Most expensive homes for sale in DC region, ranked a top mansion city

This McLean, Virginia manor has five bedrooms and nine full baths as well as two half baths. (Courtesy MRIS)
$7,790,000 in McLean, Virginia This five-bedroom, nine-full bathroom Old World Castle, New Age home overlooks the Potomac River. It has an indoor pool, a ballroom, two indoor cinemas and a glass elevator. (Courtesy MRIS)
$7,850,000 in Great Falls, Va This six-bedroom, eight-bathroom manor sits on five lakeside acres and has a pool, hot tub and four fireplaces. (Courtesy MRIS)
$7,900,000 in D.C.’s Kalorama neighborhood This D.C. mansion has five stories with five bedrooms and five full bathrooms. It was built in 1908 by famed architect George Totten and sits on Embassy Row. (Courtesy MRIS)
$7,995,000 in Bethesda, Maryland This modern home in Bethesda’s Bradley Hills neighborhood has butterfly ceilings to create an open feel to the house. The home has eight bedrooms and eight full bathrooms, includes separate wings and two-story ceilings. (Courtesy MRIS)
 $7,995,000 in Potomac, Maryland This sprawling suburban mansion has seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms and sits on more than 51 acres. The house features a grass tennis court, five-car garage and both service and run-in barns. (Courtesy MRIS)
$8,500,000 Historic Georgetown mansion This Georgetown Federal home was built in 1797 by John Thomson Mason, the nephew of George Mason with English brick. Sen. Claiborne Pell lived here until 2004, and there’s a photo of President John F. Kennedy standing on the front steps. It has eight bedrooms and 11 bathrooms. (Courtesy MRIS)
$9,975,000 in Georgetown This nine-bedroom, eight-bathroom mansion on Georgetown’s P Street has 13-foot ceilings, a library and specific quarters for staff, including a staff living room. The corner property has a pool, sprawling terraces and a driveway. (Courtesy MRIS)
$9,995,000 in McLean, Virginia This six-bedroom, seven-bathroom home was built in 2013, inspired by France’s Chateau de Chambord. It sits on two acres and is surrounded by a national forest. It has a pool, a wine grotto and a five-car garage. (Courtesy MRIS)
This Georgetown property on M Street is listed at more than nine million .
$9,995,000 Georgetown modern mansion This six-bedroom, four-bathroom on Georgetown’s N Street is modern inside. It includes a pool, an elevator, a garage and steam shower. (Courtesy MRIS)
$11,000,000 Potomac, Maryland, Horse Farm This six-bedroom, six-bathroom mansion built in 1929 has a guest cottage and stable that sit on 10 acres. The grounds have a riding arena, five-bay run-in shed for horses and access to riding trails. (Courtesy MRIS)
$11,500,000 McLean, Virginia, French provincial mansion This six-bedroom, nine-bathroom mansion boasts 20,000 square feet in the Reserve community. It has an indoor pool, racquetball/basketball court, ballroom, elevator and wine cellar. (Courtesy MRIS)
$12,000,000 D.C. Beaux Arts mansion This seven-bedroom, seven-bathroom home in D.C.’s Woodley Park neighborhood sits near the National Cathedral and was built in 1927. It features 12-foot ceilings, a pool and marble terraces. It also has a theater, a library and staff quarters.   (Courtesy MRIS)
$15,550,000 estate in Middleburg, Virginia This six-bedroom, six-bathroom mansion in Loudoun County sits on more than 320 acres. It has a heated pool, a stone courtyard stable and a riding ring. (Courtesy MRIS)
$18,000,000 Bethesda estate This Bradley Hills mansion in Bethesda tops the list of most expensive houses currently on the market now. It has six bedrooms and eight bathrooms and was decorated by interior designer Barry Dixon. The 20,263-square-foot home has a heated pool and reflecting pool, basketball court and gym. (Courtesy MRIS)
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This McLean, Virginia manor has five bedrooms and nine full baths as well as two half baths. (Courtesy MRIS)
This Georgetown property on M Street is listed at more than nine million .

WASHINGTON — Many homeowners may daydream of an oceanfront home in Los Angeles or the Hamptons, but it turns out the D.C. area has the fifth-most mansions among major cities in the United States.

“We define a mansion as having five bedrooms or more and at least 15 rooms total,” said AJ Smith with financial technology firm Smart Asset.

As part of a recent study, researchers looked at U.S. census data and found only seven cities have at least 1 percent of homes with more than 15 rooms.

“That total number of rooms does not include bathrooms, kitchenettes, hallways or closets. It’s just living space within the home,” Smith said.

Many of the most expensive homes in the D.C. area (in the gallery above) might not meet the study’s definition of a mansion, but those on the market in Georgetown would likely consider a nine-bedroom home there luxuriously large.

The study looked at the D.C. area, including Maryland and Virginia.

“When we think of cities that are dense, like D.C. and New York, we don’t necessarily think there’s enough room for that much space, but we are considering the metro area. And perhaps it does make sense with the high income in the area,” Smith said.

Three of the other cities in the top five are in Utah, which study authors attribute to the cost of living and the higher rate of occupancy in the state.

The study found five in every 1,000 homes is a mansion.

“Across the 100 metro areas we analyzed, about 0.5 percent of homes had at least five bedrooms and at least 15 rooms total. That means that [in these cities] only the top half of the top 1 percent of homeowners live in a mansion,” it said.

The top five:

  1. Provo-Orem, Utah
  2. Ogden-Clearfield, Utah
  3. Salt Lake City, Utah
  4. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.
  5. Washington, D.C.

Editor’s Note: MRIS provided the ranking information and images for this list. MRIS Homes is the only mid-Atlantic region real estate home search site offering real-time local listings from the Multiple Listing Service.

Disclosure: The data provided includes the most expensive listings with 5+ bedrooms within the MRIS DC Metro as of 5/10/16 excluding sales without seller permission to advertise or promote.

Megan Cloherty

WTOP Investigative Reporter Megan Cloherty primarily covers breaking news, crime and courts.

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