Every time I see this floor plan I like it but this is the third time I have seen it and this time at a different price point. Location is the driving force behind the price of a home, but I do find it interesting that I have seen basically the same home three different times in the last month and this time the price point was much higher.
The question though becomes is this location any better. The last time I saw the home I was off of Braddock Rd. in Burke and the time before that I was in Vienna. Now of the three locations I would expect Vienna to be the highest but it wasn't. This time I was in Fairfax off of 29 in a neighborhood where the average sold price over the last calender year was $481,313.00.
There isn't a lot of activity in this neighborhood as I had to go back a calender year to get anywhere close to a large enough sample size and even that wasn't great, but I can learn that this home is at least $100,000.00 over its market value. That also puts it into the price range of the last two split levels I saw. All in all it is a nice home with 1,872 total sq. ft. with five bedrooms and four baths.
After viewing this home in Fairfax I decided to head down to Herndon. I am really not planning this in any great fashion as Tuesday is the Brokers' open day and this is what was available to me. In Herndon I saw two luxury townhomes located on the same block just a few blocks up from historic downtown Herndon. The first one I saw was a middle unit with a two car garage and 4 bedrooms with 3 1/2 baths and a total sq. ft. of 2700.
The most interesting thing about these two units is one was price significantly higher than the other. The higher priced one was an end unit with a three car garage and a library, but for that much more money it is my opinion that there should be more of a difference between the two home. Especially since the extra garage space is really only enough for an extra half a car. If a person wanted to store anything in their garage that third car would not fit.
After leaving the townhomes I returned to where I previewed last week and looked at a home in Reston. This home was built in 1972 and defers from the onslaught of 1970's style contemporaries that Reston is full of. It is your standard new American traditional home with 2,944 sq. ft. and a finished basement. It has five bedrooms with 2 1/2 baths. It is interesting because most homes of this size have an additional bathroom. It is still a nice single family home for those looking in Reston who don't have a large enough family to cause a bathroom war.
With the Brokers' opens finished it was time to head back in closer to my office. I decided to look in Greenbriar so that on the off chance someone walks into the office and is ready to look at homes in this area I am ready to help them. The first two homes I looked at were located across the street from each other and were the same model.
They had the same floor plan with the kitchen in the rear and upstairs main bedroom with a hallway bath to be shared by the three upstairs bedrooms. There was a fourth bedroom on the main level and no dining room, but a large living room at the front of the house. There was also no basement, but this home did have a two car garage and is a total of 1,512 sq. ft.
The main difference in the home across the street is that it had a fully upgraded kitchen and remodeled bathrooms as well as having a bit of extra living area with a couple rooms built into the space where the garage was in the home across from it. Watching these two homes on the market will be interesting as it will be a case study of what people really want. The idea of a garage is nice for many people but I continue to hear buyers saying they want the upgraded kitchen and the extra living area can be used as either a family room or dining room.
The last home I visited was also in Greenbriar and it was once again the same floor plan, but they had added on to it. they had expanded it from the standard 1,512 sq. ft. to 3,000 sq. ft. They did this by building onto the back of the house with a photo studio. I have a good friend who is in the photo business and who I think would enjoy this home. It is too bad that he isn't currently in the market for a new home and if he was this might not be in his price range.
The more interesting thing about this home is that it is way out of line in price with the first two versions of this model I saw. I can understand the sellers thinking, but the additions they made to the home are so specific that it will be hard to find buyers who want a home with a photo studio and digital lab. It is hard to think of what else this area could be used for but if this home's price was reduced to be more in line with the neighborhood and marketed to the vast number of photographers in this area it is a home that could sell quickly.
I learn something new in real estate everyday
so you don't have to
David Huzzard
www.SuperNoVaRealty.com
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