Kantor Residential Agent

Second, the majority of Great Falls is not served by public water and sewer. This means that each home site must locate and dig a potable well in addition to needing the soil and the space that facilities the installation of an individual septic system. In Great Falls, the Fire Station, the Library and even Great Falls Elementary operate on septic.

Third, the income of the area affords expensive housing. According to the IRS figures for Adjusted Gross Income, Great Falls lies in the top 60 zip codes in the United States. Further, it is the only zip code in the Washington, DC metro area to make it into the top 100.

A final reason I believe that this town is at the top of the Golden Zip Codes list is the area feeds into Langley High School, which is part of the acclaimed Fairfax County Public Schools. Langley High School consistently places in the top 100 of America's Best High Schools according to the annual U.S. News and World Report article.

The Sun Gazette, a publication in Northern Virginia, has been annually tracking since 1975 these statistics: the average home sales price, the total number of sales, the total volume of home sales as well as the change year over year of this data. Further included in the chart are the historical and cultural notes of interest for that year. I include this information in the material I present to clients when discussing the "state of the market" and what I predict the future holds. Of course no one knows what the future holds, but by analyzing the past and understanding trends, the clearer the picture often is.

In 36 years, there have been only 11 years which have had a double digit increase in the average sales price of a home. In that same 36 years, there have been only 4 years of negative appreciation in the average sales price of a home. The peak of the 5 straight years of double digit appreciation was in 2005. In 2006 the market was living off of the fumes of 2005, with a flat.1% increase. In 2007 the market was surviving off the fumes of 2006, again with a flat.1% increase. In 2008 and 2009 there were no more fumes as in both years there was a negative change in the average sales price, 14.4% and 6.5% respectively.

The best news of all is that in 2010 the market started on the road to recovery. In 2010 there was an 8.9% positive appreciation in the average sales price. The average sales price at the end of 2010 is greater than it was in 2004, but still a ways to go from the peak. A typical market roller coaster cycle is 7 years. So if we were at peak price in 2005 to 2007, then we should be back up to peak sometime between 2012 and 2014. With the 8.9% positive appreciation documented, it appears we are on track.

Northern Virginia is home to some of the major companies and government contractors in the U.S. These include Boeing, Volkswagen, Verizon, Verisign, Lockheed Martin and Homeland Security among many others. As such, the area boasts of high paying public and private sector jobs and enjoys one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.