At least we're not Centreville: Reston's property values down a lucky 13 percent!

Reston's awesome vibrant real estate market, driven by such amazing innovations as spastically dancing open house signs and fire sale auctions fiendish marketing ploys, helped drive average home values down by 13.32 percent in 2008, according to a cheerful Washington Post article that says Fairfax County will have to raise real estate taxes and cut all services except tax collection and landscaping of the Government Center grounds, both of which will be taken care of by the one remaining county employee ("Earl.")

It could be worse, though. Nationwide, property values fell by nearly 20 percent, making Reston at least 7 percent more awesome than the rest of the country. You can't argue with statistics like that! Also, prices fell less here than in our tolerant neighbor to the west, where they fell by nearly 16 percent, or Centreville, where they fell by more than 16 percent, or Lorton, where they fell by more than 21 percent, or as the Internet kool kidz would say, Fail. Of course, the riches who live in Great Falls and McLean apparently still have $100 bills to burn, as property values there fell by only around 7 percent last year. Oakton and Vienna fared slightly worse with an 8 percent decline, but we're sure homeowners there will blame that on an unremarkable redistricting decision.

In conclusion, as your friendly neighborhood Realtor(tm) would tell you, now is an awesome time to BUY BUY BUY. There's still some prime real estate available in Targetville, so don't delay.