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Loudoun shows large growth rate in housing
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Loudoun County (Map, News) - The number of housing units steadily increased across the Washington region between 2000 and 2006, with Loudoun County posting a whopping 58 percent growth rate, fifth in the nation, according to Census data being released today.
The District of Columbia as well as jurisdictions in Maryland and parts of Virginia experienced modest gains during the six-year time frame. Yet the increases were nowhere near as dramatic as Loudoun’s jump from 62,160 housing units in 2000 to 98,391 last year.
Jill Landsman, a spokeswoman for the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors, said what makes the Virginia county stand out is its combination of a booming population of highly educated, upwardly mobile residents and relatively affordable housing prices.
“Loudoun’s really the new frontier,” Landsman said, adding that professionals living there can easily commute to neighboring counties. “It makes it a very realistic suburb-to-surburb lifestyle.”
In Fairfax — whose residents have the highest median income in the nation — the number of housing units increased from 359,411 in 2000 to 390,684 units six years later, a leap of 9 percent. Increases in Arlington and Prince William counties’ total housing unit numbers were much lower, at 3.6 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively, during the same time frame.
Landsman said that particularly in Arlington, the county’s proximity to the nation’s capital makes it an extremely desirable place to live. However, housing prices remain on the higher end.
Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland also saw noticeable spikes in housing. Montgomery’s unit numbers have increased 7.5 percent and Prince George’s 5 percent in six years.
In D.C., the approximately 8,000 new housing units added between 2000 and 2006 tend to be multifamily rentals because of the city’s lack of vacant land, according to Urban Institute researcher Peter Tatian.
dlevitz@dcexaminer.com
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6:54 PM MST on Fri., Sep. 14, 2007 re: "Loudoun shows large growth rate in housing"
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1:47 PM MST on Wed., Sep. 12, 2007
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Blaze Star said:
Anybody goofy enough to commute two hours!!!!!! each way just to have a house with plastic siding and an attic that won't support Grandma's trunk is probably the same person that took out a variable rate loan and I'm supposed to bail them out with my tax money. Next time buy a rambler in Falls Church you greedy so and so!!!!!!!
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Loudoun resident said:
Families who move to Loudoun County lured by the glossy ads of builders and realtors alike, quickly learn the three 'T's: traffic/taxes/too much growth! Due to a combination of poor planning with too much residential and not enough businesses, much of Loudoun has turned into one big bedroom community. Without an adequate commercial tax base, residents are thus left to subsidize developer profits in the form of high taxes. After all, someone has to pay for the high cost of too rapid growth: roads, public services and especially schools are very expensive. And thanks to a 5-member Board majority who persist in perpetuating this imbalance, developers continue to reap the profits. Like Examiner Reader commented, the only way to make things better is to vote out the Gang of Five who act as if their constituents are the developers. Loudoun residents, remember to vote. As for those who would consider moving to Loudoun: Caveat emptor.
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Examiner Reader said:
The article quotes a spokesperson for a group of realtors, who cites Loudoun as having “relatively affordable housing prices” and notes that Loudoun residents can “easily commute to neighboring communities.” Don’t we wish. Loudoun’s housing prices are not even close to affordable, especially once you factor in the taxes we all must pay to support the new schools, roads, and infrastructure generated by over development. As far as that “easy commute”- Loudoun residents spend HOURS every day stuck in traffic that just keeps getting worse. This November, we have a great opportunity to make a difference in Loudoun. We can VOTE for those who are committed to addressing the very real challenges we face, while allowing a reasonable pace of growth. We can VOTE OUT the “Gang of 5” Board of Supervisors funded by the development industry and TAKE BACK LOUDOUN from special interests and greed. Goodbye Mr. Tulloch, Snow, Staton, Delgaudio, and Clem. It is time for change.
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Allen Scarbrough said:
While it would be pleasant to imagine the lack of traffic that would be driving the roads of Prince William County if it's housing unit growth over the last six years was only 3.3%, the fact of the matter is that housing stock in Prince William County has increased 33.46% during the 2000-2006 time period (per census records). Ms. Levitz appears to have moved a decimal point one place to the left.
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