Anonymous wrote:They're extremely outdated and the 24/7 airplane noise problem keeps getting worse.

+1, this is what's wrong with Avenel. Looked at a house there and we couldn't talk when we went outside.

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks for the feedback. The commute to downtown isn't an issue for us as we both work in the suburbs (Tysons and Rockville).

The only comments that are concerning to me are the ones about lack of kids. We have two little ones and definitely want to be in a place with lots of other young families. I'm particularly interested in some houses in the Eagle Ridge area- anyone live there and can provide some info on percentages of young families there?

The Eagle Ridge area is a bit tougher because you are on the other side of Rock Run. This part of Avenel is not as quickly connected to the portion along Oaklyn. So going to the Village and points east takes a few extra minutes. It is however a bit closer to Macarthur and DC/VA.

If I had young kids, I would not go to Eagle Ridge but as close to the Avenel Park as possible. That is where the young kids are (playground, fields, pool nearby, etc.).

It's similar in McLean with outlying neighborhoods. In the $1.5+ million market, even the most beautifully updated existing homes are in competition now with shiny, newer construction in downtown McLean. The construction may not be as great, but young families seem to prefer the location over quality.

OP here, thanks for the feedback. The commute to downtown isn't an issue for us as we both work in the suburbs (Tysons and Rockville).

The only comments that are concerning to me are the ones about lack of kids. We have two little ones and definitely want to be in a place with lots of other young families. I'm particularly interested in some houses in the Eagle Ridge area- anyone live there and can provide some info on percentages of young families there?

Posts like some on this thread are why this forum will never be great. You do not have to like Avenel, but the obnoxious remarks about what kind of money and transients, etc are sad.

We lived in a neighborhood that bordered Avenel for a few years. It is more expensive. Homes at 1.5 or 2.0 million are going to take longer. There are homes in Bethesda and CC that have sat as well at those prices, it is normal. And the comments about age and who lives there are lazy. The homes were built from 1985-2000. That means that the families that bought there at the beginning are likely just now starting to turn over.

That being said, the trend is towards less lot, further east. Potomac will never have the same amenities as Bethesda, it is not built that way on purpose. You have to want a bit of a different vibe to live there. That dos not make it bad though. You get more value, more space and less congestion. That is what some people want.

We do not live there anymore, but not because of any problem, just a job/location switch. When I see some of the more charming homes in Potomac for 1.0, 1.2-1.5 or whatever, and compare them to the McCraftsmans in Bethesda for 2 million, I think Potomac is better value. I cannot fathom paying hundreds of thousands more to live 10 minutes away and simply to spend more money in restaurants and shops in Bethesda. That is not fulfilling for me, just my opinion.

I live close to Avenel and walk my dog and go to kids soccer classes in the park there. Their services are excellent in terms of snow clearing and trash pickup I will say. Their sidewalks/walking paths are the first to clear after a snow. It's a nice area but I wouldn't want to live in an Avenel house. Many feel like hotels or like the set of a play or movie--some are very new money with the French chateau theme or other Euro-wanna be style.

We looked at a house in Avenel long ago. Beautiful house. But the lot was very very small for so far out and the HOA restrictives were ridiculous.

8:50 PP here. FWIW, my commute downtown is actually better from Avenel then it was from Bethesda. I can just scoot down McArthur. At our old house, had to get through the Bethesda traffic first, which always added 10+ minutes.

It's the Potomac folks who live farther down River Road that get hit - there's always a long line of cars backed up trying to get through the Falls/River intersection at the Village. But that doesn't affect us at Avenel.

We lived in a different Potomac neighborhood that also had few young families and lackluster appreciation. It's too far out to be highly desirable, which I imagine is why homes are sitting. NW DC and closer in MoCo neighborhoods are more vibrant these days.

I think two reasons in particular are why they are sitting: 1) commutes to downtown are much worse than 30 years ago, and 2) there are fewer families with a SAHP these days; many dual-income families with young children don't want to sign up for commutes that long if they can help it. So they sacrifice space and move closer in.

Anonymous wrote:They are cute houses but too far from public transportation:

Hilarious comment

Anonymous wrote:Potomac, MD is a relic of the 90s.....no longer a desirable place to live. In fact, this is the case for entire Mo County, except for Bethesda and CC.

Yeah, but Bethesda & CC is getting crowded. I wish that Potomac would spruce itself up some via building more smentities within walking distance of neighborhoods & pick up some of the slack.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess my preferences are different than most, but I don't get the ugly house comments. They seem very nice to me. The houses are large, but don't have the mcmansion look.

Are there really not many kids there?

The updated houses are definitely gorgeous, I"ve sold property there. Some of them have stunning views of the golf course.

Would you expect to hear any different from a real estate agent?

Potomac, MD is a relic of the 90s.....no longer a desirable place to live. In fact, this is the case for entire Mo County, except for Bethesda and CC.

I live in Avenel and love it. Nothing wrong that I'm seeing, just that the average home is priced fairly high, so they take longer to sell.

On my street at least, houses are turning over - I'd say 1/3rd are families with young kids. My neighbors are not snobby at all, they are actually really nice, pretty down to earth people. Fairly high percentage of doctors, lawyers, executives.

What I love best is the location and the ambience, it's close enough to be convenient to downtown and Bethesda but feels very serene and peaceful here. It's 5 mins to pop over to the Village for everything (banks, post office, grocery, hardware store, pharmacies, etc.). Much easier than dealing with Bethesda traffic/congestion/parking hassles. I say that having lived in Bethesda before moving here.

Also the houses are really well constructed - very solid. Before moving here, we looked at similarly priced homes in Bethesda (new construction) and the quality was not comparable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess my preferences are different than most, but I don't get the ugly house comments. They seem very nice to me. The houses are large, but don't have the mcmansion look.

Are there really not many kids there?

The updated houses are definitely gorgeous, I"ve sold property there. Some of them have stunning views of the golf course.

And this tells you everything you need to know about the demographic of the area.