Real Estate's Unicorn: The Three-bedroom Condo

• March 16th 2010

by Joe Marhamati

The three-bedroom condo is a property type that is not very easy to find and one that only a minority of home buyers are looking for. Many buyers are of the mindset that if they are going to invest in a three-bedroom property, why not a single-family home or a row house instead of a condo?

According to Long and Foster’s Pamela Wye, there are just 79 three-bedroom units currently listed in DC, compared to 550 two-bedroom condos/co-ops and 512 one-bedroom units. A number of new condo developments around town offer three-bedroom units, but like the statistics above, there are a disproportionately smaller number when compared to one and two-bedroom units.

Wye says that often the buyer that is in the market for a three-bedroom condo is looking to downsize from a much larger home, as their children have all left the nest and they no longer need as much living space. She also noted that this property type can be popular with retired couples who want the freedom to go on vacation and not have to worry about closing up everything, but still want the space when guests come into town.

Yet not all buyers shopping for three-bedroom condos are retirees or empty-nesters. Yanev, a 29 year-old home buyer, says he’s in the market for a three-bedroom condo for the extra space it allows for dinner parties and entertaining guests.

“Buying a house is better from an investment perspective – no collective decision-making, your own asset, no fees. But it is also really for family people rather than a single guy,” Yanev said to UrbanTurf. Yanev is currently looking for a high-end unit in the Dupont Circle, West End, Adam’s Morgan or Logan Circle neighborhoods but has had little luck. He has seen about 20 units, most of which had modern designs that he liked, but in a number there was no open space and the common living area was quite small.

While some don’t care for the layouts, others balk at the hefty fees for three-bedroom units.

“Because condo fees are based on, among other things, the square footage of a unit, three-bedroom condos typically have higher monthly fees than one and two-bedroom units,” Wye said. She noted that monthly condo fees for three-bedroom units can run upwards of $800 in Georgetown and Palisades, and this can deter many buyers. Wye had a client interested in a three-bedroom condo in Kalorama, but decided against the purchase when she saw that the condo fees approached $1,000 a month.

The smaller pool of potential buyers looking for three-bedroom condos often means they sit on the market longer. Wye says that this doesn’t necessarily translate into lower resale values, but simply more time and energy to sell.

Have you been looking for a three-bedroom condo? Tell us where you’ve seen them and what factors you’d consider before buying.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/real_estates_unicorn_the_three-bedroom_condo/1880.