In real life, hipchickindc is licensed as a real estate broker in the District of Columbia and Virginia, and as a real estate salesperson in Maryland. 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. The source of information is Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS), which is the local multiple listing system. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

In a recent edition of Good Deal or Not, there seemed to be some interest in having some follow up as properties sell (or not). I took a moment to go back as far as the beginning of October 2008. From that time to 12/10/08, the Prince has featured an impressive total of fifty eight actual listings and one FSBO (for sale by owner) that was not in the regional multiple listings system.

Out of fifty eight listings, only one has settled (which I’ll provide more info on in a sec). Here’s what happened to the rest so far:

  • 39 remain active
  • 6 are under contract
  • 1 is temporarily off the market
  • 10 are withdrawn
  • 1 is expired

The details can be found <a href =http://matrixreports2.mris.com/MatrixReportServer/CMAOutput/35904/CMA_Summary_Detail2225.PDF> here.
Sooooo, which one sold?

919 Euclid St NW, is a renovated 3 bedroom 2 full bath townhome with covered parking. It was on the market for a grand total of 8 days (very nice). It was listed for $425,000. and settled for the magic number of $417,000. with a subsidy from the Seller in the amount of $11,917. It closed on October 30th, 2008 with FHA financing, which means that an owner occupant purchased it.

$417,000. really is the magic number because it’s the upper limit for conforming loan pricing. Over that amount, one starts to get into the territory called “high conforming”, up to $729,000. Over $729,000., at least until December 31st, 2008, after which it will change to $624,000., one enters the really scary neighborhood of jumbo loan pricing.

I noticed that the property had only recently changed hands prior to this sale. In July, it had been purchased for $226,000.

I’ve included both the recent sale and the July sale listings <a href=http://matrix.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Email.aspx?ID=28123365172> here</a>. To see before and after pics, click the camera icon to the top left of each listing.


A mere couple of months ago PoP spotted a pretty weak looking park at 14th and Girard St. Then just a couple of weeks later he got word that the park was getting a facelift, and this past Monday I attended the ribbon cutting ceremony for the brand new Girard Street Park play surface area. If only everything in the District happened this fast!

Back in August the park was pretty sad looking (http://www.princeofpetworth.com/?p=3652) so this is definitely a HUGE improvement. Mayor Fenty, Ward 1 councilmember Jim Graham, and DC Department of Parks and Recreation Director Clark Ray were all there for the big event, as the largest rubber playing surface in the entire District of Columbia was opened to the public.

The park is also home to some basketball courts and a community garden run by a program called CityBlossoms. I got to meet Executive Director Rebecca Lemos who explained to me that the garden is tended to by children from some local community programs, including Centronia, Community of Hope and the Columbia Heights Youth Organization. Right now there are some “winter crops” growing, including some yummy looking cauliflower!

The park looks great now, and I really hope it stays that way. I live right around the corner and have seen some pretty shady activity going on over there. But it’s my hope, along with most of the community I’m sure, that people respect this great new space and try to keep it safe and clean for the children of Columbia Heights!


This week’s was a super tough one so congrats to the winner, DCDireWolf:

“All I want for Christmas is more bike lanes and a bottomless supply of lithium.”

Please email me directly so I can get you a t-shirt.


I love this row house. I once featured a crazy detail from this house:

But it has other great details as well:


Are they as cool as they seem? Do they keep you warm? How many people can stay warm? Are they better than the heat lamps you often see at restaurants? If anyone has a good one – can you recommend the particular brand?


I was amazed to see so many new buildings on the 400 block of N Street, NW. What do you think of ’em? In the photo above do you prefer the one on the left or right – or neither?

A half block away you’ll find these:

Thumbs up or down?

It is quite a contrast to the buildings across the street. The building across the street take up a whole square block and seem to have come straight out of the late 60s or early 70s.

Wild contrast from the more modern ones being built, yeah?


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