Fall
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Home & Real Estate
OCTOBER 8 - 14, 2026 | PAGE 7
Home & Real Estate
Guide
PAGES 7 -15
PAGE 8 | OCTOBER 8 - 14, 2026
FALL HOME & REAL ESTATE
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Rate Talk with Tori: How Buyers, Sellers, and Lenders are Collaborating
BY TORI MCKINNEY
REALTOR® | CEO ROCK STAR REALTY GROUP
Interest rates went up again – and we all want them to drop. I could easily fill this column with charts and percentages, but that’s a song you’ve already heard. I would rather share something I have witnessed over the past few months, because it has been one of the most encouraging stretches of my career. When borrowing gets more expensive, the assumption is that everyone digs in. Buyers pull back, sellers hold firm, and the whole process becomes a tug-of-war. What I am seeing on the ground looks very different. Buyers, sellers, and lenders are pulling up chairs to the same table and reading from the same sheet music. They are asking a better question: how do we make this
work for everyone? A few weeks ago, I sat down with one of my sellers to review an offer. The buyers loved the house, but at today’s rates the monthly payment stretched them further than they were comfortable going. Instead of haggling over price, my seller offered to fund a rate buy-down, paying an amount at closing to lower the buyers’ interest rate. That one decision brought the payment within reach. The buyers got their home, my seller got a committed buyer, and everyone walked away feeling good about it. Lenders have been wonderful partners in all of this. The best ones are getting creative, shaping loan options around a buyer’s actual life and reaching out to listing agents early to talk through how a seller can help. Amit Kaim, our trusted lender partner at First Heritage
Mortgage, sees it every day. He says, “Rates may be rising, but that’s where creative collaboration makes a difference. When loan officers, buyers, sellers, and agents work together to explore the options, we can find solutions that bring everyone to the closing table feeling good about the outcome.” Sellers are stepping up to the mic too. Many are contributing toward closing costs, which can add up to thousands of dollars and often stand between a buyer and the keys. Others are offering buydowns in place of a price reduction. “A lower price helps, but a seller-funded rate buydown can sometimes do more to make a buyer’s monthly payment manageable. It’s about putting the seller’s contribution where it makes the biggest difference for the buyer’s budget and, with a temporary buydown, making sure the full payment is affordable
Your dream home awaits. Let’s find it together.
Kelly Denton Realtor KellyDentonHomes.com
after that benefit ends,” Amit explains. These sellers have not lost their leverage. They have recognized that helping the right buyer across the finish line means everyone heads into closing day smiling. For a long stretch, buying a home around here felt like a battle. Waived inspections, escalation clauses, and bidding wars set the tone, and plenty of buyers walked away from that season feeling bruised. These days the calls between agents sound more like a band rehearsal. Everyone is listening, adjusting, and working toward the same song. Sellers remember what it felt like to buy their first home. The whole industry is responding to higher rates by playing together. If you’re buying: Talk with a lender early and ask about every option, including seller-paid buydowns and closing cost credits.
“My advice to buyers feeling discouraged by today’s rates is to focus on what works for your life and budget; not on timing the market. There’s no pressure to force a purchase. With thoughtful planning and a little creativity, we can explore your options and help you move forward when the time is right for you,” Amit says. If you’re selling: Talk with your Realtor to determine what your buyer truly needs. A contribution toward a buy-down or closing costs can sometimes do more for your sale than a price cut. What gives me hope is the way this community responds when things get harder. Falls Church has always been a place where neighbors show up for each other. Right now, that same spirit is playing out in our local real estate market, and that’s music to my ears.
