The answer is McLean.

You need to read the OP - “assume same house.”

DP but still the same answer. Ask any agent. It’s always 22101 McLean

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Seems like Falls Church City is a good bargain relative to the other two locations. Are there downsides I'm not seeing besides distance to DC?

Downsides: Falls Church City is very small, the number of really nice houses in FCC isn’t that large, the number of really nice houses on the market in FCC at any particular time is even smaller, and some think the small school system - where your kids can end up in the same small cohort of kids from K through 12 - is stifling and leads to excessive familiarity.

Totally agree with this assessment. We actually moved out of FCC into McLean for this reason - McLean is also more diverse, we are an Asian family.

Downsides: McLean's downtown is drab, many of the neighborhoods lack sidewalks, some of the older residents are vehemently opposed to any re-development, you'll pay the "McLean premium" for lawn care, housekeeping, plumbing, etc., and FCPS will gladly take your tax money and spend it on smaller classes and upgrades elsewhere in the county.

Downsides: North Arlington has a lot of post-college "bros," big houses are crammed onto postage-stamp lots next to tiny ramblers, many neighborhoods have BLM and "Hate Has No Home Here" signs but are hyper-segregated, and APS dropped the ball when it came to building a fourth high school and now plans to cram almost 3000 kids into W-L.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Seems like Falls Church City is a good bargain relative to the other two locations. Are there downsides I'm not seeing besides distance to DC?

Downsides: Falls Church City is very small, the number of really nice houses in FCC isn’t that large, the number of really nice houses on the market in FCC at any particular time is even smaller, and some think the small school system - where your kids can end up in the same small cohort of kids from K through 12 - is stifling and leads to excessive familiarity.

Totally agree with this assessment. We actually moved out of FCC into McLean for this reason - McLean is also more diverse, we are an Asian family.

Falls Church City because it is much, much smaller than the other areas you mentioned.