Ready to purchase a house, wondering since Sterling and Ashburn are literally next to each other where do I get the most house for the dollar spent?

 

Sterling is def more diverse than Ashburn. Diverse meaning, there is a wider range of home prices. It really boils down to your price range and how much extra time are you willing to travel for a 'nicer' area. Ashburn is nice, but you'll pay for it if you are planning on heading down 7 or Waxpool. Traffic in both direction is ridiculous at rush hour.

Personally, i wouldn't travel further than Dulles Town Center because that 7/28 intersection can get ridiculous. The 28/Waxpool intersection gets pretty backed up as well but thankfully they are connecting nokes and the rest of waxpool without having to get on 28.

You would think homes get cheaper as you travel further out but that is far from the truth. There are two country clubs down 7 (Belmont and Landsdown). Also, if you're traveling down waxpool, there are pockets of communities that are pretty ritzy (ie. Brambleton).

Try the pocket that is made up of Cascades Parkway/ Algonikian Pwk / 7. They have some pretty nice homes. The homes are a little older than some of the communities out west, but the area is definitely nice and isn't too far from 7100/7/and 28.

Good Luck and get ready to sign away at least 350k of your life.

 

^^^ I think he just means $/SF price.

So, where can he get the best/biggest/etc house for less money.

 

If sqft is your primary concern, forget Sterling and Ashburn, go to Manassas. That place may be a dump but houses are cheap.

I don't know what the average cost of a square foot in Sterling or Ashburn is. You might want to call a Realtor and ask them. It might be something ridiculous because of all the outliers (1+ million dollar homes). Maybe the median price will be a better metric to go off of.

Before you go off and buy a house, maybe consider the location first and not the cost per sqft. You can always tear down a house or add to it, you can't pick it up and move it (as easily). If you're a family man, I'd go out to Ashburn before staying in Sterling.

 

Leesburg.... 10 mins farther...better bang for your buck, growing and an overall better investment in this market.

Trust the Land Developer on this one. Stay away from Sterling AND Manassas if you care about resale value.

There is a reason Sterling is more "diverse"...same with Manassas....fyi

 

depends, are u buying new? foreclosure?, short sale?

 

As a Real Esate professional, I'll offer my 0.02.

I think well priced homes can be had wherever you go. Certain neighborhoods and subdivisions offer significant bang for your buck. There are nice areas in both Ashburn and Sterling.

If you are looking for a sheer breakdown of average cost per square foot for past sales in the last 12 months:
Ashburn: $185 -3.6%
Sterling: $181 -3.2%

Similar yes, however average home prices in the last 12 months were vastly different:
Ashburn: $359,000 -15.5%
Sterling: $266,500 -2.7%

As you can see home sales prices in Ashburn on average are significanly more than Sterling. With many McMansions and custom built home subdivisions driving the average up that seems logical. What you should look at though is the percent change. That 15.5% dip is huge vs. 2.7%. It tells me that Ashburn's prices have cooled off much more than Sterling's in this market. If you don't mind being further out, it might be a great place for you to really get something spectacular for your money.

Remember that the $8,000 new home buyers tax credit ends December 1, so its time to get crackin'.

If you haven't already, before you even start seriously looking, talk to a lender and see what you can get aproved for -- Gotta get a credit card before you can go shopping.

PM me if you need any further assistance.

 

You guys are lucky...feds are adding so many new jobs in 2010 lots of people are going to be needing a place to live. I have to make my money of DAMN REO's right now.

 

I am curious if the OP made any headway on narrowing down a place to live?