The Fast Moving Single-Family Home Market in Capitol Hill

• May 18, 2011
• 9 Comments

by UrbanTurf Staff

The well at 1217 C Street NE

At the end of March, we wrote about a 1910 two-unit listing a couple blocks north of Lincoln Park in Capitol Hill for This Week’s Find. 1217 C Street NE (map) was converted to a 3,150 square-foot three-bedroom home in 2001 and the photo above is of the centered window well that was originally used as a light and ventilation source for each unit. When the property became a single-family home, the well was preserved and now runs from the top floor down to the main level. Iron cat-walks were also added and the master bedroom ceiling was removed to expose and incorporate the original brick and mortar construction of the home.

Living room at 1217 C Street NE

Just a few days ago, the home sold for $70,000 above its original asking price of $848,750. While the buyer(s) might have been so taken by the features above to offer well above the asking price, we believe that it is more illustrative that the market for three and four-bedroom homes in this section of Capitol Hill is extremely competitive right now.

When UrbanTurf analyzed the 20002 zip code at the end of February, it was revealed that sales of three-bedroom homes were up 32.26 percent percent and the average price rose 36.87 percent from the previous year. What’s more is that sales prices for four-bedroom homes also increased substantially year-over-year. These statistics, combined with a supply of single-family home listings of just south of 3.5 month’s, led our housing market guru Keith Gibbons to conclude that “anyone thinking of buying in 20002 should understand that with houses selling fast and prices increasing, they will also have to move quickly when they find the right home.”

Admittedly, the 20002 zip code encompasses more than just Capitol Hill (it includes Edgewood, Eckington and Trinidad as well), so we decided to take a more granular (i.e. just the section of Capitol Hill in 20002) and recent look at the single-family home market and learned that things have yet to slow down. While 1217 C Street NE was listed in late March and under contract within a week, 407 11th Street NE was listed earlier this month and was under contract in a similar time frame, 438 4th Street NE was under contract within about five days of being listed in late April, and it looks as though 443 4th Street NE had a sale pending on it within a day of being listed on April 29th. Given this activity, we wonder “this won’t last long” prediction will hold true for this home.

Photos courtesy of Mouse On House.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the_fast_moving_single_family_home_market_in_capitol_hill/3515

9 Comments

1. john said at 2:38 pm on Wednesday May 18, 2011:

   This is totally on point. I am going to close soon on a 3-bd in Cap Hill, but my first three choices were off the market like that (snapping my fingers).

1. East H said at 3:53 pm on Wednesday May 18, 2011:

   I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Take a look at Rosedale. We were frustrated with the quick action and bidding wars in Capitol Hill proper, popped about 2 blocks over, and got a great deal. 20002, minutes from everything on H Street and the hill.

1. Juliet said at 4:00 pm on Wednesday May 18, 2011:

   Same experience also with smaller, 2-bedroom (and those advertised as “3” bedrooms but hard to conceive of someone being able to sleep lying down in the 3rd) townhouses on the Hill anywhere near Eastern Market or a metro stop.  Example - My client was one of 20+ offers on 103 8th St NE that was listed for $489K (we knew it was priced low—her offer was good but not nearly good enuf) and sold for $625K (no backyard/patio, no parking, old kitchen, teeny 3rd Bedrm,2.5 bathrms & x-tremely charming)....

1. Bill said at 5:02 pm on Wednesday May 18, 2011:

   I loved the house featured here, but knew I had no chance when I went to the open house and saw how I packed it was.

   It is not only Capitol Hill where homes like this are grabbed up quickly. Logan, Shaw and U Street, it’s the same situation.

1. JT said at 5:03 pm on Wednesday May 18, 2011:

   And then there’s me…put in an offer on a home that had been on the market for 10 months until the price came down to appropriate levels.  Never thought I’d get a place in such a perfect location an with such historic amenities.

1. Mike said at 5:04 pm on Wednesday May 18, 2011:

   I was one of those 20+ offers on 103 8th St NE, but knew I’d never get it (I knew that one was crazy when I saw it within hours of listing and there were already 10 realtor cards on the mantle).  I also lost out on 3 other offers I made on the Hill.  However, I just closed last week on a place on the Hill (and love it more than the others I bid on)...and the only way I got it was that I made an offer prior to the open house and the sellers, who live out of state, wanted to move quickly.  It’s an aggressive market out there; you have to move fast. Mine’s in 20003.

1. Fritz Hubig said at 5:31 pm on Wednesday May 18, 2011:

   I’ve lived on the Hill about 15 years. Its a great place that will never be as hip as Logan, etc. but it truly feels like HOME here… 

   For all the people that has missed out lately, be patient and have a great Realtor at your side…one that lives and breathes this stuff…

1. Campy said at 6:00 pm on Wednesday May 18, 2011:

   Here comes another one, don’t blink: http://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/713-12th-St-NE-20002/home/9909942

1. H Street Landlord said at 10:04 pm on Thursday May 19, 2011:

   Love it. Would love to see additional neighborhoods, both in NW and NE, profiled similarly.

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