|
Real Estate
Highlights
History
Search for Homes in
Alexandria If you have questions about the following data or want more information, contact us at 202-965-3715. If you would like to be included in periodic e-mail updates on this or other neighborhoods, send your name and e-mail address to info@hananhomes.com. As of September 30, 2008, 321 single-family homes were for sale in Alexandria with 110 homes under contract. In the third quarter of 2008, 260 homes sold. In the first half of 2008, 444 single-family homes sold in Alexandria. In 2007, there were 1,169 sales, while 1,229 homes sold in 2006. The average sale price in the first half of 2008 was $635,894. This compares to $657,737 and $667,172 in 2007 and 2006, respectively. The average list price was $658,253 in the first half of 2008, $675,930 in 2007, and $681,260 in 2006. Listed below are the sales by price range.
Historic preservation of Alexandria, VA, was in earnest in the 1960s. Historic Old Town has grand brick Georgians, Federals, and Victorians along with more modest brick or clapboard housing dating back to its founding. In addition to smaller townhouse communities that have been developed in the historic district of Old Town, townhouses and condominiums have sprung up on its immediate outskirts. As of September 30, 2008, 108 single-family homes were for sale in Alexandria with 32 homes under contract. In the third quarter of 2008, 79 homes sold. In the first half of 2008, 50 single-family homes sold in Old Town. In 2007, there were 154 sales, while 149 homes sold in 2006. The average sale price in the first half of 2008 was $877,246. This compares to $762,354 and $810,935 in 2007 and 2006, respectively. The average list price was $905,724 in the first half of 2008, $793,518 in 2007, and $839,361 in 2006. Listed below are the sales by price range.
The number of condominiums and cooperatives that sold in Alexandria in the third quarter of 2008 totaled 263, with 99 under contract. There were 397 condos and coops for sale as of September 30, 2008. For the first half of 2008, 412 condos/coops sold, 1103 in 2007, and 1306 in 2006. The average sales price was $312,769 in the first half of 2008, $338,011in 2007, and $353,269 in 2006. Listed below are the sales by price range.
Eisenhower Avenue has some of the city's newest condominium complexes, while Potomac Yards to the North will feature townhouses. Rosemont, a former trolley community about a mile from Old Town, consists of bungalows, Tudors, Cape Cods, Colonials, farmhouses, and Arts and Crafts homes most built in the 1900s. Beverly Hills, near I-395, has rolling hills, beautiful mature trees and azaleas, and some of the largest homes in Alexandria. Most of the Colonials and Cape Cods were built from 1930 to 1940. Nearby Clover-College Park are brick Colonials, Cape Cods, ramblers, and split-levels. Del Ray is famous for its bungalows. North Ridge and Seminary Hill are just as famous for the "classy Colonials" as they were described by Washingtonian in 2006. The west end has numerous townhouse communities and condos. A 2005 study of the assessed value of homes and condominiums in Alexandria showed that over 40 percent of the city's homes were in the highest assessment brackets, that is, $560,000 or more. According to the Washington Post, Alexandria, VA, is the most expensive city or county in the area. Alexandria, VA, lies six miles south of the nation's capitol and nine miles north of Mount Vernon, George Washington's home. The city covers 15.75 miles, and its population reaches around 129,000. Alexandria is among the top 20 jurisdictions with the highest median incomes in the country. Alexandria has more historic attractions than any other Washington suburb. Its current city hall building was designed by Adolph Hess, one of Washington's most famous architects. The Ramsay House serves as the visitors' center. Other attractions include Gadsby's Tavern, Robert E. Lee's boyhood home, the Friendship Firehouse built in 1774, George Washington Masonic National Memorial, Fort Ward Museum and Historic Site, The Lyceum (Alexandria's History Museum), the Carlyle House, Alexandria National Cemetery, Alexandria Black History Museum, the Athenaeum, Alexandria Archaeology Museum, the Alexandria Seaport Foundation's Seaport Center, and the US Patent & Trademark Office Museum. A famous statue of the Confederate soldier and the slave pens that were once owned by the largest slave trading company in the South can also be found in Alexandria. Alexandria isn't just history and sites, it's a city of neighborhoods. Old Town on the waterfront has always been one of the area's prime places to live. The shopping and restaurants only continue to improve. Not only does Old Town have some of the most exclusive shops and boutiques in the region, but it also has several major chains and four supermarkets. While the name Old Town generally refers to sections from the waterfront to the Masonic Temple and the power plant to the Wilson Bridge, with the area east of Washington Street the premiere segment, new construction has extended Old Town's borders toward the airport and to the west. The waterfront has a marina, restaurants, and parks and a bike path that runs north into Washington and south to Mount Vernon. Del Ray, which was founded in 1894, is described as cozy, eclectic, funky, artsy, and "where main street still exists." It has a cluster of shops, most family-owned, along Mount Vernon Avenue. Del Ray was ranked by Cottage Living magazine in 2006 as seventh of the top 10 cottage communities in the country. Arlandria is a small neighborhood north of Del Ray with small shops and restaurants. Eisenhower Valley, once warehouses and industrial complexes along the old railroad tracks, has become the high-rise condominium focus of Alexandria. The US Patent and Trade Office moved there in 2005. The Hoffman Town Center in Eisenhower Valley offers restaurants and a 22-screen theater. The Cameron Run Regional Park with miniature golf, batting areas, waterslides, and a wave pool is nearby. The west end of the city