Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I know this has been asked before but I wanted to see if I can get more specifics based on my needs.
Located in Northeast/Midwest/midatlantic
Within about an hour or so of a larger city
3br 2 ba about 1500 sq ft decent (meaning little to no renovations) home for around 400k
Walkable to a lively strip of stuff (restaurants, coffee shop, maybe a nice convenience store or farmers market, people watching) from my house (.5 mile or less)
Decent economy with job availability (we're in accounting so we're not specialized in a specific niche field)
Yes, you can find a number of places like this even inside the beltway - e.g. South Arlington, City of Alexandria, Silver Spring, or College Park. Outside the beltway, Reston or Leesburg would fit what you are looking for. The square footage you are looking at provides a lot of possibilities.
Yes, you can find a number of places like this even inside the beltway - e.g. South Arlington, City of Alexandria, Silver Spring, or College Park. Outside the beltway, Reston or Leesburg would fit what you are looking for. The square footage you are looking at provides a lot of possibilities.
No they can't. Most houses near walkable amenities in Silver Spring, Arlington, and Alexandria cost far north of $400k. I don't think you are current on the prices of homes. While there are houses in Silver Spring for $400k, they are not in the downtown/walkable areas of Silver Spring. Basically they are in Silver Spring by address only and far from the census designated place (also known as downtown Silver Spring). The same can be said for Alexandria houses in that price range. They may have an Alexandria address, but they are far from the walkable areas of the city of Alexandria, or the walkable areas of town.
Arlington, including South Arlington, is completely out. I have a feeling the person just looked at your budget and failed to recognize the exact nature of the request.
I am going to be pretty direct, for what they want, at this price range, it's just not happening. They would have to go up by at least another $100k to find something that would fit their desires. You may be able to find something close, maybe $50k more in Takoma Park, MD for example. It would still fit your criteria.
Read the specifics of what they are asking. .5 miles from a good concentration of Amenities. Houses in Walkable neighborhoods tend to run higher. Don't believe me, do a redfin search, and you will find out quickly that there are no houses that fit what they are looking for in their price range. Houses in walkable areas are in high demand, and as such they come at a cost.
While they may find something in College Park, College Park is not nearly as walkable as some other areas in and around DC.
There are many people who post on this forum who are years out of date in terms of housing costs, and whose idea of where the market is based on when they purchased, not the current market. Let me be clear with you, the walkable areas, those within a half mile from amenity rich areas, almost always run over $400k. There are not many exceptions to this.
You can find housing under $400k in the area, but it will always pull you into a more car dependent area with weaker transit options.
With that being said you may have luck in the Mt. Rainer and Hyattesville area (art's district) it has poorer transit options, but there is an area there that is walkable, and more likely to be in your budget. But PG county may be the only place in your budget. Don't let this guy get your hopes up. On the downside the area is less safe.
In terms of the job market, it is really good around here. So that part I would not worry about.
Also with that being said, this is not an area one moves to and jumps into buying. The real estate market tends to be a little crazy here. While that may be the norm in the midwest, doing so here without very specific knowledge about where you are moving to can really end up leading to problems.
Last edited by DistrictSonic; 12-13-2015 at 04:40 PM..
Hyattsville maybe good fit. They have a small arts district that has a few shops & restaurants. It's not as big as old Town Alexandria or downtown Silver Spring, but is on the up swing, close to transit & DC. The best thing it is still affordable.
District - thanks for the thorough reply. I had a feeling that in was priced out from a place walking distance to amenities. Your info is very helpful.
No they can't. Most houses near walkable amenities in Silver Spring, Arlington, and Alexandria cost far north of $400k. I don't think you are current on the prices of homes. While there are houses in Silver Spring for $400k, they are not in the downtown/walkable areas of Silver Spring. Basically they are in Silver Spring by address only and far from the census designated place (also known as downtown Silver Spring). The same can be said for Alexandria houses in that price range. They may have an Alexandria address, but they are far from the walkable areas of the city of Alexandria, or the walkable areas of town.
