Moving to North Potomac/SW Gaithersburg (Silver Spring: how much, house, neighborhood)

[gatormka]

My wife and I are looking at homes in the Flints Grove area of North Potomac, and we have some questions that you might be able to help us with.

1) Right now it's in the Wootton cluster, and we've heard rumors that this may change in the future. How much of the value of the homes here is tied into the school assignment?

2) How do you anticipate that the Johns Hopkins Belward Farm & science city development will impact the area (property values/congestion/schools)

3) Do you think home prices have much further to fall?

4) Any other feelings about the neighborhood itself?

We really like the area, and we appreciate your help with this. The advice of locals is invaluable. Thanks in advance!

[qajussi]

I have been searching for a house in North Potomac/Gaithersburg area for a while and gave up.
It's just my opinion from 6 weeks of driving around to find a TH.
THe price has fell but it is still very pricey. I was looking for a TH, 10 years old or younger.
I quickly learned, they are from upper $400 and up in those areas. I ended up looking into Silver Spring closed to PG county.
The area I am looking right now is considered not so safe neighbor. I guess you get what you pay for.
My agent told me that anything left of 270 is a little newer, safer, and pricey.
The traffice 270 is worse than 95.

I will be choosing short commute over safe and good school.

[TrippingJay]

Originally Posted by gatormka

My wife and I are looking at homes in the Flints Grove area of North Potomac, and we have some questions that you might be able to help us with.

1) Right now it's in the Wootton cluster, and we've heard rumors that this may change in the future. How much of the value of the homes here is tied into the school assignment?

2) How do you anticipate that the Johns Hopkins Belward Farm & science city development will impact the area (property values/congestion/schools)

3) Do you think home prices have much further to fall?

4) Any other feelings about the neighborhood itself?

We really like the area, and we appreciate your help with this. The advice of locals is invaluable. Thanks in advance!

Are you referring to the development known as Dufief? I've never heard of Flint's Grove, so I assume this area is west of Route 28? If yes, I would say that area is a good investment as the homes feed into Wooton but are at reasonable prices; especially when compared to parts of Potomac that also feed into Wooten.

Regarding the school change, the Crown Farm project (where a new high school and city offices would be built) has been postponed indefinitely.
Here's the story: Crown Farm housing is ‘going nowhere'

I'm not sure when your children would be going to high school, but for the next 4-5 years I doubt any boundary changes will occur. The worst case would be re-zoning to the new high school in Crown Farm or Quince Orchard, which while not as highly regarded as Wooton is still a good school.

Regarding the JHU expansion, I believe there has been concerns about density, but if the project is done correctly; I would assume the area would flourish with the influx of new jobs in the area.

Home prices in MoCo haven't fallen as much as you'd think, but I think there might be some declines in the next year but not too significant. Nobody can predict a bottom, so it's hard to say exactly where prices are going.

[dkf747]

I hadn't heard of Crown Farm before. It migh have been a good thing. Thanks for the info about it.

[gatormka]

Thanks for the info, everyone. The dufief area seems really nice. It's quiet, but close to nearby shopping and restaurants. The schools are solid. Compared to Potomac, you can get a much nicer (and slightly newer) home for the same price.

I think I'm sold!