Back in March 2015 I wrote an article titled “Pimmit Hills 2015 – “Should I Stay or Should I Go!.” The article spoke of the changes taking place in the neighborhood with old small homes being demolished to make space for larger new ones. While progress in inevitable, the modern homes bring with them different demographics with different priorities.
I wrote : “With each home gone, one cannot help but thinking about the past and what made Pimmit Hills unique. I suspect the future holds fewer whimsical over-the top Christmas light displays, fewer bears carved out of tree stumps and almost no front yard gnomes and Statue of Liberties.”
So, almost four years later, are new homes continuing their march through the neighborhood? The answer is a resounding yes. Builders, investors and I-want-to-build-my-own-home-buyers have all been enthusiastically purchasing properties homes to put up new and larger homes. It is not uncommon to see three or four new homes in a row on the same block. With each new home being built the old 884 sq/ft homes look more and more out of place (and not vice versa as in the past.)
Just 5 years ago homes selling above $800,000 were a rarity. As you can see from the above graph, with each passing year new construction homes are becoming more commonplace. In 2018 19 out of the 57 homes sold had a final sales price above $800,000. That is about 33% of the sold homes entered into the MRIS/BrightMLS system for Pimmit Hills. Fourteen homes sold above $1.1 million. The highest sales price was $1,390,000 for a 6 bedroom 5.5 bath home on Lusby Place.
Prices for the original footprint 884 sq/ft homes have been going up and surpassing the “top-of-the-market” prices from 2005. For a lot to build on you should now expect to pay between $500,000-$550,000.
Keep in mind that not all homes sold are reflected in the above prices. A sizable portion of homes are sold directly to the builder who are very active soliciting properties in the neighborhood. Also, homes built by owners that contract directly with a builder to build on their lot may also not be entered into the multiple listing service.
2019 should be another great year for Pimmit Hills. If you are looking to buy or sell I would love to help – just give me a call at 703 861-0845.
