Quick answer: Northern Virginia offers three very different paths for your next chapter: active-adult 55+ neighborhoods (like Heritage Hunt or Potomac Green) where you buy and own your home; continuing-care retirement communities (like Greenspring or Ashby Ponds) where you pay a largely refundable entrance deposit; and assisted living communities (like Brightview) that work like a monthly rental with care included. Which one fits depends on your health, finances, and how much home you still want to own, and in almost every case, the move is funded by selling your current Northern Virginia home. I’m David Mount, a Northern Virginia listing agent who has helped 200+ families sell, and this guide explains all three options the way I’d explain them across your kitchen table.
Last reviewed and updated: August 2026.
The three ways to “move in”, and why the difference matters
Most families researching Greenspring, Brightview, or a 55+ neighborhood for the first time don’t realize these are three completely different financial models:
| 55+ Neighborhood | Continuing-Care (CCRC) | Assisted Living | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Examples | Heritage Hunt, Potomac Green, Birchwood | Greenspring, Ashby Ponds, The Woodlands, Goodwin House | Brightview (5+ NoVA locations) |
| How you pay | Buy the home. You own it, like any house | Entrance deposit (often largely refundable) + monthly fee | Monthly rent, typically no large entrance fee |
| Typical range | ~$300s condos to $1M+ single-family | Deposits from ~$151K to $1.5M+ depending on floor plan | Often starting ~$4,000 to $6,700+/month |
| Care included | No. It’s a regular neighborhood with age rules | Full continuum: independent living through nursing care | Assisted living and memory care (some offer independent) |
| Waitlist? | No. You buy whatever is listed for sale | Often yes. Priority lists are standard | Usually availability-based; new buildings have openings |
| Your equity | Stays in real estate | Largely returned to you or your heirs later | Freed up entirely from the home sale |
One thing all three have in common: the family home usually funds the move. That’s why the smartest first step is often understanding what your current home would sell for. Before you fall in love with a floor plan.
Active-adult 55+ neighborhoods: own your home, skip the yard work
These are age-restricted neighborhoods (at least one resident 55 or older) where you purchase your home outright: single-family homes, villas, townhomes, and some condos. No entrance fees, no waitlists: homes come up for sale on the open market like any neighborhood, which means availability depends on what’s listed the month you’re looking. Inventory is often thin, popular communities may have only a handful of homes for sale at a time, so working with an agent who watches these communities matters.
Prince William County has the deepest selection:
- Heritage Hunt (Gainesville): the area’s flagship: about 1,863 homes around an 18-hole Arthur Hills golf course, two clubhouses, indoor and outdoor pools. Condos from roughly the $300s up to $1M+ golf-course single-family homes; recent sales have moved fast (often under two weeks on market).
- Regency at Dominion Valley (Haymarket): 855 Toll Brothers homes inside the gated Dominion Valley Country Club, with an Arnold Palmer course and a 30,000 sq ft clubhouse. Roughly high $300s to low $1Ms.
- Dunbarton at Braemar (Bristow): smaller and quieter (479 homes), gated, with a 21,000 sq ft clubhouse. One of the area’s better values.
- Four Seasons at Historic Virginia (Dumfries): 801 single-family homes, gated, roughly low $400s to mid $600s.
- Carter’s Mill by Del Webb (Haymarket), the county’s newest, built from 2020 on; single-family homes and villas, roughly $600Ks, $900Ks.
Loudoun County:
- Potomac Green by Del Webb (Ashburn): about 1,400 homes directly across from One Loudoun’s restaurants and shops, with a 29,000 sq ft clubhouse and indoor walking track. Roughly mid $400s to low $800s.
- Birchwood at Brambleton (Ashburn): Northern Virginia’s main new-construction 55+ option, still actively building (~1,500 homes planned): condos, elevator brownstones, villas, and single-family homes from roughly the $400s to $1.4M, connected to Brambleton’s trails and town center.
- Regency at Ashburn and Regency at Belmont. Toll Brothers communities; Belmont’s luxury elevator townhomes inside Belmont Country Club typically list around $1M+.
- Lansdowne Woods (Leesburg), a gated condo-only community (~1,100+ units) and the county’s budget-friendly entry point at roughly $200K, $500K, though monthly condo fees run higher because they bundle utilities and amenities.
