Real Estate

Good Deal or Not? “one of a kind 1860s home” edition

By Prince Of Petworth

This home is located at 937 N St, NW:


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The flier says:

“REDUCED $100K-BEST DEAL!! Restored w/ antiques one of a kind 1860s home w/ huge addition. 4 bdrms/4 ba & fam rm. Gourmet kitchen with honed granite counter top that seats 4.Front & Back staircase. Swing backyard space w/ custom Mahogany doors and 2 CAR PARKING!. Brick/Stucco Wall. Historic Naylor Ct. Heart pine antique flooring. Luxury Baths. MTV Sq/Convention Ctr Metro.”

You can find more info here and photos here.

What do you think of the home itself. Think it’ll go for the new asking price of $1,099,999?

For those looking for a bit of a cheaper option – across the street at 940 N St, NW there is a 2 bed/2 bath going for $519,000.

Good Deal or Not? “new beautiful renovation” edition

By Prince Of Petworth

This home is located at 1367 Perry Place, NW:


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The flier says:

“A new beautiful renovation in Columbia Heights – steps from Tivoli Square shopping and restaurants. 3 bdrm (2 master suties) and 3 full bath with finished basement. Bamboo flooring, granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, maple cabinets, marble bathrooms and many more amenities.”

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

What do you think of the renovation? Does $569,900 sound right for this 3 bed/3 bath home?

Good Deal or Not? “Nantucket in the city” edition

By Prince Of Petworth

This home is located at 1702 Lamont St, NW:


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The flier says:

“”Nantucket in the city” – stunning, elegant 1909 Georgian-style home filled w/ original details. Gracious reception hallw with paneled staircase, bay-front living room, formal dining room, extra-large table-space kitchen, 5 bedrooms + den, 2 upgraded baths, sophisticated 3rd floor master suite with wet bar, 2 rear porches, full basement, CAC, period mantels, huge skylight, walk to everything.”

You can find more info here and photos here.

They had me at “sophisticated 3rd floor master suite with wet bar”…

What do you guys think? $879,000 sound reasonable for this 5 bed/2 bath?

GDoN Revisited by Hipchickindc – 1860 Upshur St NW

By Prince Of Petworth

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: 1860 Upshur St NW
Legal Subdivision: Crestwood
Advertised Subdivision per Listing: Crestwood
Original List Price: $895,000.
List Price at Contract: $799,000.
List Date: 04/26/2010
Days on Market: 149
Settled Sales Price: $795,000.
Settlement Date: 11/08/2010
Seller Subsidy: $250.
Bank Owned?: No Short Sale? No
Type Of Financing: Conventional

Original GDoN is: here.

The Listing can be seen: here. Here is the virtual tour.

I’ve been working on a listing in Crestwood since early Spring (currently under contract), and I have to say that I am surprised that more buyers on the hunt for a detached single family house do not include Crestwood in their searches. Sandwiched between Rock Creek Park and 16th Street NW, Crestwood is an enclave of handsome and often unique properties surrounded by parkland, yet with easy access to downtown. Recent sales in Crestwood have included the house built by Giant Foods powerhouse Izzy Cohen, as well as the home that the prolific Crestwood developer, Paul Stone, built for himself in 1938. Those listings can be seen here.

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Good Deal or Not? “a bit of New Orleans with side entrance” edition

By Prince Of Petworth

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?

Good Deal or Not? “luxurious and tranquil spaces” edition

By Prince Of Petworth

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.)

Good Deal or Not? “fully renovated gem” edition (Reader Request)

By Prince Of Petworth

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?

Good Deal or Not? “Brazilian rose flrs” edition (Reader Request)

By Prince Of Petworth

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?

GDoN Revisited by Hipchickindc – 1206 T St NW

By Prince Of Petworth

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).

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