Reston vs. Herndon (Centreville, Chantilly, Oakton: appointed, real estate, 2015)

[LLD]

I'm looking at real estate ads and having a time assessing where the boundary is exactly between Reston and Herndon and the more desirable parts of both cities are.

My general observations are that Reston is more desirable than Herndon primarily because it is closer in and more of a planned community. There are many single family homes in various subdivisions in Herndon for $400K or less. There are only a few in that price range in Reston. And the ones that exist in Reston seem to mostly be south of the toll road but I think better access than living north of Reston town center which seems to me to be almost as far as many parts of Herndon are.

What do people think of the neighborhoods just south of the toll road and to the east of 7100? That seems like a good location to me. Now farther off the toll road, say in Fox Mill Estates that seems pretty far to me and the less desirable neighborhood.

I can see the Reston is both north and south of the toll road but Herndon seems to be mostly north of the toll road.

Is McNair Farms in Herndon or Reston? It seems like a nice neighborhood for townhouses but if I'm looking at things correctly it is south of the toll road east of 28.

I'm wondering if all the houses in Herndon that are close to Dulles will appreciate once the Silver Line is in. That goes for some of the older neighborhoods in Reston too that are closer to the toll road also.

[dullnboring]

McNair Farms is in Herndon, but outside of the town limits. The Dulles Toll Road actually serves more or less as the southern boundary for incorporated town of Herndon. It's a perfectly nice community. It's located right off of Centreville Road which turns into Elden Street, the main street in the town of Herndon, and you're around three minutes from Route 28. The quickest way to get to it is Frying Pan Road, a two lane road in need of expansion.

The neighborhood south of the Toll Road and east of 7100 is right by the U.S. Geological Survey and actually is the location of Dogwood Elementary School which is the worst school in Reston and one of the poorest-performing in Northern Virginia. Truthfully, I've never actually driven back down the local roads into that community because I never had a need to, but I'd imagine given that knowledge that it probably isn't the greatest community. Don't get me wrong, there are no ghettoes in Reston by any means, but it's probably an area that's just a little bit grungier and rundown with more petty crime than most. I may be wrong but I don't think there's much of a difference between "north Reston" and "south Reston". Both have some parts with subdivision full of palatial homes, and some parts of somewhat older gritty townhouse complexes. I would say the further north and the further south you go, the larger the homes, and the less planned it seems. It seems more like generic suburban sprawl the further out you go.

Due to the fact that there are few incorporated towns and cities in Northern Virginia, but rather just lots of CDPs (Census Designated Places) classified by zip codes, it's sort of hard to pinpoint specific boundaries of communities. I would say the border between Herndon and Reston is loosely defined by the Fairfax County Parkway (to the west is Herndon, east is Reston). This holds true all the way until the Parkway hits Fox Mill and then Lawyers Road, at which point, those communities west are Herndon and east is Reston (i.e. Fox Mill, Franklin Farm). All of these areas below the Dulles Toll Road on the Herndon side are unincorporated parts of Herndon. I'm not sure where exactly the unincorporated part of Herndon ends and the unincorporated community of Chantilly begins. Maybe Lees Corner Road? But then at some point going up so far on Lees Corner, suddenly on one side of the road you have unincorporated Fairfax. I don't know. It's confusing.

I definitely think that the properties closest to the Silver Line will appreciate in value, but it will take some time for them to do so. At the moment, I believe they're looking at a 2015 completion date, and that's IF things finish on schedule which they rarely do.

[saganista]

This is the latest Census map of Herndon's town limits. Gives you some idea most of the way around...


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...rginia_CDP.png

[LLD]

Thanks for the userful info DNB. Hard to imagine a neighborhood being gritty with $400K houses. :-)

Of course my best bet will be to check things out in person and get a feel for some of the various parts of Reston and maybe some of the more eastern parts of Herndon. I just find it really interesting that Herndon and Reston are basically right next to each other and that there are many houses in Herndon in the the $350-400K range and only a few in Reston. I just wonder why a few miles makes such a big difference.

And then it floors me to see townhouses for $400-450K and they don't look better to me than the single family homes -- a few maybe that are newer. But I wonder how people can ask $425K for a townhouse when there are single family houses to be had for the same price within a couple of miles.

[dullnboring]

Originally Posted by LLD

Thanks for the userful info DNB. Hard to imagine a neighborhood being gritty with $400K houses. :-)

Crazy ain't it? Gritty is probably a poor word choice on my part though. The bad parts of Herndon and Reston are a step above gritty. Perhaps "a bit unkempt and dated-looking" would be a better description.

Of course my best bet will be to check things out in person and get a feel for some of the various parts of Reston and maybe some of the more eastern parts of Herndon. I just find it really interesting that Herndon and Reston are basically right next to each other and that there are many houses in Herndon in the the $350-400K range and only a few in Reston. I just wonder why a few miles makes such a big difference.