has easy access to I-395 and the beltway and is home to the Landmark Center shopping mall. Beverly Hills, Braddock Heights, and Jefferson Park, all near George Mason Elementary were identified by the 2005 Washingtonian as family-oriented neighborhoods. Beverly Hills, Rosemont, Clover-College Park, and Del Ray were described in 2006 by Washingtonian as communities of "architectural diversity and sense of community." The amenities in Alexandria seem boundless. The city offers 944 acres of park land, 59 boat slips at the marina, 52 multi-use athletic fields, 45 playgrounds, 39 tennis courts, 29 basketball/multipurpose courts, 20 miles of trails, 19 dog parks, 14 picnic shelters, and four mini pools and two large pools. There are six recreation centers which offer a range of activities to residents from gymnasiums and game rooms to dance classes, arts studios, and photo labs. The Chinquapin Park Recreation Center offers a 25-meter indoor pool, nature trail and park, saunas, lighted tennis courts, racquetball courts, and much more. The Alexandria Farmers Market is year-round on Saturdays at Market Square and the Del Ray Farmers Market runs on Saturdays from mid April until December. The Alexandria Symphony performs summer concerts at Market Square. The city has several theatre companies, including the Little Theatre of Alexandria. Three parades are celebrated in Old Town -- the Scottish Christmas parade, George Washington's Birthday parade, and St. Patrick's parade. Belle Haven Country Club is just south of Old Town. The public school system has 13 elementary schools, running through grade five. Minnie Howard School instructs sixth graders. The middle schools covering seventh through ninth grades are George Washington and Hammond. Alexandria's high school, TC Williams, was featured in the hit movie, "Remember the Titans." There is also a Second Training and Education high school. The private schools include the three campuses of St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School. Bishop Ireton High School, Thornton Friends School, and Episcopal are the private high schools in the city. St. Mary's, Blessed Sacrament, Grace Episcopal, Immanuel Lutheran, St. Clements Episcopal, St. Rita's Catholic, Alexandria Country Day as well as nearby Browne Academy and Burgundy Farm are private elementary schools. Among the private nursery schools are Aquinas Montessori, Heritage Academy and Children's Center, and Old Town Montessori. Dash, the Alexandria bus service, connects all local bus systems and Metrobus, Metrorail, and the Virginia Railway Express. The Metro stations in Alexandria are Braddock Road, King Street, Eisenhower, and nearby Huntington. Alexandria, Virginia, was included in a land grant of 6,000 acres given in 1669 by Sir William Berkeley, Governor of Virginia, to Robert Howsing, an English sea captain. In less than a month, Captain Howsing sold the land for 6,000 pounds of tobacco to John Alexander, a Scotsman. By the early 18th Century, the area became a center for the export of tobacco. Hugh West built tobacco warehouses two miles south of Hunting Creek. In 1748 several Scottish and English landholders and merchants, including William Ramsay and John Carlyle, successfully petitioned the Virginia General Assembly to establish a town near West's Hunting Creek (also called Belle Haven) warehouse. A few months later, in the spring of 1749, the town of Alexandria, named after the original owner, was established. Fairfax County surveyor, John West, and a young George Washington, laid out 60 acres in today's Old Town area, and lots were auctioned off in 1749. In 1755, British General Edward Braddock met at the Carlyle House with five royal governors of the colonies to discuss funding the British military campaigns in the French and Indian War. Their decision to recommend a tax on all the colonies became the first colonial tax. The succeeding taxes on the colonies led George Washington, George Mason and other local Alexandrians to meet in the local court house in 1774 where the Fairfax Resolves were adopted calling for an end to trade with England. The Revolutionary War began the next year. George Washington was as significant to Alexandria as he was to his country. In his first military command in the French and Indian War, he recruited his troops in Alexandria. He had a clapboard house in town that he used as an office, was a town trustee, purchased a pew in Christ Church, and served as a worshipful master at the Alexandria mason lodge. He also raced his horses in town and served as steward of the Alexandria Jockey Club. By 1779, Alexandria was incorporated. As a major port, it served foreign and domestic vessels, exporting tobacco, flour and hemp. Ten years later, the city and part of Fairfax County (today's Arlington) were ceded by Virginia to become the southwest corner of the 10-mile square District of Columbia. It was formally accepted by Congress in 1801 but was retroceded to Virginia by 1847. Alexandria acquired city status in 1852. Before the Civil War, Alexandria was a slave trading location. In fact, Market Square was at one time the second-largest slave market in the country. The city, however, had a number of free black communities. During the Civil War, Alexandria was occupied by Union forces and was a logistical supply center for the military. It was also one of the largest Union hospital centers in the East. Several forts were constructed in Alexandria to defend the District, included Fort Ward. During the war, two-thirds of the population fled. The city was under Union control throughout the war, making it the longest occupied territory of the Civil War. From 1863 through 1865, Alexandria was the capital of the Restored Government of Virginia. During World War I, the Torpedo Factory was built as a munitions factory. It was also used in World War II. Until the 1970s, its ten industrial buildings dominated the waterfront.
To discover more
about current listings
Call or e-mail us at |
 |
|
|||
 |
||||
Website Design by Tim and Jean Hanan
Copyright 2008 Tim and Jean Hanan