On Park Street in Vienna, the destruction of an old house led to two more new houses going in. Filling in the open lots in built-up neighborhoods is occurring all over the county, where housing demand is going up and the land availability is running out.
Lawrence Noyes, who lives a few doors down, likes the new houses better then the old one that was there, even though it may have been the original house on that land.
"That was built back in the 1950s," Noyes said. "It might have been one of the original houses. Restoring it wouldn't have been the thing to do."
The new houses, valued at about twice the price of Noyes' house, are better for housing values on the street, Noyes said. In another real estate market, not the current seller's market, Noyes' house would detract from the value of the new houses.
"Ours would detract from the value of their house but it doesn't," Noyes said.
Lachu Keswani lives on Park Street as well.
"The taxes are going up but otherwise it looks fine. Our value is going up," Keswani said.
ONE OF THE TWO new houses on that land next to Keswania and Noyes' homes went on the market Saturday, April 17. By Sunday, it was sold.
"It was sold that night," Noyes said.
Pauline Leonard was the listing agent for Long & Foster. Leonard has seen cases in which new houses in old communities get the owners of the older houses to upgrade their properties. It's a case of keeping up with the Joneses.
"A new house kind of spiffs things up," Leonard said. "It gives a little diversity."
A few doors down, Judy Nichols has a house on the market with Jobin Realty that's one of the original houses on Park Street. Nichols thinks newer houses on the street encourage the neighbors to upgrade their houses too.
"Other people have a tendency to upgrade their homes," Nichols said. With Park Street, location weighs into the equation.
"Typically, people do [upgrades] in good neighborhoods. That particular street, it's location, location, location," Nichols said.
OVER ON Prosperity Avenue in Fairfax, Suzanne Nguyen bought a piece of land and built a house three or four times the size of other houses on the street.
"My parents live with me, that's why I need a bigger house," she said.
Nguyen's next door neighbor bought his rambler for $35,000 in 1972. Now the house next door is valued at $1.1 million. Across the street, additions were made to another rambler and it is now valued at $800,000. The man, in his 80s, chose not to use his name.
"My taxes went up because I'm next to this mansion. Everybody's building on their properties and my taxes go up," he said.
Leonard lives off Prosperity Avenue as well and noted that sometimes it's better to tear the whole house down and build a new one instead of adding onto an existing house. With most lots, building a completely new house is within zoning regulations as long as they follow the boundary lines and setbacks, Leonard said.
Occasionally, a new house in an older neighborhood does look out of place though.
"The only problem is when someone does a huge monstrosity that sticks out," Leonard said.