So, we are out in Herndon, Virginia, and I am back doing my driving tours. I have Camila, my assistant, helping agent, and navigator with me. I really want to get you guys a good look at Herndon, Virginia, which I think is a sleeper town. A lot of people ask me about it, but then they don't move here because they don't know much about it. Just driving around here, this is the city of Herndon. Let's check out the main library right there. I like to take you guys on a tour like it's my first time seeing it, so I can help you learn about it. (0:00)
Intro
Do you know much about Herndon? A little bit. You're not from here, right? Like me. But I've lived around here. You have a lot of these townhomes right here, which is really cool because as you and I were just talking about while driving around, there's a ton of people walking around. It seems like a really active place. There are people walking and riding bikes. You've got the Herndon Senior Center. I would expect these townhouses to be pretty expensive, maybe $600,000 to $800,000. I would say some of these townhouses start at $500,000 and go up to $800,000 because the location here is killer. You're super close to Reston and Tysons as well. (0:40)
Right here, a bus just went by us. You have buses here, and you also have the Metro, which we're going to show you guys as well. What I really like about this is you see some old-school 50s, 60s, and 70s houses, and then you have mansions right here for probably $1.5 million. We recently had an open house at a home in Herndon, and the agent told me 25 people came on the very first day. People say our market is down, but you can see bike lanes right here, making it an active community. You've got 70s and 80s houses on the right, and on the left, newer houses from the 2000s. This is old-school Americana—everyone has the American flag out and nice front porches. (1:30)
Not What You Expect
Now we're coming into the city center. You have all kinds of different housing options. This is where the city government is, some shopping, a nonprofit thrift store, and some really cute little shops. There's Japanese and Korean cuisine, and an Italian restaurant. Today is July 5th, so after July 4th there probably isn't much going on, but there are usually farmers markets and different events all the time. Sometimes the buildings get pretty old, but they've done a good job mixing in new shops. Here are some townhouses with rear-car garages. With the big shopping center to our left, if you lived here, you could get away with not having a car. (2:29)
If you're in your twenties, are you going to be able to walk to a nightclub? Probably not. But Anita's is right here—that place is so good. Every time we have a graduation party or something, we have them cater. You can walk around, I see more buses driving. We have Luciano's, a great pizza place. It almost feels like we aren't in Northern Virginia because everything in Northern Virginia is usually so boxy. (3:38)
The Metro Factor
Coming up here, I want to take you guys over by the Metro. This is relatively new and is a game changer for home values. If you can be anywhere near a Metro system, it's massive for potential home value. I don't foresee them doing more Metro expansion for a long time because it costs billions of dollars. The Silver Line project out here to Reston and Ashburn went on for decades. Because people eventually won't want to use cars as much, especially with robotaxis on the way, living near the Metro is huge. You can jump right on the Metro and ride to Dulles Airport, which isn't a bad ride at all. (4:48)
The Price Reality
Going into downtown DC from here on the Metro would probably take about 30 to 45 minutes. Keep in mind, traffic around here is going to be pretty bad, so that's something you'll want to think about if you move to Herndon and have to commute. There's another shopping center with a Fresh World and tons of big-box grocery stores. We're heading towards the Metro, so I'm seeing a lot of shopping centers. If you're someone trying to get into a starter home, it's still going to be pretty expensive over here in Herndon. The average sales price is maybe $600,000 to $700,000. (5:48)
Franklin Farm is a really popular neighborhood nearby, and those homes are going to be in the $1 to $2 million range. One thing I would consider is if you think Herndon is too expensive and you don't need to be near the Metro, you should check out Manassas or Centreville. They're going to be a little bit cheaper, but not by a massive amount. (6:35)
Growth Has Limits
You can tell there's a lot of mature growth here—all the trees are high. If you go to Ashburn, Haymarket, or Gainesville, you just see buildings and houses because there are no mature trees. That's why I like it around here. If you're into that established look and don't mind older housing, this is definitely a great spot. Right here we're crossing over Route 267 (the Dulles Toll Road), which can take you down towards Tysons or back towards Chantilly and Dulles Airport. (7:09)
Because there is no land left for new single-family housing, what they are doing a lot of here in Northern Virginia is building these massive, four-level townhouses. Those are probably going to run $800,000 to a million dollars. (7:38)
Jobs Drive Demand
A lot of people that work in Herndon are going to be tech people or government contractors. What are the biggest employers here? You have Amazon Web Services, Lockheed Martin, ManTech, and Boeing's Defense, Space & Security. Amazon Web Services also owns a lot of the data centers. You've got Cisco Systems too. Salaries here are up there, probably averaging around $125,000, and the average household income is likely $170,000 to $180,000. Over by Reston, you also have Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos's space company. (8:09)
There are some apartments right over here with one-to-two bedrooms. Rent is definitely expensive here. My navigator Camila lives in Reston, and rent can easily be around $3,200. Reston is really close to here; it only takes about 10 to 15 minutes to commute. Reston has the Reston Station Metro and Reston Town Center, which is a really fun area, though it tends to close a bit early for the younger nightlife crowd. (8:31)
The Commute Test
We just drove maybe 3 miles, and now we're at the Herndon Metro Station. I can actually see some of the buildings from Reston right over there. Here's the parking garage, the Kiss & Ride, and the buses. You could easily ride the Metro and then jump on a bus to keep going. There are plenty of people that ride this into DC to go to the Kennedy Center or Capital One Arena. You really don't strictly need a car if you structure your commute right, but for everyday life, you probably still want one. (9:58)
The Hidden Cost
One thing I can tell you about Route 267 and driving in Northern Virginia is the E-ZPass situation. We have HOT lanes, and Route 267 is the privately-owned Dulles Toll Road. It can be pretty expensive to drive around here if you want to cut through traffic. The toll prices fluctuate based on how bad traffic is at the moment, so it can get pricey. I've had trips from DC back to my house that ran almost $70 in tolls. (11:11)
The Expensive Pocket
If you're not from Virginia, keep in mind that most of these houses are going to have basements, making them three levels. The neighborhood we're driving into now is called Franklin Farm. We recently sold a home nearby for $2 million, and the crazy part is it had multiple offers. We were still able to negotiate the inspection and appraisal, but the demand is intense. The buyers wanted to stay in Herndon specifically for the school system and the community feel, and they didn't want to leave. (12:38)
The Lifestyle Case
The W&OD Trail goes right up through downtown Herndon. It's a 45-mile paved trail that is incredibly popular for walking, running, and biking. The schools here are really good too. You have Herndon High School, and Fairfax County Public Schools is one of the largest and highly-rated school districts in the United States. They also have Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology nearby, which is one of the best well-known magnet schools in the country. (15:02)
There are also a lot of great breweries in Herndon. If you have a young family, this can be a fantastic spot. Some of the houses here are going to run $1.2 to $1.3 million, so it requires a strong household income. When COVID happened, a lot of people moved to Texas and Florida, but nearly every one of my clients moved back. They missed the people in Northern Virginia, the active lifestyle, being close to DC, and they actually found the traffic and pace of life down south frustratingly slow compared to here. Here in Northern Virginia, things move fast. (16:16)
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this driving tour. If you're looking to move here, we can definitely drive you around and show you houses. It doesn't cost you anything as a buyer for us to show you different options. Sometimes buyers think they want a single-family home, but realize their budget only affords a smaller one. Then we show them a brand new, luxury four-level townhouse with a huge primary suite, and they change their minds. We have all kinds of choices here. Thanks for watching, and definitely hit that subscribe button! If you want to talk about moving here, email me at info@colganteam.com. (18:55)
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