Columbia Heights Day Celebration

The second annual “Columbia Heights Day” celebration is coming up on October 4th, so check it out – or, even better, get involved to help make it a success. 

 There will be live music from local entertainers, artisans, entertainers and local business representation.  You can see who they’ve lined up on the event’s Web site. I understand last year’s event was not well attended, but mainly because it was not well known. Given the strong local spirit of Columbia Heights residents, I am hopeful that things will pick up this year.

As for the real estate market, I haven’t focused on Columbia Heights for a while. Let’s take a look at what’s happening in the single family home category.

Today there are over 60 homes for sale in the area, not including the Mount Pleasant neighborhood west of 16th St NW. The average list price in Columbia Heights is $595,000, and houses have been on the market for an average of 116 days.

The interesting thing is that there is a very large disparity on how fast the houses are moving – more than I have noticed in other places. Some properties have been on the market for a REALLY REALLY long time (400 to 800 days), making it look like a slower market than it really is.  Perhaps these  homes are owned by investors who have the luxury of waiting around.

The highest priced property at the moment is an old house at 1207 Lamont St NW that was fully gutted and renovated into a modern beauty, including a two-level rental unit. Going for $1,275,000, it has 6 bedrooms and 6.5 baths.

At the median range you can get a Victorian row house with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths at 3578 13th St NW, priced at $599,000. One of the bedrooms and one bathroom are in the English basement rental unit. It is described as a “jewel” in the listing information but there are no photos, which is unusual. The price has come down by $60,000 and was last reduced in July, so the owner may be ready to negotiate.

The least expensive home in the neighborhood right now is a self-declared fixer-upper over at 2317 Sherman Ave NW. For $220,000 you’ll get 3 bedrooms and 1 bath. The price was originally $240,000 when it went on the market in July.

It is now easy to see recent sales information for any area in DC using the Redfin Web site. Click here to see the latest for Columbia Heights. This includes both condos and single family homes. To do your own past sales search, go to the search filter, choose your neighborhood, and then check off the blue house icon for past sales. Make sure all the other categories (house, condo, etc) are NOT checked if you only want to see past sales.

Cheers,
Allison

Photo: Mr. T in DC, Creative Commons license