Moving to Reston VA
Are you looking for a community that feels like being on vacation every day, with village centers, a system of walking trails, lots of trees and green space, a ton of neighborhood pools, tennis courts and easy access via public transportation to downtown? Look no further than Reston, Virginia.
Location
Ranked by Money Magazine in 2018 as the best place to live in Virginia, Reston is located in Fairfax County, 22 miles Northwest of Washington. DC. The main arteries into Reston are the Dulles Toll Road or the Fairfax County Parkway. There are other ways to reach Reston but, they involve local roads.
Reston is officially on the Silver Line metro, with two stations.
Reston has 3 different “planning areas.” The Planned Residential Community, Reston Town Center and the Transit Station Area.
North Reston is newer and more expensive than South Reston.
History
Reston was founded in 1964, in response to something called the “Garden City Movement” which was an urban planning design. The goal was to create a satellite community around a large city, which was comprised of residential, commercial and green space. The area of Reston was owned by the Fairfax Family until they sold it in 1852. Carl Wiehle was one of the next owners, and he had a vision for the community but it didn’t come to fruition before his death in 1901. Eventually Robert E. Simon comes along and using money from his family who sold Carnegie Hall, he created Reston.
Fun fact:
Reston gets its name from Robert E. Simon’s initials.
Reston Association
The Reston Association is a master homeowner’s association which oversees everything from pools and recreation to management of design guidelines on what you can do to the outside of your house. Some people love this, but it’s not for everyone to live in a place that’s very managed. The annual fee for this is currently $750, and each household within the Reston Association pays this, in addition to any condo or HOA fees for the community in which they reside.
The Reston Association manages 1300 acres of open space as well, including woodlands, lakes, streams.
There are 15 pools part of the Reston Association. Autumnwood, Dogwood, Glade, Golf Course Island, Hunters Woods, Lake Audubon, Lake Newport Pool, Newbridge, North Hills, North Shore, Ridge Heights, Tall Oaks, Uplands. Shadowood and Lake Thoreau are being renovated.
There are areas in Reston but not part of the Reston Association. Deepwood HOA has 343 townhomes and 6 single family homes here, and they have their own pool. They pay their own HOA dues but not the Reston Association dues. Another is Fox Mill Woods, which has their own Swim & Tennis Club.
Real Estate
Reston has 5 village centers – Lake Anne, Hunter’s Woods, Tall Oaks, South Lakes and North Point and within each village center there are neighborhood clusters. If you love architecture, Reston is definitely for you! Most of the homes have a Mid-Century or a 70s Contemporary vibe and have remained unchanged since they were built. The master Reston Association and individual sub-associations have very strict guidelines which have preserved the charm of the homes. It is one of the things we love most about Reston!
Single family detached homes can start in the $600,000’s and go into the mid $1M’s, but about half of the homes are in the $800,000 to $1.1M price range. Townhomes range anywhere from the $300,000’s on the low end up to $1M but most of them are in the $400,000 to $800,000 range. There are also a lot of condos in Reston, the majority of which are in the $200,000 to $600,000 range.
Homes that are waterfront fetch much higher prices than the other homes in the Reston clusters. There are single family homes, townhomes, and condos that are waterfront. This is one of the factors that contributes to such a wide range of pricing. One of the other factors that affects pricing in Reston is whether or not the townhomes or single family homes have a garage. Because the original Reston clusters are mostly older communities, garages weren’t a “must have” then and so anything with a garage tends to cost more. Also suburban buyers tend to be focused more on homes with garages so this creates more demand for those homes. This is also true because of electric cars pushing the demand up for private parking spaces for overnight charging and unfortunately, the Reston association hasn’t budged much on allowing homeowners to install electric charging stations outside of their garages or next to their assigned parking spaces.
The condos in Reston have such a broad range in sales price due to the high condo fees that are associated with certain communities and also if they are waterfront or water view. Many of the older condo communities in Reston have condo fees that exceed $600 per month. When condo fees are higher, appreciation tends to be stunted because it affects a buyer’s purchasing power if they are using financing. Investors also look at this because it cuts into their bottom line. The newer condo buildings generally cluster around Reston Town Center and have more walkability to restaurants, shopping, and entertainment so many buyers coming from Arlington, Old Town Alexandria, and DC find these condos very desirable and more familiar to their way of life. This in turn creates more interest and increases competition for these units.
The walkability factor also affects the single family homes and townhomes. The closer you are to the village centers or Reston Town Center, the more the demand will be for your home. Reston has done such an excellent job marrying walkability and green space.
Conclusion
There’s so much more to love about Reston. Check out our Lifestyle video which covers food, fun and family life in Reston Virginia!
