Compton Road neighborhoods in Clifton/Centreville??? (short sales, real estate, foreclosures)

[fdg]

Is anyone familiar with the neighborhoods off of Compton Road in Centreville/Clifton? Specifically North Hart Run or Little Rocky Run? I drove thru that area recently and it seems nice - any thoughts on buying in that area - pros/cons. Thanks!

[Iaponte]

I'm a a Real Estate Agent in Centreville and I really like this area. The only negative thing is the large number of foreclosures and short sales coming on the market.

[novahousehunter]

I recently looked at a bunch of TH in Little Rocky Run, and my real estate agent and others really liked the area, thought it was a good investment, one of the better Centreville areas.

Unfortunately, all 6 of the TH I saw were the same model which I really disliked, but the consensus of all was that it was a good area (and there were other models around, just all the ones on my for-sale list were this same one).

[fdg]

Thanks for the responses - in terms of the Compton road area, can you comment at all on the safety in those areas - I've heard Centreville is going a little rougher crime wise in some area. Also, in terms of the increase in short sales and foreclosures - do you see this increasing significantly in the centreville/clifton area in the next year and how will this affect real estate prices --- if we purchase, i anticipate we'd be in the area at least 4 to 5 years.

[novahousehunter]

Not sure on the foreclosures--I keep hearing that the bottom in not here yet, that there should be another wave early this year, but I am not at all an expert on that.

On Centreville, I have been hunting there too and can tell you what my agent has told me. The areas to avoid in her opinion are the Meadows condos just south of 29/west of Machen, and the older neighborhoods west of Stone Road and north of 29 that serve the London Towne Elementary (London Towne and London Towne West, Newgate). I feel bad propagating such stereotypes, as I actually liked the London Towne layout (much more open, more trees than more recent complexes, but from her perspective those were the least good investments property-value wise and on the decline.

She liked the ones east of 28 (the Clifton ones you mention, also the ones toward the Fair Lakes Walmart, though they are pricier) as well as a lot of the ones down 28 (Little Rocky Run, Singleton's Grove, Green Trails).

Crofton Commons, (the one near the sewage plant, off Compton Road) apparently has some sort of class action suit against the builder with regard to the plumbing and only some but not all of the units have been fixed.

That's pretty much what I know. Good luck!

[fdg]

Thanks Novahousehunter - that's very helpful. We've looked at a TH we like in North Hart Run. It is a neighborhood with nice SFHs (500-600K range) that has THs in the middle of the community. We really like the area, but our concern is with real estate values. Prices have dropped a ton, but I'm hearing more and more recently that it may drop another 20% or so in the next year or two. We really want to settle somewhere but the idea of buying now for it to be worth 50 or 60K less in two years is tough to swallow. We are open to renting for another year, but with children it is difficult and the desire to provide a little more stability if possible.