Thinking Of Renting When You Come To Fort Belvoir Or NGA? Let Me Be Candid With You
This is absolutely true all over Northern Virginia. And when you closer to the Beltway, the prices go up even more.
I had a call recently from a prospective renter who was returning to the ALEXANDRIA VA area after having been away for a few years. She knew exactly what neighborhood she was interested in, but utterly shell shocked when I told her the current prices were almost a $1,000 a month more than they were when she left. And she had not been gone that long!
The ALEXANDRIA VA RENTAL MARKET is not for the faint of heart. It is definitely a landlord's market and while a prospective tenant is taking his or her time "thinking about it," several other applications are piling in.
We hear a lot of talk about it being a "buyer's market" in Northern Virginia. That may or may not be true depending on where you want to live. But without a doubt it has become a Landlord's market when it comes to rentals close to Fort Belvor or the new NGA facilty in Springfield.
At least two or three times a week I get an email request from someone relocating to the area. They want a reasonable commute to Fort Belvoir, NGA or access to public transportation to DC. Easy enough to do. Then the hard part or perhaps the reality part hits. Most often they want a a 3 or 4 bedroom detached home with a garage for under $2000 a month. Unfortunately reality is the rental prices for a detached homes meeting this criteria starts closer to $2300 and more likely will be $2500 or more per month.
The reaction is always the same...ouch...okay I cleaned it up a bit but the reality is landlord's are taking a look at the explosive growth and saying GOTCHA. Recently I talked to one of my clients who has been in the same rental for 3 years. They asked to renew their lease for another year and the landlord wanted them to increase their rent by almost $500 per month to stay. Sure enough when I ran the comps for them that was close to the current rent for other properties in the same neighborhood. They worked out solution but it was a shock to them how much prices had gone up.
If you are coming to the Fort Belvoir or NGA you need to be prepared. If you increase your commute time you will have better luck finding a nice home in Prince William County at the $2000 price point. If you want to stay close to your new job then take a deep breath and be prepared for rental sticker shock.
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If you are interested in learning more about the Northern Virginia Real Estate market including Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax and Prince William Counties give Cindy Jones a call at 703-346-2213. No hassle, no pressure just straight talk about the local real estate market from a no nonsense point of view.
Check out www.varealestatetalk.com and www.cjrealtygroup.com for more information.
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