Herndon · Fairfax County, Virginia
McNair Farmsthe guide
Trash days, school calendars, HOA rules, what's on this week and what's selling. Written by a neighbour, kept current, no form in front of it.
Herndon · Fairfax County, Virginia
Trash days, school calendars, HOA rules, what's on this week and what's selling. Written by a neighbour, kept current, no form in front of it.
This week
Updated Thursday, October 8
Fri, Oct 9
from 5pm
The Maker's Valley Friday market on the plaza in Ashburn, running through October 30. Local makers, food and music, about fifteen minutes out.
Through
Mon, Oct 12
Five days of screenings at LOOK Cinemas in Reston Town Center, running through Monday evening. Ticketed by screening, and the schedule is on their page.
Sat, Oct 10
5–11pm
Free concert at the Pavilion, with Virginia Coalition and Everything opening and Vertical Horizon headlining. There is a Sip and Stroll through the Town Center alongside it. Six hours, ten minutes away, and it costs nothing.
Sat & Sun
Oct 10–11
11am–5pm
Free, in the Dulles Town Center lot in front of Macy's in Sterling. Both days, same hours, about fifteen minutes out. Dates and hours can move, so check before you drive.
Sun, Oct 11
9–10:30am
Three free thirty minute outdoor yoga classes with lululemon, out on the lawn. Bring a mat. A good reason to be outside early before it gets properly cold.
Every Thursday through October 30: Herndon Farmers Market, 8am to noon downtown. Producer only, so everything is grown or made within 125 miles. No pets except service animals.
Everything here comes off the venue's own page. Times and line-ups change, so check before you drive. Know something worth adding? Tell me and I'll put it in next week.
Thursdays
Get this list before the weekend
Five things worth doing this weekend in and around Herndon, sent Thursday morning. That's the whole thing. Stop any time.
Market update
Updated the first week of every month. Real closed data, not an algorithm's guess.
September 2026
6
Closed in the last 45 days
$650K
Median closed price
21
Median days on market
Six closings in the last 45 days, from $510,000 to $765,000, with a median of $650,000. The median took 21 days. That number hides what's actually happening.
Three of the six sold at full asking price. Three sold under it. The ones that went at list did it in six, seven and eleven days. The ones that didn't took 31, 35 and 40. There is almost nothing in between right now. A home here either goes in the first two weeks or it sits, and where it lands is mostly decided before it ever hits the market.
Worth knowing: two of the three that got full price also gave concessions, $2,500 and $12,500. So "sold at asking" and "netted asking" are not the same thing this month, and the headline number in a Zillow alert won't tell you which one happened.
Seven homes are on the market now, median asking $619,000. Two have been sitting past 60 days, one of them at 113.
That's the neighborhood. Which side your home lands on depends on your street, your finishes and how it's priced going in. I'll tell you where yours would sit.
First week of every month
Know what your street did before you need to
Every closing in McNair Farms, what it actually netted after concessions, and what it means for pricing. Once a month, nothing else. Stop any time.
John PhamLicensed in VA, MD & DC. Figures from Bright MLS.
Rules and approvals
McNair Farms is not one HOA. There is a master association plus several sub-associations, each with its own documents, and which one you answer to depends on your street. I have written up one of them so far.
Presidents Park · Land Bay 5, Lots 1–163
What needs approval, what is never allowed no matter how you ask, how the application actually works, and what each stage of a violation notice means.
Covers Land Bay 5 only. Your home is also subject to the McNair Farms Community Association master declaration, which overrides the Land Bay 5 documents where they conflict.
Not in Presidents Park?
The other associations I know of here are Manors at McNair Farms, McNair Farms West and McNair Farms Landbay, sitting under the McNair Farms Community Association master declaration. I have not read those document sets yet, so I am not going to guess at their rules.
Reading one set properly takes a few evenings, and I will do the next one based on who asks. Tell me which one you are in and I will start there.
Not sure which one covers you? Ask the managing agent through the resident portal.
Worth the drive
Reston Town Center is ten minutes, One Loudoun about fifteen. Every item below links to the source I took it from, so you can check the time before you go. Times and line-ups change and the official page will be right when this one is stale.
Town Square Park, Reston Station and the Town Center.
Season over
Back in
late May
Both Friday series have finished for the year. Happy Hour with Darden and Friends in Town Square Park and Fab Fridays on the Metro Plaza at Reston Station both run late May through late September, and both are free. Worth putting in the calendar for next spring.
Coming up
Sun
Oct 25
Noon to 3pm around the Town Center.