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FALL HOME & REAL ESTATE
OCTOBER 8 - 14, 2026 | PAGE 9
PAGE 10 | OCTOBER 8 - 14, 2026
What $2 Million Buys You Now
BY NICK GATZ
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
Take $2 million and drive. Start in Falls Church, head west on Route 7 or I-66, and stop every few miles to see what that money buys. By the time you reach Loudoun County, the check that bought a seven-bedroom house on a city lot is buying 15 acres, a pool and a second home on the property. Same budget. Same buyer. A completely different house. In the City of Falls Church, $2 million gets you 2301 Grove Ave., listed at $1.99 million. It has seven bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, 4,279 square feet and a rooftop deck in a mature neighborhood, which works out to about $465 a square foot. It’s also roughly $800,000 above the city’s recent median sale price of about $1.18 million. In Falls Church, $2 million is top-ofthe-market money, and land is the one thing nobody is making more of. Closer in, you pay for the address, cross into Arlington and
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602 S. Wakefield St. asks $1.999 million for five bedrooms, six baths and 4,924 square feet on a fairly compact suburban lot. That’s about $406 a square foot. You’re paying for Metro, the commute and the ZIP code as much as the drywall. McLean flips the math. 1104 Flor Lane lists at $2.1 million for three bedrooms, three baths and 4,051 square feet. It’s the smallest house on this list and the most expensive per foot, at roughly $518. What the buyer gets is nearly an acre, privacy and a McLean address. Think about that for a moment: McLean’s recent median sale is about $1.95 million, so $2 million there doesn’t buy luxury. It buys average. Head west, get more house in Vienna, 105 Yeonas Drive SW recently sold for $2.1 million. It has seven bedrooms, six-and-ahalf baths and 6,033 square feet, about $348 a foot, and it’s still minutes from Tysons. Around Fairfax, 10704 Warwick Ave. is listed at $1.899 million for new construction
with six bedrooms, six baths and 5,922 square feet. That’s roughly $321 a foot, and you still have $100,000 left over. Then there’s Loudoun. 23028 Creighton Farms Drive asks exactly $2 million for five bedrooms, six baths and 7,422 square feet in a luxury golf community. At about $269 a square foot, that’s half of what the same money buys per foot in McLean. You can also skip the square footage and take the land: 15192 Harrison Hill Lane near Leesburg, also $2 million, comes with 15 acres, a pool and multiple residences. The real price of close. From McLean to Loudoun, the price per square foot drops by nearly half. Close to Washington, $2 million buys location, convenience and land that’s hard to find. Drive west and the same check buys space, new construction, privacy and acreage. The question is no longer whether $2 million is luxury money in Northern Virginia. It is. The question is what kind of luxury you want, and how far you’re willing to drive to get it.
How Much Does a School District Add to Home Value?
BY NICK GATZ
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
Put two similar houses a mile apart and one can sell for tens of thousands of dollars more. Same bedrooms, similar lot, similar commute. One major difference may be the school assigned to the address. Decades of research suggest buyers pay a measurable premium for access to desirable schools. Economist Sandra Black studied homes near school attendance boundaries, comparing similar neighborhoods assigned to different elementary schools. She found buyers paid about 2.5 percent more for a 5 percent increase in test scores. Later research has associated differences in school performance with roughly a 2 to 6.5 percent difference in home values. On a $1 million Northern Virginia home, that’s potentially $20,000 to $65,000. But buyers aren’t purchasing
test scores. They’re purchasing an address. Fairfax and Loudoun assign public schools based largely on where a student lives, and those boundaries can change. Fairfax approved boundary changes in January 2026 for the 2026-27 school year, while Loudoun has also redrawn attendance zones. That means part of a home’s perceived value can change with a school board decision. It matters even if you don’t have children because future buyers might. Schools aren’t responsible for every price difference, either. Commutes, lot sizes, parks and neighborhood amenities also affect prices. Still, in Northern Virginia, where homes routinely approach or exceed $1 million, even a few percentage points matter. The school district isn’t written into your deed, but buyers may still put tens of thousands of dollars of value on it.
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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Can Tiny Apartments Solve NoVa’s Housing Problem?