Fairfax County. Here’s what surprises people: true 55+ neighborhoods where you own your home are genuinely scarce in Fairfax County. The main options are The Crest of Alexandria (Kingstowne/Franconia area, condos and villas, roughly high $400s to $800s) and Spring Hill by Del Webb (Lorton) (282 homes, low $400s to low $600s), plus a few 55+ condo buildings like The Atrium at MetroWest near the Vienna Metro. Many Fairfax families end up choosing between a Prince William/Loudoun 55+ community, a continuing-care community, or staying put, and that trade-off is worth talking through before you decide.
Continuing-care retirement communities (CCRCs): one move, every level of care
A CCRC (also called a life-plan community) is designed to be your last move: you start in independent living and, if your health changes, assisted living, memory care, and nursing care are on the same campus. Instead of buying a home, you pay a one-time entrance deposit, at most local communities, largely refundable to you or your estate, plus a monthly fee covering meals, maintenance, utilities, and amenities.
- Greenspring (Springfield): Erickson Senior Living’s gated 58-acre Fairfax County campus, open since 1998, with three clubhouses and an on-campus medical center. Published entrance deposits currently range from about $151,000 (studio) to over $1.3M for the largest two-bedroom plans, with monthly service packages roughly $2,800 to $5,600; deposits are 90% refundable. (Erickson’s published fee schedule updates January 1, 2027, always confirm current figures.)
- Ashby Ponds (Ashburn): Greenspring’s Loudoun County sister community and one of the largest CCRCs in the country: 132 acres, 2,100+ residents. Its final independent-living building opened in fall 2024 and reservations moved briskly off the priority list. Published deposits run from about $282,000 to $1.5M+, monthly packages roughly $3,100 to $5,800, 90% refundable.
- The Woodlands (Fairfax City): a smaller, family-owned alternative on a campus shared with Fairfax Nursing Center and The Gardens assisted living. Offers unusual flexibility: entrance-fee plans at 90%, 80%, or 70% refundable, plus straight rental on select apartments.
- Goodwin Living (Alexandria & Falls Church): the area’s respected nonprofit, with two established campuses and a third (Goodwin House Seminary Road) planned for 2029. Notably offers a true Lifecare contract, where your monthly fee doesn’t jump if you need more care, and they’ve never asked a resident to leave for outliving their savings.
- Vinson Hall (McLean): a nonprofit community with deep military roots, founded to serve commissioned officers and their families; eligibility has broadened over time. If you’re a military family, it belongs on your visit list. As one of Veterans United’s top-10% preferred agents nationwide, I work with military families often and this community comes up in those conversations regularly.
Assisted living: Brightview and the rental model
Assisted living communities support daily living, meals, medication, personal care, memory care, on a month-to-month rental basis with no large entrance fee. That structure matters for planning: since there’s no deposit to recover, families typically use the full proceeds of the home sale to fund care with maximum flexibility.
Brightview Senior Living operates five-plus communities across Northern Virginia, Fair Oaks (Fairfax), Great Falls, Woodburn (Annandale), Dulles Corner (Herndon), the new Brightview Alexandria (opened 2025), and the brand-new Brightview Northfax in Fairfax City, which opened in July 2026, meaning that unusually for this market, there’s a new building with real availability. Brightview’s parent company has been named a Fortune “Best Workplace” seven years running, which families often read as a signal about staff culture and continuity of care. Independent-living rates at area communities are commonly quoted starting around $4,000 to $4,600 per month, with assisted living higher, confirm current rates and availability directly with each community.
In my work with downsizing families, and in conversations within my church community, where our pastors regularly walk alongside families making this exact transition, Brightview’s Fairfax-area communities come up again and again with warm reports from families. That’s not a substitute for your own visit, but it’s a pattern I’ve noticed and think is worth sharing.
A note on how I talk about care communities: I’m a real estate agent, not a care advisor. I share what families and my community report, but nothing replaces touring a community yourself, asking about staffing and licensing, and reviewing Virginia’s assisted-living inspection records.
How waitlists really work, and why your home-sale timeline starts earlier than you think
Here’s what most families don’t learn until they’re deep into this process: the region’s most sought-after communities don’t have “open availability”. They have priority lists.
- Greenspring and Ashby Ponds each run a Priority List: a $1,000 fully refundable deposit holds your place in line for your preferred floor plan, gets you first notice before homes are offered publicly, and includes moving and realty support. Neither community publishes typical wait times: availability “varies daily,” in their words, and popular floor plans reserve fastest. Ashby Ponds’ final building was nearly half-reserved by priority-list members before the general public ever saw it.
