GDoN Revisited by Hipchickindc- 507 Q St NW

Prince Of Petworth February 11, 2011 at 11:00am

Voted one of the best real estate agents in DC by the Washington City Paper Readers’ Choice Poll in 2009, hipchickindc aka the not-so-hip Suzanne Des Marais is an Associate Broker with Urban Pace. She lives (and sells a lot of houses) in Bloomingdale, but works all over DC, with everyone from first time buyers to highly regarded developers. Unless specifically noted, neither she nor the company that she is affiliated with represented any of the parties or were directly involved in the transaction reported below. Unless otherwise noted, the source of information is Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS), which is the local multiple listing system. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Featured Property: 507 Q St NW
Legal Subdivision: Old City #2
Advertised Subdivision per Listing: Shaw Mt Vernon Sq

Original List Price: $739,000.
List Price at Contract: $599,000.
List Date: 08/26/2010
Days on Market: 162
Settled Sales Price: $570,000.
Settlement Date: 01/14/2011
Seller Subsidy: $0.
Bank Owned?: No Short Sale? No
Type Of Financing: Conventional

Original Good Deal or Not post is: here

The listing can be seen: here. The virtual tour can be seen here.

Public records show a transfer of this property for $346,000. in March 2010. The property was gutted and completely renovated. In August 2010, it was optimistically listed for $739,000. The Virginia-based sellers tried a significant drop to $659,000., then moved down to $629,000. In December, they moved the listing to DC-based TTR Sotheby’s agent, Diana Hart. It went under contract within 15 days after being listed at $599,000. and re-marketed with the virtual tour you can see at the link above.

I always find it interesting to see the trail of listings over time. The first listing for this property that appears in the multiple listing system (remember, there was no central database available online until the mid-1990’s) was back in 1995 for $50,000. Comments state that “HOUSE IS NOT QUITE LIVABLE, BUT A GOOD CLEANING AND COSMETIC MAKEOVER COULD MAKE IT A CHARMER.” It settled for $48,500.

Continues after the jump.

Another listing shows up in Spring of 2000 priced at $84,900., described as lender owned and occupied by tenants. It’s worth noting that back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, parts of DC saw a robust cycle of foreclosures. Although there is no completed transfer reported at that time either through the listing or public records, the property apparently sold and was renovated.

In November 2000, it was listed for $159,000. The listing proclaims that it is a “Super-large brick Victorian in hot Shaw neighborhood near new Convention Center. Just Renovated!! New A/C, new furnace, new kitchen, giant MBR with walk-in closet, hardwoods, great house!!” It sold for $150,000. with a $4500. subsidy.

This makes me wonder how many houses that were renovated within the past ten or so years are due for another complete makeover.