BY NICK GATZ
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
Picture a 23-year-old who just landed a first real job in the Washington region. The salary is $48,000, maybe $55,000. Almost anywhere else in America that’s a solid start. Here, it’s a math problem with no good answer. Northern Virginia talks about affordable housing constantly, but the harder question is what it will actually take to get younger and lower-paid workers to live here at all. The Number That Says It All Falls Church already has an Affordable Dwelling Unit program, with apartments built into Founders Row, Broad and Washington, The Alder, and Modera Falls Church. The City reported 189 ADUs in 2025, and the program covers a surprisingly broad range of incomes. In 2026, a one-person household earning up to $69,762 falls at 60 percent of Area Median Income. Someone making $93,016 is at 80 percent. Think about that for a moment. You can earn what sounds like a respectable salary almost anywhere else in the country and still qualify for an “affordable” apartment in Falls Church. So where does that leave the kid making $48,000? Shrink the Apartment Maybe the answer isn’t a cheaper version of the same old apartment. Maybe Northern Virginia needs to rethink what an entry-level apartment looks like in the first place. Think 350 to 500 square feet. The bedroom might disappear entirely. The kitchen gets smaller. Storage gets smarter. Parking becomes optional. In exchange, the renter gets Metro access, walkable restaurants, coffee shops, gyms, grocery stores and places to actually see other people. The price points are already on the books. In Falls Church, an efficiency at 40 percent AMI can rent for a maximum of $983 a month, and the 60 percent maximum is $1,475. A one-bedroom at those same levels runs $1,147 and $1,721. Fairfax County’s affordable rental program lists efficiencies at $1,211 for its lower-income tier and
FALL HOME & REAL ESTATE
$1,574 for its higher tier. Small units already exist on paper. We just don’t build enough of them. Would Anyone Want This? Building them is only half the equation. Would young Washingtonarea workers choose to live small? Some of them, almost certainly. A recent graduate may happily trade a bigger floor plan for 350 square feet if it means walking to dinner, taking Metro to work (and skipping a $700 monthly car payment). That distinction matters. Small apartments only work if they’re treated as housing designed on purpose for people who value location over square footage, and never as a consolation prize. That means attractive buildings, excellent common areas, shared workspaces, rooftop space, bike storage and a neighborhood with something happening outside the front door. The Workforce Problem Then there’s the jobs problem. Washington has enormous numbers of high-paying professional positions, but the people who keep this region running don’t all earn Washington professional salaries. Teachers. Restaurant workers. Young reporters. Nonprofit staff. Entry-level government employees. Recent graduates. When they can’t afford Falls Church, Arlington or Fairfax, they move farther out, and the whole region ends up building its workforce around longer and longer commutes. The City itself describes Falls Church’s ADU waitlist as “lengthy,” with no estimate of when a unit might open up. Demand isn’t the problem. Build Small, Build Here The next housing experiment could be remarkably simple. Build more units. Build them smaller. Put them where young workers actually want to live, and price them low enough that living small pays off in a real way. The question is no longer whether everyone wants 400 square feet. It’s whether enough people would choose 400 square feet in the right place over 900 square feet an hour away, and whether Falls Church is willing to find out.
OCTOBER 8 - 14, 2026 | PAGE 11
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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Home & Real Estate
Meet Your Home Experts A Falls Church News-Press Advertorial
Fall 2026 Issue Your Local Home Experts
Kelly Denton - Keller Williams
Kelly Denton is a new face in the real estate market, but not new to Falls Church. As a 20+ year resident, Falls Church is not only home for her, but is her primary target market as well. She’s bought and sold over five properties in the Pavilion Condominiums, off Haycock Road, a sought-after community just outside the city limits. She works with each client individually, wholly dedicating herself to the client’s goal and experience. She’s won two awards with Keller Williams for her work and is ramping up to a phenomenal 2026 year. She has 15+ years of property Management experience, a practice she still maintains and applies to her work as a realtor. She’s ready to be your partner, your ally, and your advocate. You can find her on Facebook, Instagram or at KellyDentonHomes.com.
571-326-3022 • KellyDenton@KW.com
Tori McKinney & ROCK STAR realty group Your Home. Your Move. Let’s Make It a Hit. I’m Tori McKinney, CEO and Realtor® with ROCK STAR realty group. I have been helping people buy and sell homes in Northern Virginia for over 21 years, and I’ve called Falls Church home for 28. It’s where I raised my family and built relationships that go way beyond the closing table. My partner, Rob Denza, and I have always believed a challenging market is where real expertise shows up. When rates change the tempo, we change the arrangement. Our sellers get staging and marketing that put their home in the spotlight. Our buyers get trusted lender partners and creative financing options. Then we work together to reach a deal that works for everyone. Got real estate questions? We’ve got coffee. Swing by ROCK the House, where Rob and I are set up every Wednesday from 10 to 11 AM at Northside Social. Think of it as an open mic for real estate. No appointment needed. Let’s talk about your next move.
703-867-8674 • Tori@ROCKSTARrealtygroup.com
Kelly Millspaugh Thompson, Concierge Real Estate Services As a Falls Church City native and small business owner, Kelly strives to make buying and selling less overwhelming for her clients. Kelly opened STYLISH PATINA, her Home+Gift shop, in 2012 and has been a licensed Realtor since 2019. She has been recognized as a Platinum Producer by NVAR and Top Producer by Arlington Magazine. Kelly is known for her cutting edge marketing, business savvy and concierge approach to Real Estate. She and her team are able to manage all aspects of buying and selling a home: home prep, liquidation, organization, renovation, moving, and design. This has proven to be a unique and highly sought after combination of skills. Kelly has a passion for helping folks as they transition through life stages - needing a larger home for a growing family or downsizing. Kelly is a mother of 5 and understands the stress of moving with children and the overwhelm of transitioning out of a home you raised your family in when it comes time to simplify. These big life transitions are where she finds the most joy in helping families. If you are looking for a Realtor with compassion and commitment to making your next Real Estate transaction less stressful, contact Kelly, 703-303-3700.
simpler and less stressful. I’d love to help bring your vision to life. Request an estimate today. Call or Text: 703-627-6767.
