The number of homes that sold for more than $1 million in the region declined from 2022 to 2023, according to ICE Mortgage Technology. But last year, luxury market listings went under contract faster — within two weeks for three of the top 10 listings, real estate leaders said.
“As you get closer into the city, even the higher priced homes are moving right now,” says Cara Pearlman, an executive vice president at Compass Realty. “There are people who weren’t transacting before because they weren’t sure what was going to happen with the economy. Now they realize that nothing’s changing substantially.”
Pearlman was the listing agent on the most expensive house sold in the D.C. area this year: an 11,000-square-foot Mediterranean villa, the residence for the Swedish ambassador for about 70 years.
She notes another trend among this year’s crop of highest transactions — embassy-related sales. “There are only so many people that need this scale of ultra-luxury homes,” Pearlman says.
Pearlman said she is seeing an uptick in the higher-end market. “It’s encouraging to see that they’re seeing that things have been the way they’ve been for a while, and they’re deciding to go ahead and move forward, purchasing their next residence or second residence,” she said. “It feels like maybe the wheels are getting unstuck.”
This isn’t everyone’s market but the rest of us can peruse this list of last year’s top sales, compiled with the help of Bright MLS, in ways as wistful, envious or spiteful as we please.
10. 2860 Woodland Dr. NW, Washington, D.C.
This D.C. mansion, built into a terraced hillside in 1927, was designed by architect George N. Ray, who crafted more than 50 homes in the area. Notable owners include a Treasury Department undersecretary, an ambassador to Switzerland and president of Washington National Bank, and Bill Frist, a former U.S. Senate majority leader. The stone manor, embellished with wisteria vines and adorned with five terraces, played host to such dinner guests as Elizabeth Taylor and Vincent Price. It was a filming location for the 1977 movie “The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover.”
List price: $9.75 million
Time on market: Three months
Listing agent: Robert Hryniewicki, Washington Fine Properties
9. 8913 Holly Leaf Lane, Bethesda, Md.
The only Maryland sale on the list belonged to former Washington Wizards star guard Bradley Beal, whose lavish mansion sold for almost a million under the asking price of $10 million after he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. The listing described an “elevated South Miami vibe,” with black ceiling accents and hand-laid Italian mosaic tile. The 2016 house has six bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, and an elevator to traverse its 13,482 square feet. It also has an NBA-built regulation half-court, an arcade room, a tennis court with stadium lighting and parking for 14 vehicles. It was purchased by Dean Seavers, a businessman who served as president of of National Grid USA, in November.
Sale price: $9.185 million
Time on market: Two months
Listing agent: Andres Serafini, RLAH @properties
8. 4620 Cathedral Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.
This six-bedroom, nine-bathroom house with a modern black-and-white facade was built in 2022 in a set of three adjacent houses. The lots, next to federally owned Battery Kemble Park, were prospected by developers for more than a decade before Bryce Arrowood, managing partner at Cliveden Group, figured out how to access the land: by buying a house at the end of Cathedral Avenue that bordered the lots, and building a private road. The transitional-style house has a floating staircase, wine cellar, exercise room, and ample outdoor space that includes a pool. The house was bought in January by TEWBDC, LLC, which has the same mailing address as ALS Finding a Cure, a service mark of the Leandro P. Rizzuto Foundation. The latter is a tax-exempt organization.
List price: $9.495 million
Sale price: $9.45 million
Time on market: Two and half months
Listing agent: Lee Arrowood, Compass Realty
7. 3301 Fessenden St. NW, Washington, D.C.
This Italian-villa-inspired estate with a limestone-domed foyer comes with a name of equal gravitas, dubbed by its builder Palazzo Della Felicita, or “Palace of Happiness.” With a twin grand staircase, library with wood walls and ceilings, movie theater, 5,000-bottle wine cellar, patio and garage for up to 11 cars, the 2019 Forest Hills neighborhood house was…
Read More: The most expensive houses sold in the D.C.-area in 2023