How Much Is An Entire Neighborhood Worth?

"Homeowners in a neighborhood steps from downtown Bethesda face a tantalizing possibility: A developer wants to buy all 60 houses in their community, potentially turning many residents into millionaires.

The rectangular, tree-lined neighborhood west of Wisconsin Avenue, known as Sacks, is within walking distance of a bustling downtown that is slated for more high-rises, retail businesses and a hotel, and developer Jeffrey Neal says adding Sacks to that mix is a logical next step.

The possible sale could be more lucrative than what the residents, some of them elderly and thinking about selling anyway, could get on their own. Many were excited by an offer of more than $3 million a home. That was taken off the table and replaced by lower offers, but they're still higher than what many homes would bring on the open market.

But the sale also poses a dilemma: How do you assess the value of a rare cluster of single-family houses so close to high-quality shops, restaurants and condominiums? How best to calculate the less tangible sense of a community that could be flattened in days by a bulldozer?"