Best Real Estate Question: What Neighborhood Would You Buy Into?

• December 20, 2011
• 10 Comments

by UrbanTurf Staff

Gales Street in Rosedale

Year in, year out, the most popular debate when it comes to residential real estate revolves around what neighborhood people should buy into. (A close second is the eternal rent-versus-buy question.)

Last year when an UrbanTurf reader asked for neighborhood recommendations, Hill East, Mount Pleasant, Shepherd Park, H Street and Brookland were popular options offered up by commenters. This year, the neighborhoods thrown out were even more varied. In addition to many of the same places mentioned last year, Kingman Park, Rosedale, Shaw, and Langdon were recommended this year.

The commenters, in their own words:

In Rosedale between 15th-19th in particular, there are a lot of great smaller houses that make wonderful condo alternatives. You could get something that is completely renovated for $300K or less and walk to everything that Capitol Hill & H Street have to offer.

I would check out distressed properties along 11th and 12th Street between Logan and Shaw. A lot have owner occupant requirements and 14th Street has so much retail and residential development planned or under construction that homes in the area will likely go up in value.

Langdon is a nice neighborhood that’s safe and quiet. Property values aren’t appreciating as much as everywhere else, but that will change with Rhode Island Station, Costco, Wal-Mart,and Lowes opening up.

My husband and I just bought a fixer-upper in Petworth last year, and we absolutely love it. We’re a 10-min. walk from the Metro, right on a bus line, our neighbors are fantastic, and the trees and greenspaces are wonderful. Don’t worry about appreciation, worry about where you want to live—but that said, I would NOT invest in anything that’s not close to a Metro. It just won’t retain its value as well over the long term.

No where has more neighborhood sense than Capitol Hill ,and H Street is only going to keep improving dramatically which will be very good for investment potential. $500-550,000 wont qualify you for the biggest and best homes here, but you can probably find something with 2 bedrooms and a few years on it.

Previous Best Of 2011 entries:

• Best House for George Washington Impersonators
• Best Green Effort of Year: The Electric Car Charging Station
• The Deal of the Year: The Beautiful Foreclosure
• Best Real Estate Idea (If It Works): Popularise
• Best Real Estate Amenity of 2011: Bathroom Pencil Sharpener
• The Best Listing of the Year For Mere Mortals
• Best (or Worst) New Neighborhood Moniker: Silicon Hill
• Best (And Most Ridiculous) Real Estate Rumor of 2011: R. Kelly Apartment Hunting on Capitol Hill
• The Best Listing of the Year For Well-Paid Lobbyists

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/best_real_estate_question_what_neighborhood_would_you_buy_into/4809

10 Comments

1. 20018homeowner said at 4:49 pm on Tuesday December 20, 2011:

   +1 for Landgon. Also Brookland and Woodridge.

1. Eddy said at 5:01 pm on Tuesday December 20, 2011:

   City of Fairfax.  Great neighborhoods such as CCH and Old Lee Hills that have dedicated and deep civic organizations.  A central location coupled with strong schools and some of the best services in the area.

1. Roy said at 6:03 pm on Tuesday December 20, 2011:

   Parkview is a great option that is still fairly affordable and is situated near two Metro stations (GA-Petworth and CoHi). 

   The development moving south from the Metro along GA is happening and will look even more improved after the Great Streets project is finished as will Sherman Ave with it’s beautification project. 

   Probably the most significant, and less hyped, is the adjacent 11th Street corridor with its unique blend of small retail and entertainment.

1. Nick said at 11:48 am on Wednesday December 21, 2011:

   I would buy in Southwest Waterfront.  Area is clean with less crime than many NW neighborhoods, easy access to 395 & 295, massive redevelopment of the waterfront is planned, there’s metro access, and the price point for units is one of the lowest in DC for a close-in neighborhood.  Biggest drawback: few shops or restaurants until the redevelopment happens.

1. FFXRules said at 12:01 pm on Wednesday December 21, 2011:

   If you want excellent schools, easy access to employment, low crime and metro accessibility, look no further than Merrifield, VA.  Tons of new development at the town center and metro.

1. Over_rated said at 12:02 pm on Wednesday December 21, 2011:

   Capitol Riverfront is the best place to live. A brand new neighborhood and easy access to 395 and 295. A hip, yuppy place and no major crimes. Dog friendly, so many police visibility, close to the navy yard metro, and clean. If you work in northern Virgina or Maryland, and if you despise the red state and the county tax of pg county, the near SE area is the best place to live.

1. Rafael said at 12:05 pm on Wednesday December 21, 2011:

   Well, NW is also the largest quadrant in DC with SW being the smallest, hence less crime. But I agree with SW. I just got a studio (price was too good to pass up, and its almost twice the size of studios across the city) and you’re right, once they start redeveloping the Waterfront, that’s probably going to be a good area to buy, and I agree, the lack of restaurants is kind of a downer. You’d have to go to Chinatown for the nearest bars and restaurants and then again, that’s only 3 stops.

1. Cas said at 1:26 pm on Wednesday December 21, 2011:

   Capitol Riverfront is great but outside of Capitol Hill Tower and Velocity, there are not many options to buy there.  Unless I’m mistaken, the new places going in seem to be apartments, not condos. There are no row homes outside of Capitol Quarter, which is too much most buyers.

   I was really excited about this redevelopment a while back, and I still am excited, but my excitement has been tempered a bit.

1. G said at 11:25 pm on Wednesday December 21, 2011:

   I agree that Southwest Waterfront is clean and accessible to the highways but you really lose any neighborhood feel and as Nick mentioned you give up any restaurants/bars until redevelopment happens.

   For NW I also think NE Columbia Heights is a solid buy and also the southern Petworth near the metro.  There is already a lot of new development, semi-affordable condos and spacious row homes. I’m liking what I’m seeing happening on 11th street and south of the metro on Georgia Ave. 

   Brookland is a nice area to look at -though more quiet- it is quaint and somewhat affordable too

1. Penn Quarter Resident said at 3:24 pm on Monday December 26, 2011:

   For an urban dweller and the ability to participate in and be part of a community that offers more than any other I know of in DC, I chose Penn Quarter in 2005 when I moved from Bethesda after my children finished high school. It’s a nice walk to the Mall, many museums (some of which have free programs every day), theaters, tons of restaurants, some shops including several independent shops, bookstores (then more than now), and more.  It is also the only neighborhood with all Metro lines converging so you can easily take Metro to other neighborhoods plus the highways are accessible via the 9th Street tunnel under the Mall as is Rock Creek Park, the E Street expressway, and Whitehurst Freeway. Within a month of living here, I bought a condo under construction.

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