Buying in Fairfax or Prince William (Springfield, West Springfield: place, good, spring)

[fdeitz]

Originally Posted by tgbwc

I live not far from there. I don't know why they ever built that house on that lot. It is right on a very busy road. Would a bank ever approve a loan for that much if the assessment is that low?

If I had that kind of money for a custom house, the last place I'd want to stick it is on a busy road like that. I would spend the money on a lot way off the beaten path actually. But I've seen other custom houses built on busy roads in the area.

[Skapov]

Originally Posted by jmking

What I've heard is the jobs moved and created at Ft. Belvoir and the Backlick Rd proving grounds may generate into 30,000 jobs over time, many of which will be support jobs such as retail and restaurants etc. Could be a stretch, however.

This news makes me smile, and yes BRAC will surely benefit Burke/Springfield/Lorton because all these new people will need a place to live. Btw, does anyone know what type of jobs those 20,000 are supposed to be (ie. civilian or military?), because my company just announced Layoffs on Friday and maybe I'll be on the chopping block. Fort Belvoir would be a wonderful commute for me I think, but I dont' know if they'll have Accounting jobs out there. Please pipe up if you have info, thanks!

[Tone509]

Originally Posted by Skapov

This news makes me smile, and yes BRAC will surely benefit Burke/Springfield/Lorton because all these new people will need a place to live. Btw, does anyone know what type of jobs those 20,000 are supposed to be (ie. civilian or military?), because my company just announced Layoffs on Friday and maybe I'll be on the chopping block. Fort Belvoir would be a wonderful commute for me I think, but I dont' know if they'll have Accounting jobs out there. Please pipe up if you have info, thanks!

I think it will also drive up the average income in the Route 1 area of Alexandria as the inevitably rising mortgages and rents will displace the "riff-raff" along with the decent lower-income folks.

If I recall correctly, there will be a mix of civilian and military positions shifting over to Ft. Belvoir. However, many of the people already holding those jobs may be coming along for the ride. I'd check with the government employment website to see what might be happening.

[ZakAttack]

Yeah, check USAjobs for any new postings. I'm sure there will be some, but from my understanding most of these "new" jobs are actually just being transferred down from Maryland, etc. I bet there are a lot of unhappy campers living in MD that now have to commute to Fort Belvoir.

[Mike From NIU]

Originally Posted by ZakAttack

Yeah, check USAjobs for any new postings. I'm sure there will be some, but from my understanding most of these "new" jobs are actually just being transferred down from Maryland, etc. I bet there are a lot of unhappy campers living in MD that now have to commute to Fort Belvoir.

That's why I think the southern Alexandra/Lorton/Woodbridge Route 1 corridor might recover sooner rather than later. Many employees who live in Maryland will probably try to move to the Virginia side rather than commute back and forth to Ft. Belvoir. I see a higher demand in this corridor starting in late 2010 to early 2012 as a result of the BRAC. The region won't return to boom era prices, but will probably ease off the lows we have seen in the past six months.

[cvkevents]

It's almost June and there still really isn't anything new on the market. There is only a few homes that come on the market each week! Even though it is supposedly a "buyer's market", there isn't really anything to buy.

Any ideas how long the interest rate will stay low? I want to try and buy when I can get the best bang for my buck, but I have to find something worth buying.

Anyone else having this problem?

[oneasterisk]

More than likely if people can afford the house payment if they bought during the bubble, they're staying put rather than taking a loss by selling. Last statistic I heard, only 9% of Virginia homes are in trouble. Much lower than FL, CA, NV etc. Good luck on your home search.

[spidercharm]

Originally Posted by cvkevents

It's almost June and there still really isn't anything new on the market. There is only a few homes that come on the market each week! Even though it is supposedly a "buyer's market", there isn't really anything to buy.

Any ideas how long the interest rate will stay low? I want to try and buy when I can get the best bang for my buck, but I have to find something worth buying.

Anyone else having this problem?

Not sure what you talking about. There are more homes coming to market in Fairfax county (even on a net basis) than going out...total supply has been going up for a while now and the trend is unlikely to change:

SFH between 30k and 500k - Fairfax County, Fairfax City, Arlington County, Alexandria City, & Falls Church City, VA
March:- New Listing - New Pending/Under contract:- 2932 - 2692
April :- New Listing - New Pending/Under contract:- 2843 - 2306

Now, you might be looking for something very very specific (particular street, year/type of home).. ..which is a different story.

[Hazel B.]

It's almost June and there still really isn't anything new on the market. There is only a few homes that come on the market each week! Even though it is supposedly a "buyer's market", there isn't really anything to buy.

Any ideas how long the interest rate will stay low? I want to try and buy when I can get the best bang for my buck, but I have to find something worth buying.

Anyone else having this problem?

I know exactly what you're talking about and I have heard others echo the same sentiments on this board. We have been looking at homes in Burke, Springfield, and parts of Fairfax since February. Having become very familiar with homes in the $400K to $500K price range, we realized that the number of good homes in good neighborhoods near good schools is very limited. Since February, we have driven by over 100 homes and seen the inside of at least 25. We are avoiding short sales and foreclosures due to the unpredictability and time issues, but other than that, we were not locked in to a particular style or neighborhood.

I have to laugh when people call it a buyer's market because good homes are selling for around or often over asking price, with multiple offers not uncommon. I have noticed that many homes are under contract within 1-2 weeks of going on the market. The homes that don't go quickly tend to have major defects or a bad location or are overpriced awaiting a short sale approval.

We currently have a contract on a home in West Springfield and it was was pretty much the only home we saw that we were remotely interested in buying. I realize that we are getting a better price compared to the peak of the boom and I am also very pleased with our interest rate, but it has been a challenge. Coming from out of state, I am very much looking forward to living in Fairfax County and experiencing all it has to offer.

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by Hazel B.

I know exactly what you're talking about and I have heard others echo the same sentiments on this board. We have been looking at homes in Burke, Springfield, and parts of Fairfax since February. Having become very familiar with homes in the $400K to $500K price range, we realized that the number of good homes in good neighborhoods near good schools is very limited. Since February, we have driven by over 100 homes and seen the inside of at least 25. We are avoiding short sales and foreclosures due to the unpredictability and time issues, but other than that, we were not locked in to a particular style or neighborhood.

I have to laugh when people call it a buyer's market because good homes are selling for around or often over asking price, with multiple offers not uncommon. I have noticed that many homes are under contract within 1-2 weeks of going on the market. The homes that don't go quickly tend to have major defects or a bad location or are overpriced awaiting a short sale approval.

We currently have a contract on a home in West Springfield and it was was pretty much the only home we saw that we were remotely interested in buying. I realize that we are getting a better price compared to the peak of the boom and I am also very pleased with our interest rate, but it has been a challenge. Coming from out of state, I am very much looking forward to living in Fairfax County and experiencing all it has to offer.

Welcome to West Springfield! We just moved to the 22152 zip at the end of April. We went through some of the same that you did. Our home in Prince William went under contract in a day. There was not much available to see in the Burke and W. Springfield areas in the same price range you are looking. Nice homes were up and gone quickly. We were outbid above asking prices. We are happy where we ended up though!