This home is located at 4832 Illinois Ave, NW:


View Larger Map

The flier says:

“FULLY-LOADED @ ENTICING PRICE! RENOVATED RECENTLY B4 FORECLOSED. NATURAL LIGHT FR COUNTLESS NEWER WINDOWS. WOOD FLRS THROUGHOUT. FRENCH DRS LEAD TO DECK. NEWER KITCHEN, GRANITE, S/S APPL’S. NEWER BATHROOMS. BONUS 2-BEDROOM 2BATHROOM + FAMILY RM IN-LAW/ GUEST STE W/ GRANITE-COUNTERED KITCHENETTE. 2ND FLR BALCONY. OFFERS REC’D BUT NO ACCEPTANCE YET. PRE-INSPECTIONS ENCOURAGED. SAFE CONVEYS.”

You can find more info here and a virtual tour here.

This 6 bed/4.5 bath is going for $349,000.


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 the Principal Broker (DC) for Urban Pace, LLC. 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: 334 8th St NE
Legal Subdivision: Old City #1
Advertised Subdivision per Listing: Old City #1
Original List Price: $364,000.
List Price at Contract: $364,000.
List Date: 02/15/2011
Days on Market: 10
Settled Sales Price: $540,000.
Settlement Date: 03/31/2011
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. To see pics, open the listing link, click on the listing then scroll through from the main pic.

The subject house here was actually a secondary property on a twofer Good Deal or Not (GDoN) post. This small two bedroom home with no basement or parking, located within two blocks of Stanton Park on The Hill, was an estate sale. Commenters to the original GDoN post noted that it was essentially priced for auction. Some weren’t too complimentary of the listing agent for bringing back the 2004 bidding wars, but she did her job for the seller and drew apparently in the range of 20 offers. Ultimately, the settled sale price is 148% of the original list price. My question to readers is, what do you think it would have sold for if it had actually been priced at, say, $539,900.?

To give an idea of the market in that specific location, Here is everything within a quarter mile that is an active, pending, or settled (since 10/01/2010) listing. City wide, the average list to sale price ratio for March 2011 was 93.2%. For the zip code of 20002, it was 95.3% (including this outlier). Citywide for all houses priced under $375,000., the average list to sale ratio for March 2011 was 97.19%.

By the way, the other house on that original GDoN settled also. 803 Maryland Ave NE was originally listed for $629,000. Pricing was reduced to $599,000., which led to a settled sale at that price with a subsidy of $18,094. It was on the market for 91 days. You can see the listing and pics here. This house had a basement and a garage and was fully renovated. I’m guessing no bidding war and the purchaser was able to utilize FHA financing. Considering the subsidy, it sold for $40,906. more than the property mentioned above. Who do you think got the better deal?


This home is located at 1531 Vermont Ave, NW:


View Larger Map

The flier says:

“Rarely available, beautifully appointed & updated grande dame less than a block off Logan Circle. Period & architectural details, high ceilings, large-scaled rooms perfect for entertaining, hardwood floors, expansive kitchen addition, landscaped patio & generous roof deck, wonderful Master Suite & 2nd floor den/family room, renovated 2 bedroom in-law suite with front & rear entrances.”

You can find more info here and a virtual tour here.

This 7 bed/3.5 bath is going for $1,520,000. How do you think it ranks among house porn posts?


This home is located at 718 Rhode Island Ave, NW:


View Larger Map

The flier says:

“END-UNIT, 3 LEVEL, ROW HOUSE, ALTERNATIVE TO CONDO LIVING W/ OUT THE FEES, LOADS OF LIGHT, HW FLOORS, 3 FIREPLACES, UNIQUE LOFT SPACES WITH MULTIPLE SPACES FOR ENTERTAINING, BRICK EXPOSED WALLS, LOFTED CEILINGS, LIVING ROOM SUSPENDED OVER THE KITCHEN, 2 FULL BATHS & 1 HALF-BATH, 1 OF THE 3 LIVING AREAS COULD BE USED AS A 2ND BR, MOVE-IN CONDITION, 1 BLOCK TO METRO,”

You can find more info here and a virtual tour here.

Well this is def. a unique one – what do you think of the layout? Pretty wild.

This 1 bed/2.5 bath is going for $499,000 – sound realistic?


This carriage house is located at 516 E Archibald Walk SE:


View Larger Map

The flier says:

“Small carriage house in excellent Eastern Market location: One block to Eastern Market Metro; one block to Barracks Row \ 8th Street restaurants; 15 minute WALK to the Capitol, Lincoln Park, SE riverfront parks, and Nationals stadium. 1 bedroom, 1 bath, plus office or small room upstairs. Open plan downstairs. Private brick patio. Fireplace. Wood laminate floors. Central AC and heat.”

You can find more info and photos here. Be sure to scroll down to see all the photos.

Thanks to a reader for noticing this former house of the day. It’s yours for $390,000 – sound realistic?


“Dear PoP,

Remember this house at 727 Taylor St, NW that had a fire [July 2010]?

I’ve been noticing tons of work going on – major renovation – and now it’s for sale. It sold for $144,500 on 1/25/2011. It looks pretty sharp.

The agent said they already have 2 offers!”

The house is currently for sale for $499,900 and you can see photos here.

I’ll be honest – I’m amazed it got renovated so quickly. I feared it would remain boarded up for a while. Very glad to know I was wrong. What do you think of the reno?


This condo is located at 1207 Girard St, NW:


View Larger Map

The flier says:

“Stunning 2BR/2.5BA Penthouse unit in a classic townhouse. Amazing outdoor spaces. Open floor plan on main level stretches 65′ with 10’+ ceilings. Gourmet Kitchen offers custom Euro cabinetry, 10′ long island, gorgeous marble counters, superior SS appliances. Upper level: owner’s suite with 2nd deck, 2nd BR, marble baths. Front attic storage space. Secured parking!”

You can find more info here and a mouse on house tour here.

I know people feel strongly about row houses that get divided into condos – so I was curious what you thought about this one. I thought it was particularly interesting that it went under contract so quickly. My goal is to get invited over to see that deck in person…

This 2 bed/2.5 bath was going for $739,900 ($212 condo fee).


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 the Principal Broker (DC) for Urban Pace, LLC. 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: 1730 S St NW

Legal Subdivision: Old City #2
Advertised Subdivision per Listing: Dupont
Original List Price: $2,350,000.
List Price at Contract: $2,350,000.
List Date: 09/30/2010
Days on Market: 74
Settled Sales Price: $2,000,000.
Settlement Date: 03/16/2011
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. To see pics, open the listing link, click on the listing then scroll through from the main pic.

The average settled sale price of a home in Washington, DC (only DC, all four quadrants, including condos and co-ops) in March 2011 was $505,008. Of the 555 sales last month, 43 were over $1,000,000. Of those 43 sales, only 2 were in Capitol Hill, while the rest were in NW DC.

Continues after the jump. (more…)


This home is located at 231 8th St, NE:


View Larger Map

The flier says:

“LOCATION! COVERED PARKING! Charming, LARGE 3BR/2.5BA Victorian offers very best of the Hill, only steps to Eastern Market, Lincoln Park, Stanton Park, Union Station! 3 finished levels, high ceilings, original HWF, light-filled, large lot, large yard, large house, OSP, FP, CAC, EIK, oak cabinets, stone countertops and much, much more!”

You can find more info here and photos here.

This 3 bed/2.5 bath is going for $779,000 – sound right?

We’ve also featured its awesome transom before:


View More Stories