This home is located at 1307 S St, NW:


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The flier says:

“$100K Price Drop! A Real Duplex! Front 2Br/1Ba bilevel unit has great income stream. Rear owner’s 1BR/1.5BA unit is a bit of New Orleans with side entrance, wonderful garden, almost new Kit w/ exotic granite, s/s appls Upper master ste has almost new double vanity sink with marble top and porcelain undomount sink, tiled shower. Expanded yr round sunrm on main and enclosed porch up”

You can find more info here and photos here.

This is certainly an interesting set up. You think it would be ridiculously expensive to combine the units into one home? I’m def. digging the garden. Does $889,000 sound reasonable or is it gonna need another price drop?


This home is located at 468 Ridge St, NW:


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The flier says:

“The owners have spared no expense of time or money creating luxurious and tranquil spaces, first floor offers an oversize living warm hardwood floors all leading to an generous gourmet kitchen. Above has two large size bedrooms and two baths, High ceilings, w/ w carpet. southern exposure garden/patio and two car parking.”

You can find more info here and photos here.

What do you think of the renovation? The original asking price was $559,900. Now this 2 bed/2.5 bath is going for $524,900. Sound realistic?

There is also another for sale on the block at 431 Ridge St, NW for $400,000 (but they don’t have many photos so it’s hard to judge.)


This home is located at 1925 Summit Pl NE:


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The flier says:

“If comfort, convenience, and easy access around the city is what you’re after, then you’ve found it in this home. Located just a short distance to the NY Ave. subway and the new Harris Teeter, this fully renovated gem has new state of the art stainless steel appliances, light cherry cabinets, granite counters, hardwood floors, recessed lighting, finished basement, large rear deck, and much more.”

You can find more info here and more photos here.

The reader writes:

“What do you guys think about the house and area? The interior looks pretty decent and the deck out back is HUGE. The renovation seems to be of moderate quality (contractor grade tile in the bathrooms is lame). But some of the finishings are really nice.

Walking metro access to New York and, with some effort, Shaw/Howard is nice too. Street parking is kind of a negative, but for $350k, seems too good to be true as is.”

What do you guys think – does $359,900 sound reasonable for this place or is it too good to be true?


This condo is located at 1100 7th St, NE:


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The flier says:

“6 fabulous new condo residences, 1-3 BR. Brazilian rose flrs, stone kitchens, baths with spa tubs and custom vanities. SS Appl, stove, dishwasher, refrigerator, W/ D (Delivery), patio, prewired alarm system and speaker system, intercom. Select units roof deck(great views of Capital and Monument) and balconies, wine chillers and high end appliances. Parking available with select unit”

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

The reader writes, “I admire the property as it incorporates a Victorian style turret with a modern floorplan and two sweet roof decks. I thought it might generate some good chatter on PoPville.”

Does $269,900 ($83.75 condo fee) sound reasonable for this 1 bed/1.5 bath?


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: 1206 T St NW
Legal Subdivision: Old City #2
Advertised Subdivision per Listing: Logan/U Street
Original List Price: $1,099,000.
List Price at Contract: $1,099,000.
List Date: 08/20/2010
Days on Market: 32
Settled Sales Price: $1,099,000.
Settlement Date: 10/28/2010
Seller Subsidy: $2,750.
Bank Owned?: No Short Sale? No
Type Of Financing: Conventional

Original GDoN is: here.

The Listing can be seen: here. To see the pics, after opening the listing link, click on the main pic and scroll through using the arrows.

As the incoming president of the state level Realtor association for DC, I just spent five days at national meetings listening to other state leaders discuss the challenges within their real estate markets. To say that we, in the District of Columbia, are currently faring better than other parts of the country is an understatement. Whereas in the DC market we are occasionally dealing with foreclosures and short sales, some markets continue to struggle with inventory overwhelmed with both.

With interest rates for even jumbo mortgages at super lows, and lower and mid-range priced properties selling at a comfortable pace, we’re seeing the return of the “move up” buyer. Consider that in 2009, from January 1st until November 11th, there were a total of 359 sales of real property in the District that settled at a million dollars or more. Incidentally, 59 of those sales were condos or co-ops. This year, so far there have been 466 sales at a million dollars or more (84 of them condos or co-ops).

Continues after the jump. (more…)


This condo is located at 2444 Ontario Rd, NW:


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The flier says:

“Another spectacular condo project by Dashlar LLC. All new construction. 2 BR & 2 FB. Premium finishes. Gourmet kitchen w/ granite counters & stainless appliances. Luxurious baths w/ travertine tiles. In-unit W/ D, hardwood floors, low condo fees. Private deck plus common roofdeck w/ great views. Close to restaurants & nightlife but not too close. Parking available.”

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

At first I was just going to use this a ‘judging pop ups post’ but then I saw some units for sale. I think the units look pretty good. What do you think of the virtual tour?

Unit 1 is a 2bed/2bath that has gone under contract for $539,000. Unit 2 (our GDoN post) is a 2bed/2bath going for $585,000 ($175 condo fee). And Unit 4 is a 2bed/2bath going for $649,000 ($175 condo fee).

And out of curiosity – what do you think of the building itself?


This house is located at 1300 Fairmont St, NW:


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The flier says:

“A multi-year restoration complete, we now present perhaps the most refined offering ever in Columbia Heights/U Street – The Fairmont House. 5 floors of luxury, one of the largest of its kind. Original woodwork, elegant kitchen & bathrooms, ample storage, privacy, & prestige. 3 secure parking spaces. Contact listing agent for history/features narrative.”

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

Um, let me just say it straight out. This is my new favorite house in Columbia Heights and possibly in all DC. Holy crow. A friend of mine sent me this last night and I couldn’t wait to share with you guys. What’s your favorite part? It’s yours for $1,599,000.


We first had our eye on this project back in June. I happened to walk by it last weekend and was planning to show the shots but I’m happy to also have the listing info (thanks to a reader for sending).

You can find the listing info here and photos of the inside here. It’s yours for $1,285,000.

After the jump you can see what it looked like in June. (more…)


This home is located at 1706 5th St, NW:


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The flier says:

“SHAMROCK IN SHAW . .. . This is a rare find – three level home with Hdwds thruout. Gracious main with LR, DR, and kitchen with island. Room sizes are large – upper level media room with outdoor patio. Fenced rear and front. Conv to Rhode Island and metro.”

You can find more info here and photos here.

I’m super curious what you guys think about this one. It was originally on the market for $497,300 but is now going for $449,900. Does that sound reasonable for this 3 bed/2.5 bath rowhouse? And forgive my ignorance but what exactly makes this a shamrock?


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