55+ homes for sale in Fairfax County.

Six active adult communities, from a $198,000 condo in Reston to gated single-family homes in Lorton. Here's what actually exists in Fairfax — and how it differs from the rest of Northern Virginia.

Fairfax is a condo market

This is the first thing to understand, and it surprises people coming from Gainesville or Haymarket. Fairfax County was largely built out before the big active adult developments went up further west, so there was never room for a Heritage Hunt or a Regency at Dominion Valley here. What got built instead is mid-rise condo buildings on infill sites, plus one gated single-family community in Lorton.

If you want a detached home with a two-car garage in a 55+ community, Fairfax has very few and you should be looking at Loudoun or Prince William. If you want to stay close in — near Metro, near your doctors, near adult children in Arlington or DC — Fairfax is the trade-off worth making, and a condo is what that trade-off looks like.

The six communities

Spring Hill — Lorton

The most complete community in the county and the only one offering both detached homes and condominiums. Gated, award-winning, and the closest thing Fairfax has to the western Prince William communities. Detached homes here have recently listed in the high $800,000s; condos start far lower. If a single-family 55+ home in Fairfax County is the requirement, this is effectively the list.

The Atrium at MetroWest — Fairfax

Part of the MetroWest development built around the Vienna Metro station. This is the one proposition no other 55+ community in Northern Virginia can match: walk to Metro, ride into DC without a car, and never deal with I-66 again. For buyers giving up a car or planning to, it's in a category of its own.

Saintsbury Plaza — Fairfax

An established active adult building near Fairfax city with a wide spread of floor plans — the largest two-bedroom layouts run about 1,325 square feet, which is generous for a condo and a real consideration if you're downsizing from a house and not ready to give up the space.

The Crest of Alexandria — Alexandria

The newest of the group at around eight years old, set on a 25-acre enclave surrounded by protected woodlands. Newer construction means fewer near-term special assessments than an older building, which is worth weighing when you compare HOA and condo fees across the county.

HiddenBrooke — Springfield

A smaller Springfield community and one of the more affordable entry points in the county. Not every unit comes with a garage — some residents rent a neighbor's — so parking is a question worth asking on any specific unit before you get attached to it.

Sagewood — Reston

The most affordable 55+ housing in Fairfax County by a wide margin, and by far the lowest entry price anywhere in our coverage area. One-bedroom units in Reston, close to the Town Center and the W&OD Trail. If budget is the binding constraint, start here.

What about Greenspring?

Greenspring in Springfield is the name most people search when they look for 55+ in Fairfax, but it works differently from everything above. It's a continuing care retirement community — you pay an entrance fee, and it isn't bought and sold on the open market the way a condo at Saintsbury or a house at Spring Hill is. If a continuing care campus is what you're after, that's a different search and we're happy to talk it through. If you want to own and later resell, the six communities above are your market.

If you want a single-family home

Head west. Thirty to forty minutes from Fairfax gets you into communities built specifically around detached and villa homes, with golf, clubhouses and far more inventory to choose from:

• Heritage Hunt — Gainesville, gated with golf
• Regency at Dominion Valley — Haymarket
• Potomac Green — Ashburn, closest Loudoun option to Fairfax
• Central Parke at Lowes Island — Sterling

Thinking about Fairfax?

Inventory here is thin — often only a dozen or so active listings across the whole county. That makes timing matter more than it does further west. We watch these six communities daily and can tell you when something comes up.