703-627-6767 • Steven@DesignProRemodeling.com
Kathy Pippin In today’s slower, more selective real estate market, strategy matters more than ever. Buyers have more choices, while sellers need smart pricing, preparation, and marketing to stand out. Kathy Pippin is a top-producing Northern Virginia Realtor®, Certified Business Coach, and Mentor with more than $100 million in career sales. She combines local market knowledge, strong negotiation, creative problem-solving, and client education to help buyers recognize opportunities and sellers maximize value. Follow Kathy Pippin Properties on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok for local market updates, real estate insights, and practical advice. Call or Text Kathy Pippin @ 703-408-0838.
703-408-0838
Omar Sherzai~Long & Foster Realtors, Falls Church/Arlington Office Omar Sherzai has over 20 years of experience in Real Estate in VA, DC and MD plus over 15 years of customer service and management. A local resident for over 45 years in Northern Virginia. Majority of real estate clients are repeat and referrals from past and present clients. His goal is always to create an environment for the client to have the best experience through their home selling and buying process. Every patron has a different need and achieving the best result is essential. With Omar, you will succeed in your voyage. Welcome to your journey! Visit longandfoster.com/omarsherzai for more information.
703-474-1145 • OMAR@LNF.COM
Zimmermann Homes
Zimmerman builds custom luxury homes of unmatched performance, beauty, and durability. Every home features upgraded products and advanced building techniques for exceptional energy efficiency, low maintenance, and timeless appeal. Work with our talented architect to design your dream home from scratch or select from dozens of proven plans. We can help secure the perfect lot or offer fair market value for your existing property if you’re ready to sell. Right now, we have exciting off-market opportunities: multiple luxury homes under construction and available for sale in the City of Falls Church & the Haycock School Pyramid—ideal for this spring buying season. We also have select off-market lot opportunities for those seeking prime build sites. Don’t miss these exclusive new-build options! Contact us to learn more!
Sales@ZimmermannHomes.com • zimmermannhomes.com
703-303-3700 • realestate@stylishpatina.com •
Steven Papageorge ~Owner, Design Pro Remodeling Hi, my name is Steven Papageorge and I cofounded Design Pro Remodeling in 2008. I’m a Northern Virginia native and a graduate of The Catholic University of America, where I earned a marketing degree and played varsity basketball. My background in athletics has shaped my approach to leadership, teamwork, and customer service. Design Pro is a full-service remodeling company offering interior and exterior renovations, additions, and home-sale preparation. Our five-step process guides homeowners with clear communication, dependable service, and quality craftsmanship, making renovations
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FALL HOME & REAL ESTATE
OCTOBER 8 - 14, 2026 | PAGE 13
How Much Home Can a $150K, $200K or $250K Household Income Buy in NoVa?
BY NICK GATZ
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
Make $150,000 a year in Northern Virginia and you feel like you’ve made it. Six figures, comfortably. A generation ago, that kind of money bought a four-bedroom colonial with a yard, a two-car garage and a basketball hoop over the driveway. Then you open the listings, and the math starts punching back. Mortgage rates, property taxes, insurance and home prices are all hitting buyers at the same time. Freddie Mac put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.28 percent on Oct. 1. The median Northern Virginia home sold for about $750,000 in August, according to the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors. Put those two numbers side by side and you can see why households earning well into six figures are asking a question their parents never had to ask: what can we actually afford?
Running the Numbers
Here is the setup. Assume a buyer puts 20 percent down, takes a 30-year fixed mortgage at about 7.28 percent and keeps housing costs near 28 percent of gross household income, the rule of thumb lenders and planners have leaned on for decades. The estimates below include a general allowance for property taxes and homeowners insurance. They do not include HOA or condo fees, and in Northern Virginia that is no small thing to leave out. $150,000: The Condo Line Gross monthly income comes to $12,500. At 28 percent, that leaves about $3,500 a month for principal, interest, taxes and insurance, which supports a home price of roughly $525,000 to $550,000. In much of Northern Virginia, that means a condo, an older townhouse or a house well outside Arlington, Falls Church and close-
in Fairfax County. Think about that for a moment. This household earns more than $12,000 a month before taxes, and the realistic options still point toward the outer edges of the region.
