Are these H St. NE / Capitol Hill houses priced appropriately?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let’s play “Why aren’t these homes selling” All north of H and under $1 million.

1. https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/905-K-St-NE-20002/home/9903999

2. https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/241-K-St-NE-20002/home/9890845

3. https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1316-I-St-NE-20002/home/9912374

4. https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/921-L-St-NE-20002/home/9903904

5. https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/914-Kent-Pl-NE-20002/home/9903862

For 1 property I have my suspicions as to why it’s struggled to sell, but a few seem like good bargains for the area.

Updating these
#1 - listing pulled
#2 - still for sale with $50K price decrease
#3 - still for sale
#4 - now for rent
#5 - sold for $105K under listing price

The last listing appeared to be longtime owners who I presume just wanted to sell quickly and were not as concerned with maximizing their profit. There are still quite a few homeowners in this situation in the city. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact they have on prices over the next year.

241 K is a beautiful home, really well done. But being next to the Indian restaurant is a liability. Having the restaurant in the neighborhood, great for the property values of the surrounding blocks. Sharing a wall, not so much. Plus, the future land use plan for that block is for all of the houses to be torn down and converted into mixed-use developments. You don't want to be the last person holding out while the developers swoop in and destroy the community around you.

Call me crazy, but it seems like this could be a plus and makes the property more appealing? I would not want the house next to the restaurant with the noisy patio either BUT if I could by it in that location for less than 800k with the expectation that developers are going to swoop in and buy me out within the next 5-10 years, maybe it's worth it? Large scale developers often pay above market because it's the only way to get people to give up their homes, and their profit margins on large projects can absorb those costs.

What's more likely to happen is that the developers will build around you, and you'll be the house sharing a wall with a huge building. An egregious example of this is 644 H St NE, but you can see similar setups on transitioning blocks all around the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let’s play “Why aren’t these homes selling” All north of H and under $1 million.

1. https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/905-K-St-NE-20002/home/9903999

2. https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/241-K-St-NE-20002/home/9890845

3. https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1316-I-St-NE-20002/home/9912374

4. https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/921-L-St-NE-20002/home/9903904

5. https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/914-Kent-Pl-NE-20002/home/9903862

For 1 property I have my suspicions as to why it’s struggled to sell, but a few seem like good bargains for the area.

Updating these
#1 - listing pulled
#2 - still for sale with $50K price decrease
#3 - still for sale
#4 - now for rent
#5 - sold for $105K under listing price

The last listing appeared to be longtime owners who I presume just wanted to sell quickly and were not as concerned with maximizing their profit. There are still quite a few homeowners in this situation in the city. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact they have on prices over the next year.

241 K is a beautiful home, really well done. But being next to the Indian restaurant is a liability. Having the restaurant in the neighborhood, great for the property values of the surrounding blocks. Sharing a wall, not so much. Plus, the future land use plan for that block is for all of the houses to be torn down and converted into mixed-use developments. You don't want to be the last person holding out while the developers swoop in and destroy the community around you.

Call me crazy, but it seems like this could be a plus and makes the property more appealing? I would not want the house next to the restaurant with the noisy patio either BUT if I could by it in that location for less than 800k with the expectation that developers are going to swoop in and buy me out within the next 5-10 years, maybe it's worth it? Large scale developers often pay above market because it's the only way to get people to give up their homes, and their profit margins on large projects can absorb those costs.

What's more likely to happen is that the developers will build around you, and you'll be the house sharing a wall with a huge building. An egregious example of this is 644 H St NE, but you can see similar setups on transitioning blocks all around the city.

PP. Also it might not be one big complex by a major company. It could be small fly-by-night developers building four/six/eight-plexes one lot at a time. They absolutely won't buy you out. They'll just do whatever shoddy popup they're going to to do right next to you, and probably damage your home in the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What happened to the cash buyers?

A lot of those folks weren’t really “cash” buyers. They may not have had a financing contingency, but they were getting mortgages. Some were borrowing via lines of credit against brokerage accounts and getting mortgages for the long term. Rising interest rates and the drop in the stock market has impacted these buyers.

DP but that's a useful point. I had been wondering about the cash buyers as well -- this must be especially relevant for the 900k+ price point, where buyers are more likely to have access to that kind of financing. I've always wondered a bit where people are getting a million (or more) in liquid cash. Most people's finances are not structured in a way to make that a simple thing to produce, even if you are high income and high asset.

It made absolutely no sense to liquidate investments into actual cash to buy real estate when returns were so high and mortgage interest rates so low. HNW individuals were offering “cash” because they didn’t have to worry about qualifying for a mortgage and/or could use an investment line of credit until a mortgage could be arranged.

[Anonymous]

I hate paying interest, paperwork and giving people access to my information. If i had money, i would totally buy cash and have a simple life.

