The Best Place to Live in DC

In a buyer's market like this one, new home buyers should have the best choices of where to live and how much to pay. Yet, for some reason, what may be the very best choice of all Washington suburbs is still virtually unknown to most Washington area homebuyers. Imagine a location that has the access of Alexandria, the golf club living of Avenel, the wildlife and water views of Great Falls, and custom homes like McLean, all rolled into one community for a fraction of the prices seen in those areas. It seems too good to be true, but it is the reality of Tantallon in Fort Washington, Maryland. Although many have heard of Tantallon, most have no idea of all that distinguish this community.

With homes that range from the $200's to the $2 millions, there is something for buyers at every price without compromising the core features of this community. And what are the core features?

The area has more residential waterfront lots than any other contiguous DC suburb. The Tantallon Resort and Club boasts one of the most challenging 18-holes of golf in the area and is the exclusive golf club to the new Gaylord resort at National Harbor. In addition to homes with private boat docks, there are three neighborhood marinas with the most available boat slips in the region. There are all sorts of wildlife in the area. It is not unusual to see a bald eagle snatch a fish out of the water. I have seen it many times myself and even video taped it once. You can also see deer, foxes, badgers, beavers, herons, cranes, ducks, geese, osprey, and more. The general area hosts dozens of local, state, and national parks. The Fort Washington National Park was the site of the key coastal defense for the capital until the end of World War II. It features dramatic Potomac water views, many picnic sites, and trails for hiking, biking, or jogging.

Tantallon on the Potomac is the core subdivision built around the country club and is built out with all custom homes ranging from modest ramblers to 4-level palatial estates. There is a zealous home association to enforce the neighborhood covenants and yet there are no mandatory fees. The homes are meticulously landscaped clearly indicating a strong community pride of ownership. And now, only blocks away or a short cruise up the river is the largest resort complex of its kind on the east coast. According the project web site, "it is an exciting, sprawling community that includes fine restaurants, unparalleled shopping, stunning office space and lavish residences. There’s also Gaylord National, the largest hotel in the Washington, D.C. area and the largest non-gaming combined hotel and convention center on the entire east coast. National Harbor brings together recreation, work, living and entertainment in a way that has never been done before." ALL OF THIS IS ONLY 20 MINUTES FROM THE CAPITOL.

Why is this a secret? I can't say, but even without the National Harbor resort, there is no other location that can boast all of that, not McLean, Great Falls, Alexandria, Potomac, or Annapolis. These facts should be common knowledge at least in the realtor community. There are currently nearly 300 detached homes for sale in Fort Washington under $500k and only 13 are over a million. I believe that if there was another community in the DC metro that could boast all that this community can, a much more significant percentage of the homes would cost over a million. For people to be motivated to buy there, though, they need to know what is really there.

It just needs to be common knowledge that homebuyers could live with the visuals of a sunset over the Potomac, which can only be seen from Prince George's side of the river, a golfer striking a ball against the backdrop of the rolling hills of Tantallon, bikers riding through Fort Washington National Park right by the actual fort, a bald eagle snatching a fish out of the river, the image of the award-winning custom homes built over there, and they need to see what they would be missing if they were to choose something else for the same money. Worst of all, most are paying much more for far less.

For the last 5 years, I have brought bankers, investors, businessmen, friends, family, and more over there and always get the same reaction: "I'd heard of Tantallon, but I didn't know there was water over here." or "I didn't know there was a neighborhood like this over here." Some "best kept secrets" really shouldn't be secrets at all.