This is the first post in a 3-part blog series on whether a Northern Virginia condo is a good choice for homebuyers in the D.C. area.
I work with a lot of buyers, and they often ask me whether a Northern Virginia condo is a good investment? The short answer is a resounding “Yes”, but why exactly is this is the case?
The Northern Virginia Condo Market
A lot of my clients are first time homebuyers, and the most common price point for first time homebuyers in Northern Virginia is around $300,000 - $400,000. As you get inside the Beltway, especially into areas like Arlington and Alexandria, this is a common condo price point. Think about that for a second. For a price that would buy you an amazing single family home in a lot of areas of the United States, you get a condo. At first, that thought might sound depressing, but it’s not at all meant to get you down. Why are condo communities so expensive as you get so close to Washington D.C.? DEMAND. And that’s what makes the Northern Virginia real estate market one of the best real estate markets in the nation.
I can think of a few more metropolitan areas in the United States that have real estate prices you find in the D.C. area, but the stability of Northern Virginia’s real estate market is pretty much unrivaled, in my opinion. Look at what happened with the rest of the country in the wake of the market crash of 2008 – real estate markets nationally took HUGE hits. Was Northern Virginia affected? Sure, but not nearly on the same level as other areas in the country. And the market here rebounded incredibly quickly compared to other markets. Why? The market here is largely insulated from huge market shocks, due in part to the huge government presence that leads to job growth and a strong local economy.
Read Part 2 in this blog series on the Northern Virginia condo market.