What are the Golden Zip Codes?
Each year, Washingtonian Magazine publishes a list of the top 50 neighborhoods in and around Washington D.C. by the median sales price of homes. This allows the reader to determine the areas of Washington D.C., Northern Virginia, and suburban Maryland with the highest concentrations of affluent households.
Great Falls, Virginia -- zip code 22066 has topped the list for several years running and in the May 2008 issue of Washingtonian Magazine, its 2007 median sales price of $1,112,500 again places Great Falls as the frontrunner of fancy homes.
How has the housing market slump affected these priciest areas? In other words, are the Northern Virginia "Golden Zip Codes" losing their luster?
Here's a chart of the top 10 neighborhoods in Northern Virginia by median price of home sales in 2007:
|
Neighborhood and Zip Code |
Median Sales Price |
Number of Sales |
|||
|
2007 |
2006 |
% Change |
2007 |
% Change |
|
|
Great Falls 22066 |
$1,112,500 |
$1,150,000 |
-3% |
240 |
8% |
|
McLean 22101 |
$870,000 |
$870,000 |
0% |
459 |
-3% |
|
Fairfax Station 22039 |
$813,000 |
$850,000 |
-4% |
201 |
-8% |
|
North Arlington 22207 |
$745,000 |
$739,950 |
1% |
499 |
3% |
|
Vienna 22182 |
$730,000 |
$744,923 |
-2% |
322 |
-8% |
|
Westover 22205 (Arlington) |
$659,407 |
$638,957 |
3% |
218 |
-16% |
|
Vienna 22181 |
$637,000 |
$647,500 |
-2% |
237 |
-6% |
|
Rossyln 22209 (Arlington) |
$625,000 |
$512,000 |
22% |
178 |
21% |
|
Clifton 20124 |
$617,500 |
$649,000 |
-5% |
190 |
-6% |
|
Fort Hunt 22308 |
$610,849 |
$624,000 |
-2% |
185 |
-6% |
Let's compare these numbers with the overall statistics for Northern Virginia 2007 versus 2006:
2007 Median Sales Price $460,000 2006 Median Sales Price $470,000
% Change -2.13%
2007 Number of Sales 19,363
% Change -13.47%
From this comparison, it is quite apparent that the Golden Zip Codes are faring much better than the overall market. 6 of these 10 zip codes experienced slight dips in median price. Sales were down in all but three of the zip codes, but not as drastically as in the larger market.
One zip code, 22209 -- the Rosslyn area of Arlington stands apart from the rest. With a 22% price increase and 21% rise in sales, the Rosslyn area is clearly booming. This is due in large part to the construction of several new luxury condominiums in the last year.
Interestingly, all zip codes from Arlington that appear on this chart actually experienced sales price increases over the past year. Contrary to popular belief, prices are not falling everywhere. Read Roller Coaster of Real Estate: Northern Virginia Home Prices are NOT in Freefall (except maybe in Prince William County)
If you're thinking about going for gold and purchasing a home in one of these Northern Virginia neighborhoods, click on some of the links below to view samples of current home inventory (around the median price) in each zip code:
GREAT FALLS: 6 BEDROOM 4 BATHROOM COLONIAL ON 2.5 ACRES
MCLEAN: 4 BEDROOM 4 BATHROOM IN CHESTERBROOK WOODS
FAIRFAX STATION: 5 BEDROOM 2.5 BATHROOM COLONIAL ON 1/2 ACRE CUL-DE-SAC
NORTH ARLINGTON: 4 BEDROOM 2 BATHROOM ALL BRICK COLONIAL
VIENNA 22182: 5 BEDROOM 2.5 BATHROOM ON MORE THAN 1/2 ACRE
WESTOVER: 4 BEDROOM 2.5 BATHROOM SPLIT FOYER HOME
VIENNA 22181: 4 BEDROOM 3.5 BATHROOM TOWNHOUSE
ROSSLYN: 2 BEDROOM 2.5 BATHROOM PENTHOUSE CONDO AT THE ATRIUM
CLIFTON: 4 BEDROOM 4.5 BATHROOM LITTLE ROCKY RUN TUDOR
FORT HUNT: 5 BEDROOM 3 BATHROOM SPLIT FOYER HOME
The luster is still shining bright on these Golden Zip Codes!
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Thanks for sharing. I love to follow the Northern Virginia statistics! They have held the prices pretty well up until now. It will be an interesting to see how the year ahead will finish out.