Today's goal in real estate was to view condos in Reston around the same price range as the condos I viewed in Fairfax the other day. The stylistic differences between a condo in Reston and a condo in Fairfax are interesting to note. All of the units seen today where open and let in a lot of light. There was a nice private feel to all of the condos, and most had a view of some type of nature.
The first two units seen today were located in the Villaridge subdivision near the South Lakes shopping center. The first unit was a first floor 990 sq. ft. unit with two bedrooms and one bath. It had an interesting floor plan with a fireplace dividing the living room from what could be used as the dining room and the kitchen in the rear near the master bedroom. The second bedroom looked to have been used as a sitting area as the doors had been removed. This did open things up and if a young couple or a single person moved in they could use it in the same way.
The next unit seen was also located in Villaridge and was also a first floor unit. This one was located more towards the back of the development near a paved trail. It had a large front porch that would be great for sitting on warm evenings. Inside the floor plan was a little different with a more open living area and the kitchen still in the rear but visible from the entrance. This was a one bedroom unit with one bathroom and 840 sq. ft. arranged in an inviting nature.
Nantucket at Reston is the next development of condos toured and the unit seen there was a top floor unit with a view of Lake Thoreau. It was a 951 sf. ft. one bedroom one bath unit with a spacious kitchen located right off the entrance and a good sized living room. The real highlight of this unit was the master bedroom. It was large enough for a single family home, but located in a condo and had space for an office towards the front of the building. One of the best features about the Reston condos was how many windows they had and how much light they let in. All of them felt private and open to nature all at the same time.
All of the condos I saw today were nice but none would be a better value than the next one. It was a 1,053 sq. ft. unit with two bedrooms and two baths with a living room, dining room, and kitchen. It is a bank owned property so it is listed below market value but is in very nice condition. It is located in the Springwood subdivision where in the past year I can't find any other two and twos that have sold but two three and twos sold for nearly $100,000.00 above the asking price of this unit. That should give some idea of the value of this condo. In fact I called a buyer I have looking for condos in this price range from its living room.
The last condo I looked at today was located in the Bentana Park subdivision and was a one bedroom one bath 1,002 sq. ft. unit. It had an interesting entrance as it had a sunken living room with an attached sun room where the balcony would normally be. It was again wide open letting in lots of light with the feeling of being both private and open to nature. This unit had a fully upgraded kitchen and bathroom as well as a dining room.
There are advantages to condos in both the Reston and Fairfax area, but what I have been seeing is there is more variety among the styles of condos than there are styles of townhomes or single family homes between Fairfax and Reston. Reston does have the 1970's style contemporary homes that are more rare in Fairfax, but there is little difference in the New American Traditional homes located in both Reston and Fairfax.
If a client is looking in the mid-100's to mid-200's price range I would suggest looking in both the Reston and Fairfax areas to see how they differ and to decide which location is more desired. Reston has the Reston Town Center and is close to the Dulles Toll Road and Route 7 while Fairfax has Fair Oaks Mall, Wegmans, and is close to 66 and Route 50.
There are benefits to both locations and as with everything in real estate it is up to the buyer to decide which of those benefits is more for them.
I learn something new in real estate everyday
so you don't have to
David Huzzard
www.SuperNoVaRealty.com
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