Why so many Manassas homes for sale? (Arlington, Alexandria: renting, crime)

[Dingler]

Go over to the Manassas Mall and look at the people and all the empty shops and you will have your answer.

[HereinVA]

Originally Posted by Cupclip

Looks like white flight to me -- and reflected in the fact that 2 nearly identical houses built in the same year, one in Breamar (BDHS) and one in Sheffield Manor (SJHS) are priced $120K differently.

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I don't think the price difference on a Braemar home vs. a Sheffield Manor home can be "blamed" soley on the high school district--they are 2 very different communities. Braemar has many more amenities, they have two different pools in different sections of the community, and their children's pool has lots of "toys", which Sheffield Manor doesn't have. Braemars playgrounds are more extensive has well. Also, in looking at these two "nearly identical houses", did you look at the lots they were situated on? If the Sheffield Manor one is closer to a main road, while the Braemar one is on a more secluded one backing to trees,that could make a huge difference. Are they similar as far as upgrades (finished basement, upgraded flooring, cabinets, countertops, etc?
Last but not least, you said they were "priced $120k differently"...you can list a house at any asking price--it doesn't mean it will sell at that price

[mark2544]

I agree with the comment above about Manassas Mall. It is located very close to SJHS and not only is it a horrible place to shop; there is a gang problem and half of the stores are vacant. It's a lot nastier than Tyson's I and II, Springfield, or Fair Oaks.

If you want to pay 450,000 for a house, where your car will be broken into, you won't use the public schools, and there is a huge gang problem: Welcome to Manass.

[lchoro]

Between Manassas City and Manassas Park, there's a 1 1/2 year supply of homes on the market. The median price for Manassas has dropped to 282K.

Monthy Real Estate Trend Indicator

Young families and step-up buyers will tend to bypass older communities like Manassas and instead look at the new home communities in nearby Lake Manassas, Gainesville, etc.

[mark2544]

Properties Owned by Countrywide - REO Homes Last time I counted they had 54 homes in the city of Manassas that they repoed. Ironically, you will see better prices on REALTOR.com - Real Estate Listings & Homes For Sale.

[lchoro]

Suspect that prices are falling fast in the new homes in the planned communitieis going up in Lake Manassas, Gainesville, and Bristow, and that's dragging down prices in Manassas because of its close proximity and less desirable qualities. Plug in the zip 20155 (Lake Manassas) into the MRIS report by zip code, and you'll find that the median price has dropped from 520K in 2005 to 414K.

Zip Code Statistics

[HEATHER72]

I live in 20155 and bought my home in December of 2006. The builder hasn't lowered their prices since then...

[knopfler]

Originally Posted by mark2544

Properties Owned by Countrywide - REO Homes Last time I counted they had 54 homes in the city of Manassas that they repoed. Ironically, you will see better prices on REALTOR.com - Real Estate Listings & Homes For Sale.

Again, I must take umbrage here - we are discussing Stonewall Jackson HS - which is in Prince William County with a Manassas street address, not the City of Manassas which is a separate jurisdiction with a completely different school system.

[knopfler]

Originally Posted by Cupclip

Thanks for the information everyone. I am a firm believer in the value of diversity in the school -- we're moving from an affluent town in NH and its white-on-white there, and I want my kids to get a taste of the real world before they head out into it. Nonetheless, if you go to the school comparison sites like Greatschools.com or Schoolmatters.com, the view is that the latinos (read illegal aliens) in the school -- for whatever reason -- are creating disruptions and corsening of the learning environment, and needlessly occupying the teachers and administration. There is much more to school than test scores, which is why I made the post. Nonetheless, looking at the test scores, whether in Fairfax or PW, the higher the percentage of whites, the better the average test scores. That fact can be interpreted several ways, to be sure. But of the non-Manassas City, non-Manassas Park HSs, SJHS has the highest minority rate, highest school lunch subsidy rate, and lowest test scores. Looks like white flight to me -- and reflected in the fact that 2 nearly identical houses built in the same year, one in Breamar (BDHS) and one in Sheffield Manor (SJHS) are priced $120K differently.

My preliminary Moms-on-the-street (actually at a lemonade stand fundraiser) interviews in Sheffield Manor revealed a significant push towards redistricting OUT of SJHS and into anywhere else. I do see that a new HS is scheduled to open off of Kettle Run in 2011, but my oldest will be starting HS next year . . .

So I'm looking for answers. I guess I need to wait until school starts, and schedule visits with the schools while in session. I'd love to hear from some SJHS parents on what their expereince has been. Is SJHS safe? Crime or drug problems? Thanks.

Cupclip,

I don't have kids in the system but I do live in the SJHS school district, off Sudley Manor Drive across from Mullen Elementary. Things are safe here. In other areas of the SJHS district, they aren't as safe. It's unfair to describe the whole district - or even a majority! - as being not very nice or safe. Most of the school district, I've found, is in a quite nice part of town.

Braemar has a much higher average price because it's a newer, much more planned community with more amenities. School districting may have something to do with it, but generally speaking the school districts on the western part of PW are all pretty good.

I would submit that if you're looking for some diversity, Dingler's "Go over to the Manassas Mall and look at the people" comment should strike you as being way over the line. Yeah, you'll find a lot of Latinos. You'll find a lot of non-Latinos, too. Prince William has an estimated 18% Latino population, according to the latest data at Prince William County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. This is higher than the statewide average, but hardly a crazy-high number. Prince William is only recently working through an increased cultural diversity influx that happened in Fairfax, Alexandria and Arlington 15-20 years ago. We're struggling with getting our arms and heads around it, as PW was previously a pretty lily-white county, and now we're not. Some folks are better able to accept that than others.

A couple notes about Stonewall; it was chosen as Time's High School of the Year in 2001 - information here: News Release. Additionally, Stonewall is listed on Newsweek's current list of "America's Top Public High Schools" at #557, listed here: America's Top Public High Schools - Newsweek America's Best High Schools - MSNBC.com. Battlefield, Brentsville, Manassas Park, Osbourn, and Osbourn Park, as you might notice, are all ranked lower.

My purpose here isn't to suggest one school over another, as in western PW outside of Manassas City they're all decent. My purpose is just to say that Stonewall's quite acceptable, and I would be comfortable sending my kids there.

Finally, you would do well to check out Prince William's crime statistic trends - they tell a different story than the hype: http://www.pwcgov.org/docLibrary/PDF/005943.pdf.

Welcome to PWC!

Brian

[peripie]

I have to agree with Knopfler- I am in the Gainesville area- child will attend Battlefield H.S.-with that being said, my neighbors child who has a teacher for a parent will attend SJHS this fall for their IB program-true the school is diverse, but that doesnt mean that the educational programs are lacking. I would welcome alittle more diversity in my childs H.S.-living over in this end of the county is can be very unrealistic, in terms of learning about and respecting other cultures.