GDoN Revisited by Hipchickindc – 500 M St NW #1

Hipchickindc is a licensed real estate broker and a professional artist. Her official real estate bio is here and her art website is here. 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: 500 M St NW #1

Legal Subdivision: Old City #2
Advertised Subdivision per Listing: Mt Vernon Square
Original List Price: $289,000.
List Price at Contract: $289,000.
List Date: 03/02/2011
Days on Market: 17
Settled Sales Price: $289,000.
Settlement Date: 05/05/2011
Seller Subsidy: $8,280.
Settled Price per Square Foot: $501.
Bank Owned?: No Short Sale? No
Type Of Financing: FHA

Original Good Deal or Not post is: here

The listing can be seen: here. Pics can be seen by clicking on the main photo and scrolling through using the arrows.

Despite being a large attractive end unit Victorian with a sexy round turret, 500 M St NW languished on the market for over 200 days with no takers. Oh yah…it was 1998. In 1998, the entire building was being offered for $219,900. Eventually, it sold in 1999 for $200,000.

Continues after the jump.

Lest we forget, the pre-turn of the millennium real estate market in DC was nothing like it is today. It’s hard to wrap one’s head around the changes in the short time from then to now, but consider that the Verizon Center (then the MCI Center) opened in December 1997. A couple of blocks down the street, ground breaking for the Convention Center started in 1998. Developers finally got around to picking up the entire building in 2003 for $500,000.

500 M St NW sits at the end of a block that includes such notable condos as The Palermo and M Street Flats. There’s a flagship Safeway across New York Avenue (the first supermarket in years to serve the Penn Quarter and Mount Vernon neighborhoods). Numerous restaurants are within a few blocks.

In 2006, the property was divided into four condo units. The subject property, located in the lower level, was marketed at “pre-construction price”. The listing from that time period notes that the unit “appraised for $360,000. in January.” It sold for $312,000. with a $12,000. subsidy. The purchaser at that time financed 100% (I always try to remind my buyers that when they have the seller pay closing costs, they are essentially financing their own closing costs). Unfortunately, foreclosure was not far behind. The most recent seller bought the unit as a foreclosure for $219,000. in 2008.