Reston vs. Herndon (Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax: hotels, job market, buy)

[lchoro]

Reston has had no construction of detached homes for a decade. The newest detached homes were built in the late 80s through the 90s in the North Village Reston area above Baron Cameron Avenue (aka Route 606). All of the recent construction had been occurring around the Reston Town Center, and those are high-rise condos and rowhomes designed for an urban environment. That's where the oversupply is concentrated in the Reston market and why the price adjustment appears to be hitting first and hardest in the condominium market.

[mroy]

We lived in North Reston several years back. It is a very upscale area, and homes are priced accordingly. When it came time to buy, we went 10 more minutes down fairfax county parkway into Loudoun, where you can get a lot more home for your dollar. I do still love the tall trees in Reston though.

[LLD]

Yes I love the leafiness of Reston. And yes I think several parts of Reston are very upscale. There are some very very nice areas in Reston but I was surprised that there were several properties in the $350-500K range that were just plain unacceptable.

I like Vienna too and met a woman recently on a plane that lived in Vienna and she said of her and her boyfriend, we can rent here but we could never afford to buy here.

As to the comment on the condos -- that surprises me. Because I thought the condo market was fairly hot in Reston -- if I was a young professional that didn't want a yard, and was fine with 1 or 2 BR's etc. I'd be jumping on one of those new condos. They are very well done and have a great location.

[Margery]

Walnut Branch is bisected by the Fairfax County Parkway. It is in the area where Herndon and Reston meet, north of 267. It is a very nice neighborhood but I doubt you'll find anything under $500,000 unless you run into a short sale.

[restonornot]

Can anyone weigh in on the best schools in Reston? I've been reading about the worst...what about the best performing elem., middle, and high?

[lchoro]

Originally Posted by LLD

As to the comment on the condos -- that surprises me. Because I thought the condo market was fairly hot in Reston -- if I was a young professional that didn't want a yard, and was fine with 1 or 2 BR's etc. I'd be jumping on one of those new condos. They are very well done and have a great location.

The condo resale market has a 9.5 month supply in North Reston (20190) and an 8 months supply in South Reston (20191).

There's a 1br down the street that's going for under 200K. They were selling for 250-265K a couple of years ago. They still rent for about 1100-1200/mo while the condo fees and taxes have risen to 600/mo. Even with the price drop, it costs about half as much to rent as to own.

[chitchat]

"South Reston" is part of the original master planned community. Part of the reason home prices are consideribly more expensive in South Reston than Herndon is due to the fact it was one of the countries first master planned communities.

Reston has the RA or "Reston Association" which acts as a pseudo HOA, but for all of Reston. There's multiple planned lakes, with attached community pools, fitness complexes and an extensive trail system.

North Reston is "New" Reston, to me, the dividing line is Baron Cameron Pwky.

You'll be hard pressed to find any single family under 600K.

Same for Herndon. Herndon is one of a few incorporated towns in the state of Virginia, so Herndon does have an "historic" district replete with Main Street USA designations, historical preservation societies and the such.

As someone mentioned above, Walnut Branch Rd. is one dividing line between Herndon and Reston. North Reston to be specific.

If your looking for a beautiful single family home in which to raise children, South Reston would be your best bet.

If your active, single or without kids, North Reston, especially near the Reston Town Center, would be your best bet.

The town limits of Herndon are actually not very big, so any homes you see for $350k - $400k are most likely down and around Four Seasons, Alabama Drive. This was the heart, and location of the day labor debate from the past few years.

The rest of "Herndon" is primarily tract subdivision developments in Zip Code 20170. Zip Code 20171 may still have a Herndon mailing address, but is outside of town limits.

Stratton Woods, Old Gable and Dogwood Elementry is on the lower end of the "attractive community" scale. However, there is a beautiful development on the same street, with gorgeous homes. Will cost you 600k or more however.

Quite honestly, from a resale standpoint, the look of the neighborhood will impact resale value much, much more the individual school quality, at least in Reston.

[carlos2332]

Originally Posted by LLD

Hmm.... I couldn't find Walnut Branch on the map. But after driving around Reston and looking at lots of the things available in the $350-500K range I have to say I was fairly disappointed. There were a few things that were very nice but most wasn't in that price range.

You can get more for your money in Herndon but it doesn't have the same reputation as Reston apparently and just as anywhere some neighborhoods are more desirable than others. But I think you are right about the areas merging at some point. It does seem really weird to me to have parts of Herndon "below" or south parts of southern Reston.

Now that I have looked at the areas and surroundings, have to say that Reston has not adjusted their prices like the rest of Fairfax County. You can get lots more for your money, more updates and newer places in Herndon, Fair Lakes, Fair Oaks, Greenbriar... and even in Loudon County in Ashburn, Brambleton, and some of Sterling too.

I agree with you about the lines blurring between Reston and Herndon and that was obvious while driving around and looking at property also. There are $700K houses in Herndon too. But Reston does seem to hold its property values a bit more but I think they are going to have to adjust. Just too many options surrounding them.

I love what I call the "Berkeley" feel of Reston but I can't pay $100K more for that feeling and old properties that haven't been updated and unfortunately too many places where there were unkempt neighboring properties that turned me away from the properties I was interested in. See my other thread about "real estate experinces in Reston/Oakton."

I entirely agree with you. Reston is very nice but the properties that I was looking for (townhouses ) were really old, very few closet space. Herndon has some other valuable properties right now.

[normie]

Originally Posted by LLD

I love what I call the "Berkeley" feel of Reston

Great description! This also made me think of another distinction about Reston--it's population is getting older.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of young families in Reston. But a large portion of the population--the people who give it the "Berkeley" feel--moved in during the 60's and 70's. Their kids have grown up and left home. A significant segment of the community is now retired.

I personally find this attractive--but I'm retired, too. If you're looking for neighborhoods that are bursting with young kids, Herndon might be a better choice.

[Lehayen]

Im going crazy, im moving from miami to virginia, a place which i know absolutly NOTHING about except for what ive read on here. I dont have a job so it makes it hard to look for a place my family and i can commute to. Im guessing that Herndon is our best option for right now considering our economic problem...my question is: how are jobs over there? Im a bartender but in miami the party never stops, will i struggle to find a gig? Im just concen because we still dont have a place and there are 3 small kids to feed...thanx