Buy Alexandria Real Estate: May 2011

"all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average."
-- Garrison Keillor on Lake Wobegon

Nobody want to be just average.  Nobody wants to have just average children.  And nobody wants to buy the "average home."

Yet, everyone buying or selling a home wants to know the average home prices in the areas that interest them.  While real estate is extremely hyper-local, just getting an idea of prices in a particular area can be helpful.  Home prices vary greatly from one locality to the next.

Here's a quick and easy guide to the average prices in different cities and towns in Northern Virginia -- note that within each of these areas prices can vary widely depending upon particular neighborhood.  Thus, this is a general guide just to prices within these Northern Virginia cities and towns.  Average prices can also be misleading sometimes because of one or two very high priced or low priced homes that are outside the norm for that particular area.

This analysis is broken down for you by type of home -- detached single family, townhouse, and condo.  You should also note that these averages are based on MRIS data of currently listed homes.  The data does not include for sale by owner properties, and does not necessarily indicate the prices for which these homes will eventually sell.  The numbers are meant to give you a general landscape of the different average prices by jurisdiction.

ALEXANDRIA

Detached         $901,850
Townhouse       $705,686
Condo             $309,154

ANNANDALE

Detached          $608,058
Townhouse       $352,580
Condo              $174,657

ARLINGTON

Detached          $1,057,547
Townhouse         $665,272
Condo               $451,925

BURKE

Detached          $544,145
Townhouse       $329,984
Condo             $216,554

FAIRFAX

Detached        $676,610
Townhouse      $435,582
Condo            $273,029

FALLS CHURCH

Detached        $856,041
Townhouse     $481,594
Condo           $421,157

MCLEAN

Detached       $2,196,951 * (when subtracting out 5 most expensive homes, avg. price is still $1.97M)
Townhouse       $907,616
Condo             $512,932

RESTON

Detached        $660,995
Townhouse     $420,274
Condo           $300,718

SPRINGFIELD

Detached       $514,099
Townhouse    $371,923
Condo           $210,855

You can certainly see the disparity between the different locations.  Use this as a handy guide to helping you choose where to purchase your next home.  The average home in McLean is obviously very different from the average home in Springfield.  Condos in Arlington are much more pricey than condos in Fairfax (on average).

Of course, for a more detailed pricing guide broken down to a more micro level including zip codes or particular neighborhoods, feel free to contact me anytime.