What areas are good in Falls Church (fairfax county)? (Alexandria: for sale, real estate)

[MYB]

What is the best zipcode/area for family life in Falls Church? 22041, 22042, 22043, 22044 or 22046?

[VEIK]

22043

[VEIK]

Pimmit Hills
22043

while the houses are older and smaller, they have big lots, which in resent years people used to build larger houses.

Proximity to DC, metro and Tysons corner makes it a good choice.

[JD984]

Here are some possibilities to consider (I read your post to exclude Falls Church City proper):

The neighborhoods in 22043 and 22046 that feed into Haycock Elementary tend to very nice and family oriented. If your target is $750-850K, as you noted in a prior post, you won't find a lot for sale at that price, but there may be a few houses for sale. Most of the inventory is still priced over $1 million.

There are some nice areas off Shreve and Idylwood Roads in 22043. Most of these houses are older, but there are some newer properties as well (some are larger houses on smaller lots, which brings the price down).

As VEIK noted, there are also a fair number of new properties being built in Pimmit Hills in 22043. Some of these homes are spacious and reasonably priced, but the aesthetics can be a bit jarring (a brand-new colonial perched next door to a small 1950s rambler).

The Lake Barcroft/Sleepy Hollow area in 22041 is a nice family-oriented area. The homes were mostly built in the 1960s, but Lake Barcroft is actually one of the areas in the county with a lot of contemporary houses (like Hollin Hills in Alexandria). Some don't like its relative proximity to Seven Corners (traffic congestion) and Culmore (which has a concentration of run-down garden apartment complexes), but you might want to consider it.

[claremarie]

All other things being equal, I'd go with the Haycock neighborhoods. They are part of the McLean school pyramid, which is better than the others you're considering (outside of FC City). Very close to the West Falls Church metro, and easy access to shopping, DC, Tyson's etc. without the hassles of Seven Corners. Pimmit Hills is a bit run down (check the thread from a year or so ago) and zoned into a so-so elementary school. The prices there are lower for a reason.
There are some nice neighborhoods off Shreve, near the Poplar Heights swim club, which are close to the W&OD trail, but also some pretty serious power lines/station. Lake Barcroft can be nice, especially if your house is near the (private) lake, but the "contemporary" homes are starting to show their age, and the more reasonably priced ones will probably need some considerable work. And, as a previous poster noted, the location near Culmore and other relatively high-crime areas could be problematic.

[tankdude]

Originally Posted by claremarie

All other things being equal, I'd go with the Haycock neighborhoods. They are part of the McLean school pyramid, which is better than the others you're considering (outside of FC City). Very close to the West Falls Church metro, and easy access to shopping, DC, Tyson's etc. without the hassles of Seven Corners. Pimmit Hills is a bit run down (check the thread from a year or so ago) and zoned into a so-so elementary school. The prices there are lower for a reason.
There are some nice neighborhoods off Shreve, near the Poplar Heights swim club, which are close to the W&OD trail, but also some pretty serious power lines/station. Lake Barcroft can be nice, especially if your house is near the (private) lake, but the "contemporary" homes are starting to show their age, and the more reasonably priced ones will probably need some considerable work. And, as a previous poster noted, the location near Culmore and other relatively high-crime areas could be problematic.

Many here, to my surprise, consider areas in 22043 part of McLean. Not only does this zip code feed into Haycock (22043), but this zip code also feeds into Kent Gardens ES (22101), which is in McLean.

There's a whole bunch of communities right on the 22043 "border" on Kirby Rd. that is technically in the 22043 zip code, but is considered McLean, and all these communities have the word "McLean" as part of the community's name.

Haycock is the really good magnet ES in 22043. Surprisingly though, this year Great Schools put Westgate (Pimmit) higher at a 9 rating. Haycock used to have a 10 rating, but now has an 8 rating. Can't figure out why.

http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/...in=0&showall=1

Also, I'm not trying to get back into the debate about Marshall HS, but during my home search, I found that a lot of newer homes in neighborhoods (eg. Madrillion and Vienna) that feed into Marshall HS were on the market for a long time even with steep price drops . But, those homes, new and old, that feed into McLean and Madison HS were sold quickly if priced reasonably.

22043 generally feeds into both Marshall and McLean HS, I believe.

BTW, I don't think Lake Barcroft is in the 22043 zip, and neither is Culmore.

Generally speaking, if you're not interested in Falls Church City, then stay North and West of FCC for the best areas.

[claremarie]

I wouldn't pay too much attention to the greatschools rating. It is useful as a starting point, but the test scores are more reliable. I have yet to see a real estate ad that used the Westgate school as a selling point, but many homes in the Haycock area are listed as "McLean schools!"

[tankdude]

Originally Posted by claremarie

I wouldn't pay too much attention to the greatschools rating. It is useful as a starting point, but the test scores are more reliable. I have yet to see a real estate ad that used the Westgate school as a selling point, but many homes in the Haycock area are listed as "McLean schools!"

I'm not trying to defend Great Schools, but Westgate's SOL data does look improved compared to Haycock's.

How do you decipher tests scores when you have Haycock and its magnet program bringing up the neighborhood scores compared to a school like Kent Gardens and their 900+ kid population and french immersion (rumored 60% of the population there) that draws from all over the county with slightly lower scores?

Many people move into the Haycock boundary but fail to realize that their kid may just only qualify for the neighborhood school, although I'm sure the entire school, regular or magnet, is great.

[JD984]

The poster's question focused on Falls Church zip codes, but in any event it's a buyer's market right now for upper-bracket properties, particularly those that aren't brand new. This is true in Falls Church, McLean and Vienna at the moment. For example, there are roughly 70 properties over $500K right now that are in the Madison district that have been on the market over 100 days. There are also brand new houses well over $1 million that continue to sell briskly.

I think the Haycock area is great, but I think the poster noted earlier that his target range is $750-850K, and there's aren't a lot of properties in that district in that price range for sale. There's a larger inventory once you start talking over $900K.

[DC Oldtimer]

Stay as far away from Culmore as you can. I wouldn't live anywhere near it.