GDoN Revisited by Hipchickindc – 70 Rhode Island Ave NW #401

Voted one of the best real estate agents in DC by the Washington City Paper Readers’ Choice Poll in 2009, hipchickindc aka the not-so-hip Suzanne Des Marais is an Associate Broker with Urban Pace. She lives (and sells a lot of houses) in Bloomingdale, but works all over DC, with everyone from first time buyers to highly regarded developers. Unless specifically noted, neither she nor the company that she is affiliated with represented any of the parties or were directly involved in the transaction reported below. Unless otherwise noted, the source of information is Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS), which is the local multiple listing system. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Featured Property: 70 Rhode Island Ave NW #401
Original List Price: $324,900.
List Price at Contract: $299,000.
List Date: 03/18/2010
Days on Market: 96

Settled Sales Price: $265,000.

Settled Price Per Square Foot: $345 No Parking Included
Settlement Date: 09/03/2010
Seller Subsidy: $0.
Bank Owned?: No Short Sale? No
Type Of Financing: Conventional through NACA

Original GDoN is: here.

The Listing can be seen: here. To see pics, after opening the listing link, click on the main pic and scroll through.

Prior to 2003, there was a grand total of one building of condominium ownership in all of Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park, at 5 Rhode Island Ave NW. This Good Deal or Not (GDoN) condo is located at 70 Rhode Island Avenue NW, and was one of three buildings developed as condos to come to fruition that year. All three had been rental apartments up to that point. Originally marketed as “The Ember”, residents swiftly revised this ominous moniker to “The Providence”. (The building at the corner of T St NW and 1st NW, where Rustik is coming in, was known as “The Green Ember” and was condo’ed during the same era.) The entire building had been gutted and renovated in 2002-2003. Each unit includes a gas fireplace, and even the small units typically have an open feel to them.

Continues after the jump.

The listing agent for this unit included a post-closing note in her comments that is particularly relevant for agents pricing in the same building and for appraisers. She reported that the unit appraised low and that the “Buyer paid most closing fees for the seller.” At this time, there is not a dedicated field in our multiple listing service to note fees paid on behalf of the Seller. Closing fees for the Seller would have included a tax equal to 1.1% of the purchase price (so in this case, $2915.), as well as adjustments for any taxes paid or due, fees for the settlement company, fees to the city for recording the release of the deed of trust, as well as brokerage fees.

At $345 per square foot, purely based on the purchase price without considering the closing costs paid by the buyer, this sale was actually right in line with condo values in Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park. The other two units that sold in the building this year, both much larger than this one, sold at $285 and $257 per square foot, which accounts for the low appraisal.