I remember this subject traversed a few times in the past so I'd recommend doing a search here on the Virginia forum for Herndon and reading up. The gist of it though is that in addition to the distance factor in between the two places, Herndon's name conjures up a certain image to some people. When people think of Reston, they tend to think of the high-tech businesses surrounding the Toll Road, the Reston Town Center, and the manmade lakes. When people think of Herndon, the first thing that comes to mind is the day laborer issue from the other year. It's not exactly fair, but as you'll see if you do a search on Herndon, many people associate Herndon with illegal immigration so a lot of people have an aversion to settling in the town of Herndon and therefore, the housing prices are a bit cheaper. Not to mention, Herndon tends to have a larger stock of smaller homes than Reston does.

And then it floors me to see townhouses for $400-450K and they don't look better to me than the single family homes -- a few maybe that are newer. But I wonder how people can ask $425K for a townhouse when there are single family houses to be had for the same price within a couple of miles.

Yeah I'm not really sure what's that about. The most likely culprit would be the schools that the homes are zoned into and parents willing to pay more money for less house provided it sends their kids to a better-performing school, but that's just speculation on my part.

[saganista]

In some sense, townhouses and detached SFH's are two separate markets. Though not to everyone, there is an at least sizable segment of buyers to whom the one is not an acceptable substitute for the other. You have people who are looking for a townhouse only and people who are looking for a detached SFH only. That opens the door to what might appear to be incongruous pricing. But if you're a young couple intent on finding a decent backyard for kids you don't even have yet to play in, a townhouse isn't going to be on the charts. And if you're an empty-nester who's tired of either doing or paying for all the work that comes with an SFH yard and trees and so forth, then a nice townhouse is all that you're looking for...

[LLD]

Sure saganista -- people look for what fits their needs but generally single family homes are more expensive than comparable townhomes.

DNB, I did read some of the earlier threads on Herndon and noticed the "issue" with immigrants or illegal immigrants etc. That's not an issue to me. I just look at how neighborhoods are generally kept. And I've seen various older neighborhoods in different areas that are quite well kept. Schools aren't an issue for me since my son is grown but I would look at that from a resale value perspective.

There seems to be an interesting dynamic going on between Herndon and Reston and whether things are north or south of 267 also. Then of course the most desirable neighborhoods for families with good schools also are affecting things as you mentioned. I'll obviously have to do my homework and check a variety of factors.

[New Hampshire]

Originally Posted by LLD

Sure saganista -- people look for what fits their needs but generally single family homes are more expensive than comparable townhomes.

I agree with saganista. These are two separate markets, and at least along the East Coast, townhouses are often more expensive than single family homes if for no other reason than they are usually built in downtown areas on higher-priced land.

[SlimmyT]

Welp....

My hubby and I just moved to North Reston, but we are extremely close to the Herndon border.Coming from Miami, I thought there would be more of a distinction...But, it's all relative. Had I known, I would have bought in Herndon to save some cash.

My own observation is that Reston is fairly updated, because of all the commerce and businesses in the area. Yuppy central. Herdon is a little "rougher around the edges", because of a larger immigrant population and more dated surroundings.

But, honestly...None of that is worth mentioning. These factors don't deter properties from going up in value---and I think as these two communities grow, they will converge.

Immigrants make an area interesting and more diverse area. And to say that there is any real crime...Well, I'm from Miami...I find all these areas to be quiet and quaint for the most part.

We live off of Walnut Branch, and my neighborhood has some older townhomes in the upper 370's and some gorgeous single family homes in the millions. It's a nice mix of both.

[LLD]

Hmm.... I couldn't find Walnut Branch on the map. But after driving around Reston and looking at lots of the things available in the $350-500K range I have to say I was fairly disappointed. There were a few things that were very nice but most wasn't in that price range.

You can get more for your money in Herndon but it doesn't have the same reputation as Reston apparently and just as anywhere some neighborhoods are more desirable than others. But I think you are right about the areas merging at some point. It does seem really weird to me to have parts of Herndon "below" or south parts of southern Reston.

Now that I have looked at the areas and surroundings, have to say that Reston has not adjusted their prices like the rest of Fairfax County. You can get lots more for your money, more updates and newer places in Herndon, Fair Lakes, Fair Oaks, Greenbriar... and even in Loudon County in Ashburn, Brambleton, and some of Sterling too.

I agree with you about the lines blurring between Reston and Herndon and that was obvious while driving around and looking at property also. There are $700K houses in Herndon too. But Reston does seem to hold its property values a bit more but I think they are going to have to adjust. Just too many options surrounding them.

I love what I call the "Berkeley" feel of Reston but I can't pay $100K more for that feeling and old properties that haven't been updated and unfortunately too many places where there were unkempt neighboring properties that turned me away from the properties I was interested in. See my other thread about "real estate experinces in Reston/Oakton."