The Washington Post has an article about buying in neighborhoods for their potential value in five to ten years. The author suggests that buyers look at areas surrounding desirable neighborhoods. On this point, our neighborhood gets a nod:
• Buy in the middle of surrounding hotspots. Adjacent neighborhoods matter just as much as the one where you buy. There’s a saying to look for the “triple ripple” to find the neighborhoods with the greatest potential for price gains. In other words, look to buy in a location surrounded by at least three (or more) established, sought-after neighborhoods.
In D.C., we’ve seen this happen with places like Eckington and NoMa. Here, the push from Shaw and Mount Vernon met the growth from Union Station/ H Street and the expansion around the Rhode Island Avenue Metro. The intersecting blocks in the middle of all these neighborhoods became viable neighborhoods in their own right.
Looking further into the future, Fort Totten is a strong contender to be a beneficiary of the “triple ripple.” It sits between the areas of Takoma D.C. and Catholic University, and is at the cusp of the development push moving eastward across the city.
This is certainly not the first article to mention the neighborhood in this context (see our post here) and we have also discussed the value of living in between Brookland and Takoma in a different context (see color commentary in this post). Color commentary still stands.
Next Stop...Riggs Park 
Dear Neighbors:
This article shows that our community is a ‘diamond in the rough’ in that its bounded by higher priced areas that are similar in character. While this maybe cause for celebration by some, it represents challenges for many. This challenges are represented by rapid development, purveyors of reverse mortgages and ‘we by any home’ schemes. Now, more than ever, all elements of the community must work together to preserve the character and history of this neighborhood for the foreseeable future.
This is great news to read.