How far will your dollar go? The purchasing power of buying a home in Manassas, VA

The Purchasing Power of Manassas Virginia.  How far does your dollar go in Manassas!  A Bargain in The DC Metropolitan Area!  A look at 7279 Canova Forest Court, Manassas VA 20112.

The Northern Virginia market is very divergent on pricing depending upon your location.  It is an obvious well-known fact that pricing is driven by location, location, location; however, long-standing factors that have negatively impacted areas like Manassas are shifting, but price differentials are not keeping up with these changes.  Thus making many areas of Manassas overlooked and incredible bargains.  Let’s take a look at some of the changes that have not yet taken hold of the Manassas marketplace. 

When considering a new home, most families focus on commuting options, schools, and nearby shopping amenities.  Manassas is chock full of shopping and dining amenities, from Costco, Harris Teeter, Walmart, Kohls, Macy’s, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and tons of local options, Manassas has plenty to offer for shopping amenities.  Manassas also is convenient to 3 VRE stations, and numerous park and ride options with access to Washington DC and Crystal City.  Even in traffic, a commuter can reach one of the VRE stations in about 15 minutes or less.  The train ride to DC is about an hour, 50 minutes to Crystal City.  The next largest factor that many home buyers look for are schools. Manassas is huge and encompasses 4 zip codes.  Most of the data for Manassas are in the actual City of Manassas.  This area is approximately 10 square miles and at the time of this blog post does not necessarily have the highest-ranking school scores as reported by www.greatschools.org.  However, if you were to look into Manassas 20112 zip code in Prince William County, you will notice that the area is twice as large as the incorporated City of Manassas and offers some incredible housing options and bargains.  New school options with dynamic programs have recently opened and are creating a buzz in education.  The Charles Colgan High School services much of this area and is becoming a highly sought after school option.  Test score statistics on Greatschools.org reflect scores of 7 and higher for elementary, middle, and high school test scores. 

Here’s a surprising comparison!  Comparing this Manassas home to several highly regarding areas in Fairfax County worth the tremendous premium?  In some cases, the commuting time is only 15 to 20 minutes more each way.  The school test score metric from GreatSchools.org is not a huge differentiating factor.  Is it worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to live closer in?  Maybe it’s time to reconsider some great areas in Manassas!  Please let me know your thoughts!!!