Del Ray:
Virginia's Small Town Near the Big City

• November 3, 2008
• 2 Comments

by Mark Wellborn

Borders: Jefferson Davis Highway, Braddock Road, Russell Road, East Glebe Road
ZIP code(s): 22301, 22305
Pricing data: Del Ray real estate (Redfin)
Map: Click here for interactive Google Map

Porches in Del Ray by Dan Reed

The Del Ray area in Alexandria, Virginia has an eclectic, artistic vibe that gives it the feel of a small town in Vermont or northern California. With its single-level bungalows, small boutique specialty shops and lack of chain stores and high-rise condos, Del Ray seems slightly out of place just miles from the DC border. This uniqueness makes residents enthusiastic and proud of their colorful little enclave.

Demographics

33 percent of the households in Del Ray have children and 80 percent of the properties on the market are single family homes. The median household income is $66,500, and forty percent of the residents are between the ages of 20 and 40. Del Ray has seen an influx of artists in recent years, and the Art on the Avenue fall festival attracts tens of thousands of people each year.

Property Prices

The current median list price for a single-family home in Del Ray is about $452,000, according to Redfin, but the row houses and bungalows that the area is known for are generally in the $500,000 to $600,000 range. Below we look at two properties that fit the latter price point.

There is a three-bedroom, 2.5-bath farmhouse on the market for $549,900. The house at 125 Clifford Avenue was built in 1920 and many of the original features have been preserved. The home has a fenced-in backyard and a wrap-around deck with a built-in gas grill. It is a short walk to many of the shops on Mount Vernon Avenue. For the full listing, click here.
There is a three-bedroom, one-bath bungalow at 306 Clifford Avenue on the market for $539,900. It features hardwood floors, a new kitchen, as well as a front porch and fenced-in yard. The driveway is large enough for three cars. For the full listing, click here.

Art Deco Architecture by Jennifer Sale

Market Fundamentals

In addition to the 1920s bungalows like the one mentioned above, Del Ray’s other notable architecture is seen in the art-deco row houses along the area’s main drag Mount Vernon Avenue, (“The Avenue” to residents). There are no high-rise condos in Del Ray, but in recent years investors have purchased older buildings near the main shopping district and turned them into small five and six-unit condos.

Brian Block, who has been selling real estate in the area since 2002, revealed two very telling statistics to UrbanTurf about the properties that have sold in Del Ray this year: 1) Most have sold within 95 to 98 percent of their listing price and 2) About 80 percent have sold within 45 days of being on the market.

“If you look at other areas in northern Virginia, homes are on the market for an average of 90 days,” Block told UrbanTurf. “There is still quite a bit of demand for Del Ray.”

Block also noted that the average sale price this year was about $615,000 for a single-family home, but that townhouses were selling for $400,000. 

“With the bungalows in Del Ray you probably need to put in some work, but not a whole lot of cosmetic changes need to be made,” Block said. “There are opportunities for people that want to invest, largely because people have lived in these houses for years and have not done any renovation.” 

Yoga in Daily Life by Jennifer Sale

Insider Tips

There is not a lot of development going on in Del Ray, but just to the west of Route 1 is Potomac Yards, a huge mixed-use retail, office and residential complex. Residential projects are still being built at Potomac Yards (The Eclipse at Center Park was completed this summer) and there will be 1,700 residential units once all the projects are complete.

The Del Ray farmer’s market at Mount Vernon and Oxford Avenue runs every Saturday from April to December. While the market is small, it serves as a meeting place that residents can catch up with one another while picking up locally grown fruits and vegetables.

A current resident of Del Ray told UrbanTurf that one of the most valuable things about her home is its close proximity to Mount Vernon Avenue. She said that the main street in Del Ray is filled with specialty food shops, yoga studios, gyms and coffee houses, and being able to walk there makes her life much more comfortable when she gets home from work.

Evening Star Cafe

Parking & Transportation

While most of the houses in Del Ray come with a private parking area, street parking is plentiful both on the side streets as well as main streets like Mount Vernon Avenue.

The Del Ray neighborhood is serviced by the blue and yellow Metro lines at the Braddock Road station, about a fifteen-minute walk from the heart of the neighborhood. The trip to Gallery Place takes about twenty minutes.

Bottom Line

In many ways, Del Ray seems perfect. It has a small town feel, but is twenty minutes from the heart of DC. There is not a Starbucks or Whole Foods on Mount Vernon Avenue, and instead the street is full of a diverse group of local shops and restaurants that cater to your every need. And the homes, while small and probably in need of some work down the road, offer a level of character that is not often found in an era of luxury condos and McMansions.

Quick Answers

Noise Level
Very Quiet

Desirable Streets to Live On
Clifford Avenue, Mount Vernon Avenue

Neighborhood Picks

Best Place to Spoil Your Dog — Barkley Square, 2006 Mount Vernon Avenue
Best Name for a Butcher — Lets Meat on the Avenue, 2403 Mount Vernon Avenue
Best Place for Wisconsin-style Frozen Custard — The Dairy Godmother, 2310 Mount Vernon Avenue
Best Place to Achieve Enlightenment — Yoga in Daily Life, 1310 Mount Vernon Avenue
Best Place for Cheeses that You Can’t Get at Safeway — Cheesetique, 2411 Mount Vernon Avenue

Photos & Resources

• Del Ray Citizen’s Association — A website that covers events, businesses and the government of Del Ray.
• Del Ray Artisans — A site devoted to promoting the artistic community of Del Ray.

2 Comments

1. Kristina Robertson said at 11:37 pm on Wednesday November 5, 2008:

   I just wanted to say that I am honored that my shop was considered the place to go to spoil their pets. 

   Thank you….

1. Wib Middleton said at 5:51 pm on Friday December 11, 2009:

   We may want to move here from Sedona Az in the near future. Looks very sweet and wonderful. We are artists/designer folks who have a small design biz out here.

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