Arlington, including South Arlington, is completely out. I have a feeling the person just looked at your budget and failed to recognize the exact nature of the request.
I actually own in South Arlington and have seen many of my neighbors homes sell in the $400-450k range within the last year; and those homes have greater amenities than what the OP is asking for.
In Arlington, look for homes in Fairlington, Columbia Forest, Nauck, Four Mile Run, and along Columbia Pike. All are walkable neighborhoods, near amenities, and have homes at the $400k level. In Alexandria you can also look in Fairlington, Rosemont, west and south of Old Town, and occasionally you'll see places near Del Ray at that price; though places near Del Ray probably won't be in the condition you want.
Don't let other posters discourage you. There are nice places you can afford near DC; and it's a great place to live particularly for jobs and amenities.
District - thanks for the thorough reply. I had a feeling that in was priced out from a place walking distance to amenities. Your info is very helpful.
I will look into Hyattsville just to see. Thanks
I just did a search, the Art's District of Hyattesville (it's near Rhode Island/Rt. 1) does have houses in your range. While it is a walkable area, it's less than perfect in terms of transit options. With that being said...it's probably your best option.
The schools are not that great, but you didn't mention anything about having kids. But it is a decent area to live in if you don't.
I actually own in South Arlington and have seen many of my neighbors homes sell in the $400-450k range within the last year; and those homes have greater amenities than what the OP is asking for.
In Arlington, look for homes in Fairlington, Columbia Forest, Nauck, Four Mile Run, and along Columbia Pike. All are walkable neighborhoods, near amenities, and have homes at the $400k level. In Alexandria you can also look in Fairlington, Rosemont, west and south of Old Town, and occasionally you'll see places near Del Ray at that price; though places near Del Ray probably won't be in the condition you want.
Don't let other posters discourage you. There are nice places you can afford near DC; and it's a great place to live particularly for jobs and amenities.
I just did a quick search on redfin which pulls from MRIS, when somebody says around $400k, they are not talking about less than $400k, and maybe $425k tops. There is a couple of town houses in Nauk and Shirlington in there price range, but it is very uncommon for houses to sell less than $450k even in these areas. People underprice to inspire bidding wars.
I should note, I am very familiar with DT Silver Spring and the walkable areas there, and houses typically go for north of $500k these days there. Again, the downside of these areas is poorer transit options, which is what they will run into. Shirlington would meet it, but again, in a couple of months this will likely be out of their budget, Arlington has the fastest increasing real estate in the region, and many houses on the lower end see bidding wars. When only a small handful of houses comes up between the $350-$450 range, it is likely out of their budget. It's called a redfin search. You may have heard of your neighbors a few months ago...but that is the problem. Things change so quickly around here.
In terms of Alexandria, I am very familiar with it, and outside of Del Ray and Old Town, it's not at all walkable. The problem with both of these areas, is neither is in their budget. The areas that are in their budget are not at all walkable.
Again remember, half mile, amenity rich, and walkable what they are asking for is quite a great deal. Pay very close attention to what they are asking, it's not as easy as you think. They are very thin on options, because very few places fit this criteria in their budget. I went through this process a couple of years ago, and I had a higher budget than them.
Again this is really tricky in the DC area, if you were to say 1 mile to a walkable area, it might be more doable.
The few areas I know will still be in their budget six months from now are the art's district in Hyattesville, Mt. Rainer, Wheaton, and maybe Old Takoma Park, MD (if they get very lucky, and that is happening less). But Arlington by then will be completely out, and the walkable parts of Alexandria are already out.
There is a lunatic in my neighborhood (West End Alex.) - renting out (well trying to) a 3 BR/2BA house for $2500!!! - I like the neighborhood for it's safety, walkability to a bus to GET to Metro, walkable to: Rite Aid, Harris Teeter, etc. - but not really any places like Old Town has.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
