Great Falls, VA is a Great Place to Live

by Karen Briscoe
August 22, 2011

Great Falls, Virginia was declared by CNN Money as the top earning town in the United States for 2011.  One of the reasons for the affluence in Great Falls is that there are no apartments, condominiums or townhouses.  The smallest lot size is a quarter acre, and the majority of homes are built on 2-5 acre parcels.  Further most of Great Falls is on private septic systems and well and without public utilities it is difficult to obtain greater density.  The community feeds into the highly regarded Langley High School, which is consistently ranked in the top tier on the U.S. News Education Gold Medal List.  McLean residents too are well regarded for being affluent, but the community has apartment, condominium and townhouse developments which typically are less expensive then single-family detached housing.

Is it advantageous to own real estate in an area such as Great Falls which is highly populated with upper bracket home-owners?  A strong argument for doing is the halo effect.  By being surrounded by higher valued properties, it brings up the entire neighborhood.  Homeowners with financial means tend to continuously improve their property, expending funds not only on ongoing maintenance but also on landscaping, remodeling and constant upgrading.  These owners are usually current on paying their property taxes and homeowner’s association dues, contributing to the strength of the neighborhoods.  Home owners who invest in their property also typically invest in their community.  For example, the Great Falls community lobbied for a new library, which was built in 2000.  Presently under construction is a fabulous new state of the art firehouse.

The community has a strong newcomers group and events at the Village Centre which contributes to the small town atmosphere in the midst of a large metropolitan area.  Opportunities abound in a community of high rollers.  The newly formed Great Falls Rotary was honored to have Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia as the speaker for their inaugural meeting.  The Great Falls Elementary School offers the highly regarded Japanese Partial Immersion Program.

The CNN Money article appeared on Monday, August 15, 2011 and stated that the median family income of Great Falls as $367,660 and the median home price as $1,090,000.  In the first half of 2011 in Great Falls, the least expensive property sold for $355,000 and the most expensive was $3.8 million.  The link to the CNN Money article is:  http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/moneymag/1108/gallery.best_places_top_earning_towns.moneymag/index.html

The Washington Post followed up with an article the next day with the headline:  Great Falls reflects big windfall:  Breakaway Wealth:  Reaping Riches From Federal Spending and you can read that article at this link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-enclaves-reap-rewards-of-contracting-boom-as-federal-dollars-fuel-wealth/2011/06/27/gIQAWQC5HJ_story.html

The Huckaby Briscoe Conroy Realty Group is intimately familiar with what makes Great Falls great.  Whether looking to buy or sell in the area, Karen Briscoe and Lizzy Conroy would be delighted to be of assistance.  Please contact via the means most convenient for you:  www.HBCRealtyGroup.com, 703-734-0192, Homes@HBCRealtyGroup.com.

Karen Briscoe is Principal of the Huckaby Briscoe Conroy Group (HBC) and author of "Real Estate Success in 5 Minutes a Day". She is an Associate Broker in Virginia, a Certified Luxury Home Market Specialist, and a member of the Women’s Council of Realtors. Karen began her real estate career developing residential lots with the Trammel Crow Company in Dallas, and in commercial real estate with The Staubach Company in the Washington, DC Metro area. Karen has a Masters Degree from Southern Methodist University and her BA from Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri – her hometown.
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