- Goodwin Living runs a similar Priority Club ($350 application fee plus a $1,000 refundable deposit), with a “Ready List” tier for those who want first crack at openings.
- The broader market is tight and getting tighter. Senior-living occupancy nationally has climbed for 17 straight quarters and independent living is above 90% for the first time since 2019, while new construction sits near record lows. Locally, Fairfax County’s 65+ population is projected to grow from roughly 190,000 today to 320,000 by 2045.
What this means practically: if a continuing-care community is in your future, the wise move is to join the priority list early: it’s refundable, it costs little, and it buys you options. And because the call that “your apartment is ready” can come with a short decision window, the families who move smoothly are the ones whose house is ready before the call comes: decluttered, minor repairs done, and a clear-eyed idea of its market value. The waitlist window is your preparation window. That’s precisely where I come in.
What happens to your current home (this is the part I do every week)
Whether you’re buying into Heritage Hunt, placing a deposit at Greenspring, or moving a parent to Brightview, the same asset usually funds it: the family home, often a single-family house you’ve owned for decades, in a market where it’s worth far more than you paid. My job as your listing agent is to make that home produce every dollar it should, on a timeline that matches your community’s availability:
- Timing the sale to the move, including bridge strategies when the community calls before you expected, and patient preparation when you’re still on a list
- Preparing a long-held home for market. I help families decide which updates actually pay and which don’t, and coordinate the work
- Handling the emotional weight: after 200+ home sales, many of them for downsizers and estates, I can tell you: selling a 30-year family home is not a transaction, it’s a transition, and it deserves an agent who treats it that way
Start with my downsizing guide, or the seller guide for your county: Fairfax County, Loudoun County, or Prince William County. Or just call me and tell me which communities you’re touring; I’ll tell you honestly what your home timeline should look like.
Frequently asked questions
Do 55+ communities in Northern Virginia have waitlists?
Neighborhoods where you own the home (Heritage Hunt, Potomac Green, Birchwood) have no waitlists. You buy what’s listed for sale, so availability depends on the resale market that month. Continuing-care communities like Greenspring, Ashby Ponds, and Goodwin House commonly do use priority lists, typically a ~$1,000 refundable deposit that holds your place in line.
How much does Greenspring or Ashby Ponds cost?
As of their mid-2026 published schedules: entrance deposits range from about $151,000 (Greenspring studio) to over $1.5M (Ashby Ponds’ largest plans), 90% refundable, plus monthly service packages of roughly $2,800 to $5,800 covering meals, utilities, maintenance, and amenities. Fee schedules update each January. Confirm directly.
Is assisted living cheaper than a continuing-care community?
They’re structured differently rather than one being cheaper. Assisted living (like Brightview) is monthly rent with no large entrance fee, often quoted from roughly $4,000 to $6,700+ per month depending on care level. CCRCs require a large deposit up front, but most of it comes back to you or your heirs. The right answer depends on health, time horizon, and estate goals. Run both models with your financial advisor.
Are there 55+ communities in Fairfax County where I can own a single-family home?
Very few. This surprises almost everyone. Fairfax County’s main ownership options are The Crest of Alexandria and Spring Hill in Lorton, plus a handful of 55+ condo buildings. Most buyers wanting a 55+ single-family home end up in Prince William (Heritage Hunt, Four Seasons, Carter’s Mill) or Loudoun (Potomac Green, Birchwood).
Should I sell my house before joining a retirement community waitlist?
Usually no. Join the (refundable) list first, then use the waiting period to prepare your home so you can list quickly when your number comes up. Selling first can leave you paying for interim housing. The exception is when finances require sale proceeds for the entrance deposit; there are ways to sequence that too, and it’s worth a planning conversation.
Do I need a real estate agent to buy in a 55+ community?
For active-adult neighborhoods, yes. It’s a normal home purchase and sale. For CCRCs and assisted living, there’s no home purchase, so my role is on the selling side: getting your current home sold well and on schedule. Communities like Greenspring even coordinate with your listing agent as part of their move-in support.
I’m David Mount, a Northern Virginia listing agent (The Redux Group of eXp Realty), Certified Probate Real Estate Specialist, and NVAR Platinum Top Producer. I’ve helped 200+ Northern Virginia families sell. Many of them downsizers moving to exactly the communities in this guide. Community details above reflect published information as of August 2026; always verify current pricing, availability, and policies directly with each community.