Source: restontowncenter.com Checked October 8, 2026
Ashburn. The Friday market, the plaza and the food fests.
Every week
Fridays
from 5pm
The Maker's Valley Friday Market on the plaza, running through October 30. Local makers, food and music.
Coming up
Oct 17–18
Food fest weekend with vendors, merch stalls and a DJ. It runs a few times a year and this is the last one of 2026.
Source: downtownoneloudoun.com Checked October 8, 2026
The fall season, which is the reason to go now rather than later.
Every weekend, in season
Sat & Sun
10am–5pm
Opens the weekend of September 26 and runs through the fall. Pumpkins, plants and the apple cider donuts. Ten minutes away and the closest of these by a distance.
Saturdays
evening
Live music on the lawn most Saturdays into the fall, about thirty five minutes. Ticketed, and they have rules about outside food and coolers, so check the calendar before you load the car.
Source: fxva.com Checked October 8, 2026
How this section works
The every week items run on the same day all season, so they are worth remembering rather than checking. The coming up items are one-offs with a date on them. I only list things I can find on the venue's own page, with the link next to it. If something here turns out to be wrong, tell me and I'll pull it.
Schools
Opened August 2026
Skyview opened this month at 2949 Education Drive, in the Floris area just south of Herndon. FCPS bought the former King Abdullah Academy campus for $150 million in August 2025. It's a comprehensive high school with extra programming in aerospace, technology, robotics and AI, and the first school in the county with an indoor pool.
The School Board approved attendance boundaries on July 16, 2026. They pull students from Westfield, Chantilly and South Lakes and affect roughly 2,544 students. This year is opt-in only. Boundaries take effect in 2027–28 with an opt-out for ninth graders, and by 2028–29 there's no opt-out.
Every no-school day and early release, in one place.
Official FCPS calendar page Printable 2026–27 PDF Get it on a magnet
Confirm anything important against the official FCPS calendar. Dates do move.
For the fridge
I had these printed for the neighborhood. If you want one, tell me where you live and I'll bring it by. No charge, and I'm not going to pitch you anything at the door.
Just want the dates now? The full calendar is in the schools section above, and the printable FCPS version is at fcps.edu/calendars. No form for either.
Answers, no clicking
Trash & recycling
Friday
Both collected same day
The practical stuff
Tap any of these to open it.
Where everything is and what your assessment covers.
Your annual assessment covers pool and tennis membership for townhouse and condo owners. The pool runs Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Pool passes: email myafi@capitolcorp.com. Free for new residents, $35 to replace a lost one.
Rates, minimums and how to book it.
Email myafi@capitolcorp.com with your reason and they'll send the rental form.
Checks payable to MFCA. Confirm whether Friday bills at the weekday or weekend rate, since it changes the minimum.
Collection days, permits and who manages what.
Trash and recycling are both Friday.
Parking passes are handled in person at the NRP office, 11091 Sunset Hills Rd Suite 500, Reston.
Who manages what: McNair Farms Community Association is the master association. Manors at McNair Farms, McNair Farms West and McNair Farms Landbay are sub-associations with their own rules. Which one you're in depends on your street.
Resident portal: portal.nrpartnersllc.com
Getting oriented
The places worth knowing about if you're new here or thinking about moving in.
Day to day, the closest of everything: Giant on Elden Street, Paris Baguette, and DMV Iron Gym at the Clock Tower.
For homeowners
Zillow can't see your kitchen, your lot, or what the last sale on your street actually closed at after concessions. I can, so I pull the real data and go through it by hand.
What I email you — two business days, no visit
What takes twenty minutes in person
No obligation, and I'm the only person who sees what you send. Any value I give you is an opinion of value, not an appraisal.
About
I'm John Pham. My wife and I run The Topaz Group at Spring Hill Real Estate, we live here in McNair Farms, and I'm licensed in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
Before this I spent four years in IT as a systems engineer, on projects for Fortune 500 companies and Amazon. It paid well and I was quietly miserable. I left in 2019 to do this instead.
My parents came here from Vietnam as refugees. We owned a house when I was younger and lost it to foreclosure. Losing something that big is not an experience you forget, and it is most of the reason I work as carefully as I do for the people who trust me with theirs.
My wife and I chose Herndon on purpose and we plan on being here a long time. This is our home too, and we would like to put something back into it.
Featured in NOVA Real Producers, Rising Star, April 2025 · RENE certified negotiation expert · Licensed in Virginia, Maryland & DC
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