Grace ApostolAdorned with sprawling and towering tree-lined homes, Bethesda, Md. neighborhoods are dotted with modern and historic housing. To drive down one of Bethesda’s residential areas, like Glenbrook Village, means to take in custom homes, either in the early stages of construction or freshly built, decorated with signs detailing the companies that made them.
In the wake of this influx of construction, the Montgomery County government took action to bridge concerns from Bethesda residents. It has hired a home inspection specialist charged with overseeing construction standards.
The Consumer Protection Office sent out a press release announcing Matthew Kauffman joined the team of home inspectors with his 27 years of experience.
“His extensive experience will be crucial in thoroughly examining new homes and addressing concerns raised by consumers regarding home builders’ work,” the press release said. “With the increasing number of new home construction projects in Montgomery County, the role of the new home inspector is essential in upholding high standards resolving disputes.”
In an interview with The Wash, Kauffman said he is determined to help residents who have complaints about their newly built homes in the area, as well as juggling the different types of new-home construction corporations.
“I’m dealing with not just new home builds, but also contractors of all types dealing with home improvements and home repairs,” Kauffman said. However, he did not comment on the influx of complaints of the new home construction in residential areas and stuck to discussing the needs of new consumers.
“We still want to hear what people have to say. We talk to them and try, and bring people together, because our primary goal is to see the consumer made whole,” Kauffman said.
Despite seemingly numerous pushbacks on new homes from longtime residents of the D.C. suburb, Montgomery County’s Office of Consumer Protection hired Kauffman only to investigate consumer complaints of new home construction companies in the Montgomery County area.
Companies also have built larger homes on smaller plots. The construction companies call them “premium homes.” Long-time residents of the region took to calling them “McMansions,” something they are not keen on having.
Debbie Holder, a “local home-grown” of the Potomac-Bethesda area for 54 years, was once in the real estate business. She is still not in favor of the large houses being put up.
“They’re ripping up all of these homes and putting up all these ‘McMansions’,” said Holder. “They’re building these huge houses on these little lots.”
Younger and current residents of the area feel the same about newer, more expensive homes, with cheaper construction. Mimi Roa, twenty-eight, works in Bethesda and lives in nearby Rockville, Md., and knows of the concerns of long-time residents as construction increases.
“I would not want to buy a new house,” Roa said. Holder, backing this claim, commented on how these new homes are built.
“If you watch the construction being built, they’re not made well at all,” Holder observed. “They are built so quick.”
“We still want to hear what people have to say. We talk to them and try, and bring people together, because our primary goal is to see the consumer made whole,” Kauffman said.
From 2020 to 2024, Bethesda’s population increased by 3.28%, resulting in a rough total of 67,000 residents in the census-designated area of Montgomery County.
According to the U.S. News and World Report, Bethesda is home to some of the top public schools in Maryland, including Walt Whitman High School, making the area a destination for young families seeking high quality education.
With such a population increase for an already densely populated area of 13.2 square miles, there comes a need to build more housing. Many construction companies in the area, like Paramount Construction Incorporated, have begun to tear down older homes, building modern homes in their place to create more housing.
“There is more demand than supply,” Paramount’s says. “Since there are very few large parcels of land remaining in Bethesda, builders and developers are buying old homes and tearing down the house to get to the land. Yes, in many cases, the land that old functionally obsolete house sits on is more valuable than the house.”
Bethesda, being only 20 minutes from D.C., is a perfect place for new residents to migrate to, allowing for the phenomenon of what Holder calls the “mowing down the old and putting up the new.”
These newer, more expensive houses cause an uptick in real estate cost. If residents of Bethesda were curious to know the cost-of-living compared to a national level, they could be surprised by the results.
According to data from The Council for Community and Economic Research, nationally, the average sale price for housing is around $500,000. For Bethesda, it is $1.32 million, which is 203.9% of the U.S. average.
But these so-called luxury homes or “McMansions” are nothing new to the Bethesda residential areas. In an online anonymous forum called DC Urban Moms and Dads for parents of D.C., the discussion of these larger and newer homes has been a topic since 2018.
“I drive through Bethesda a lot and any smaller cute original home that gives neighborhood charm is being torn down,” said one user. “The traffic gets worse and worse with each new McMansion and the construction is a nightmare for neighbors.”
The consumer complaints come from new residents moving to and building homes in the area, including these “McMansions”. Despite the county’s mission, Bethesda residents believe that home inspectors within the county are there for profit and will not stop the building of cheaply made homes.
“They don’t care,” Holder said. “It’s money in their pocket.”
Other long-time residents of the area, like Roa, are hopeful that hiring Kauffman “could help them solve issues,” regarding how construction of new homes brings about complaints from Bethesda citizens. Roa also acknowledges that new residents building luxury homes in the area that go to inspectors may differ in opinions of older residents.
“I feel like the new homeowners are not as concerned with the problems in the area as older homeowners,” she said. “So, I feel like it is hard to say if they will care about the same issues.”
How new home building will be affected by Kauffman’s hiring is still yet to be seen. The Wash will be watching closely as new homes continue to go up and citizens make their concerns known.
There is no logical planning going into building and building of all these new homes.
The lots are undersized and the impact on infrastructure is not even being considered. More students for schools to educate. More cars on the roads and more riders on public transport.
The County Council has to wake up and engage in system wide planning.