Hillcrest:
No Longer DC's Best Kept Secret

November 17, 2008
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Neighborhoods

by Mark Wellborn

Borders: Pennsylvania Avenue, Southern Avenue and Naylor Road
ZIP code(s): 20020
Pricing data: Hillcrest real estate (Redfin)
Map: Click here for interactive Google Map

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A Garden in Hillcrest

The southeast DC neighborhood of Hillcrest is frequently identified for what it lacks. There are not many restaurants, only a few bars and no shopping areas. However, what the neighborhood does not have in amenities and services it makes up for with beautiful homes and some of the best lawns and gardens in the city.

Demographics

The Hillcrest neighborhood has a population of about 7,000 and the average age of the residents is 40. Hillcrest is one of the most residential zip codes in DC and approximately one of every four households has children. The median household income is $49,764, according to Redfin.

Property Prices

The median list price for a single-family home on the market in Hillcrest is about $355,000, according to Redfin, but the average price of the homes that have sold in the last ninety days is $300,000. Below we look at two properties that are currently on the market.

There is a four-bedroom Cape Cod available for $329,999. The home needs to be renovated but has a number of nice features including a great front porch, a rear porch that has been converted into a sun room and a large garage off the side of the house. The basement is unfinished but has the potential to be a nice in-law suite. For the full listing, click here.

There is also a three-bedroom detached colonial on the market for $499,900. Located on a double lot, the property has hardwood floors throughout, a living room with a wood-burning fireplace, a detached garage and a two-car parking pad. The listing indicates that the house will probably need some work which, coupled with its high price, might deter potential buyers. For the full listing, click here.

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A Bungalow in Hillcrest

Market Fundamentals

The Washington City Paper nicknamed Hillcrest “Lawn and Order,” perhaps one of the most appropriate descriptions that it gave to any DC neighborhood in its Hoods and Services issue. With the prevalence of single-family detached homes and well-manicured lawns, Hillcrest could be mistaken for a suburban neighborhood in Maryland instead of southeast DC.

Between 2004 and 2006, the property prices in Hillcrest increased about 20 percent, but the listing prices have come down a good deal in the last two years. Chuck Riley, who is the go-to residential broker in Hillcrest with a 43 percent share of the homes on the market, told UrbanTurf that renovated four and five-bedroom homes are available in Hillcrest for between $595,000 and $630,000 and older three and four-bedroom homes that are in need of renovation can be purchased for between $330,000 and $385,000.

“You can get a five-bedroom home in Hillcrest for the same amount that a condo costs in Capitol Hill,” Riley said. “And for the price of an efficiency in Northwest, you can get a three-bedroom home in Hillcrest that just needs a little bit of work.”

Riley also noted that people are really getting good deals in the area now.

“There is great value for your money right now in Hillcrest,” he said. “Two years ago, homes were selling in the high six and seven hundred (thousands). You don’t see that these days.”

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The Well-Manicured Lawns of Hillcrest

Insider Tips

Hillcrest is a great place to raise a family, host regular summer barbeques and compete with your neighbor for who has the better looking garden. It is not a neighborhood where you can go out to a nice restaurant, catch a movie or grab a cocktail. “If bars and clubs are the destination, you’ll be getting in the car or waiting on a bus,” the City Paper wrote. “It’s best to enjoy the quiet life here, perhaps have a cookout with the neighbors.”

The Hillcrest neighborhood is in the southeast quadrant of DC, an area that is usually identified as one of the city’s rougher areas. However, even though it is near neighborhoods like Anacostia (which seem to be turning over a new leaf), it has remained relatively immune from a significant crime element.

Although it is not scheduled to deliver until 2012, the planned Skyland Shopping Center at the corner of Alabama Avenue and Naylor Road will be the first mixed-use shopping and residential development in the 20020 zip code. The site will incorporate four blocks of mixed-retail and residential development including three parking decks. The developers (Rappaport Companies, William C Smith & Company and Marshall Heights CDO) are said to be in talks to bring a number of national retailers to the center which would greatly improve the area’s shopping options.

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A House in Hillcrest

Parking & Transportation

Street parking is quite plentiful in Hillcrest, although many homes still come with garages and/or parking pads.

The 32, 34, 35 and 36 bus lines service the Hillcrest neighborhood and run downtown. Although it is just over the border in Maryland, the Naylor Road Metro stop on the green line is about a twenty-minute walk from most places in Hillcrest.

Bottom Line

It is no longer appropriate to refer to Hillcrest as one of DC’s best kept secrets. By now, this community has built a reputation as a quiet DC neighborhood that is off the beaten path, but full of some beautiful detached single-family homes. And that is what you will get if you move here. However, prospective buyers should keep in mind that for most necessities you will have to get in the car and head to Eastern Market.