$200,000: Near the Median, Far From the Dream At $16,667 a month in gross income, the housing budget climbs to about $4,667. That supports a purchase price of roughly $700,000 to $725,000, close to the regional median. Close to the median does not mean a detached house in Falls Church, McLean, Arlington or Vienna. The tradeoffs don’t go away. They change shape: square footage, the age of the house, the school district, the commute, the roof that needs replacing next spring. $250,000: A Wider Door, Same Ceiling A $250,000 household grosses
SOLD - Great Falls, VA
SOLD -Centreville, VA
$1,480,000
$999,999
about $20,833 a month. At 28 percent, that’s roughly $5,833 for housing, enough for a home around $875,000 to $900,000. That opens up far more of the market, including many townhouses and detached homes. But in Northern Virginia’s most expensive neighborhoods, $900,000 can disappear fast, and buyers at this level still find themselves choosing between the house they want and the ZIP code they want. Approved Is Not Affordable The bigger issue is that lenders may approve buyers for a lot more than these estimates. Underwriting can allow higher debt-to-income ratios, especially for borrowers with strong credit, big down payments and little other debt. But qualifying for a mortgage and comfortably carrying one are two different things. That distinction matters. Add two car payments, child-
care, student loans, retirement contributions or a $500 monthly HOA fee, and the math caves in quickly. Barely Through the Front Door That may be the most striking thing about Northern Virginia’s housing market right now. A $150,000 household income is strong. A $200,000 household income is very strong. A $250,000 household income puts a family far above what most Americans earn. Yet here, none of them automatically buys what previous generations would have called an upper-middle-class house, and sometimes it barely gets you through the front door. The question is no longer whether families in Northern Virginia make good money. It’s whether good money is still enough to put down roots in the place they grew up.
Buying, Building, and Selling Homes since 2007
SOLD- Vienna, VA
FOR RENT - Alexandria, VA
$990,000
$4,750
Helping Our Clients Buy, Sell and Invest! Kathy Pippin, Realtor 1313 Dolley Madison BLVD, STE 100, McLean, VA 22101
Website: KathyPippinProperties.com Email: Kathy@Kathypippinproperties.com Call/Text: 703-408-0838
Licensed in VA
SALES@ZIMMERMANNHOMES.COM
WWW.ZIMMERMANNHOMES.COM
PAGE 14 | OCTOBER 8 - 14, 2026
Real Estate
Home & Real Estate
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
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1. 3804 LAKEVIEW TERR, FALLS CHURCH, VA 22041• 2. 300 POPLAR DR, FALLS CHURCH, VA 22046 3. 400 DORCHESTER RD, FALLS CHURCH, VA 22046 • 4. 1104 N TUCKAHOE ST, FALLS CHURCH, VA 22046 5. 3612 RIDGEWAY TERR, FALLS CHURCH, VA 22044
#1 $2,995,000
#2 $2,872,210
#3 $2,725,000
#4 $2,700,000
#5 $2,451,000
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
OCTOBER 8 - 14, 2026 | PAGE 15
FALL HOME & REAL ESTATE
Q3 Home Sales:
Falls Church & Surrounding Neighborhoods
Top 3 Sales 300 Poplar Dr - $2,872,210 400 Dorchester Rd - $2,725,000 1104 N Tuckahoe St - $2,700,000
6804 Farragut Ave - $1,200,000 2915 Marshall St - $1,166,000 2833 Woodlawn Ave - $1,109,000
1832 Pimmit Dr - $2,418,405 7631 Lisle Ave - $2,260,000 1926 Hileman Rd - $2,250,000
3804 Lakeview Terr - $2,995,000 3612 Ridgeway Terr - $2,451,000 6340 Waterway Dr - $1,600,000
Falls Church City 22046
Greenway Downs 22042
Pimmit Hills (22043)
Lake Barcroft (22044)
Average Price $1,659,816
$908,429
$1,528,123
$1,395,846
Falls Church City 22046
Greenway Downs 22042
Pimmit Hills 22043
Lake Barcroft 22044
Days on Market 16
Falls Church City (22046)
13
Greenway Downs (22042)
44
Pimmit Hills (22043)
27
Lake Barcroft (22044)
Number of Homes Sold 16
Falls Church City (22046)
7
Greenway Downs (22042)
9
Pimmit Hills (22043)
13
Lake Barcroft (22044)