[Anonymous]

I've never been a big fan of H street, would rather move to Eastern Market under better circumstances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know a number of sellers who chose to pull their houses off the market and rent instead, after seeing how soft the market was. They all had renters within a couple weeks. I'll be curious how this works out down the road -- if they decide to rent longterm or try the market again next year or the year after. If rent covers your mortgage and some extra for maintenance (which it likely will based on rents I've seen), you can carry the market pretty easily. But most people need equity from their home to buy another, especially with rates as high as they are. I wonder what next year is going to look like as some of these owners maybe come back on the market all at once, plus the usual churn. Unless rates come back down to what they were early 2022 (which I don't think will happen), I think prices are going to stay lower for a bit.

+1 I'm seeing a lot of sellers on Capitol Hill renting it instead. The problem for buyers is this creates an alternative for sellers and prevents prices from going much lower than currently. Of course, there will be those who have to sell to get the equity but renting sure makes a lot of sense for many of them. It is my understanding that rents are at high points and in most cases should at least cover their costs with the low interest rates they have gotten over the last few years.

[Anonymous]

It only takes one bad tenant they can never kick out.

[Anonymous]

Came across these two homes under 900k (one well under) in my feed this morning, IB for Maury. I'm not in the market for that part of the neighborhood, but thought people on here might be interested since Maury is a great school.

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1509-A-St-NE-20002/home/9918618 -- absolute gem if you like original floors/woodwork and are up for a bit of a fixer upper. Totally livable but could use some updating. 790k for a full row house IB for Maury that is not a total gut job seems like a steal!

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1509-D-St-NE-20002/unit-2/home/182486887 -- this is a condo split but it's nice, IB for Maury, and has a multiple outdoor spaces including a large roof deck. I'd personally prefer the other one because it's a whole house, but if you don't have a kitchen and bath renovation in you, this could be a better option. 850k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Came across these two homes under 900k (one well under) in my feed this morning, IB for Maury. I'm not in the market for that part of the neighborhood, but thought people on here might be interested since Maury is a great school.

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1509-A-St-NE-20002/home/9918618 -- absolute gem if you like original floors/woodwork and are up for a bit of a fixer upper. Totally livable but could use some updating. 790k for a full row house IB for Maury that is not a total gut job seems like a steal!

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1509-D-St-NE-20002/unit-2/home/182486887 -- this is a condo split but it's nice, IB for Maury, and has a multiple outdoor spaces including a large roof deck. I'd personally prefer the other one because it's a whole house, but if you don't have a kitchen and bath renovation in you, this could be a better option. 850k.

A Street looks like a steal to me!

[Anonymous]

Talking of a steals. Here is another one.

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/419-11th-St-SE-20003/home/9907550

[Anonymous]

This is a higher price point, but I’d also call it a steal:

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/404-7th-St-NE-20002/home/9898988

Already pending, and I’ll be interested to see what it ended up going for. I know interest rates are high right now, but that listing price still seems low for that much house. Unless there’s something I’m missing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Talking of a steals. Here is another one.

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/419-11th-St-SE-20003/home/9907550

I saw the other thread on this one. While the price is below recent market trends, and I can see it going over ask, I disagree it's a steal. Sub-800 sq ft is really really small, especially spread over two floors. You can upgrade all finishes but you're never getting more space out of that footprint -- the narrowness makes a popup nonsensical, and eating into the patio for space moving backwards is counterproductive, as the patio is probably one of the nicest spaces on the property.

I think these are a good investment but I couldn't live in one. Maybe to buy, fix up, and rent out, as an investment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Talking of a steals. Here is another one.

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/419-11th-St-SE-20003/home/9907550

That's one of my favorite kitchen updates I've seen in a while. Love that part of the neighborhood, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Talking of a steals. Here is another one.

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/419-11th-St-SE-20003/home/9907550

That's one of my favorite kitchen updates I've seen in a while. Love that part of the neighborhood, too.

I've an aunt in that neighborhood and its a lovely block. I would make a few changes if i bought this home. First is to take out the bush in front and put grass with some floral plants. Second, swap staircase wall with wrought iron and carpet with wood. I may upgrade kitchen appliances to cream colored ones when existing ones stop working. Overall, its in move in condition but 5-6k can really upgrade this place. I would add more grass and flowers to the backyard as well. May be a screened in porch at dome point to maximize useable space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Talking of a steals. Here is another one.

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/419-11th-St-SE-20003/home/9907550

I saw the other thread on this one. While the price is below recent market trends, and I can see it going over ask, I disagree it's a steal. Sub-800 sq ft is really really small, especially spread over two floors. You can upgrade all finishes but you're never getting more space out of that footprint -- the narrowness makes a popup nonsensical, and eating into the patio for space moving backwards is counterproductive, as the patio is probably one of the nicest spaces on the property.

I think these are a good investment but I couldn't live in one. Maybe to buy, fix up, and rent out, as an investment.

I can bet it would go above ask. I can absolutely see myself living there, less space but good saving compared to most row homes while living where i actually want to live.