Homebuyers can expect a varied house hunt in Washington, all depending upon where they want to buy.
The Alexandria property features hardwood floors, crown moldings, an elevator entrance and exercise room in the building. (Courtesy of Jennifer Halm, McEnearney Assoc., Inc.)
Courtesy of Jennifer Halm, McEnearney Assoc., Inc.
The kitchen of the Manassas home features
wide-plank, pine hardwood floors. (Courtesy of HomesNearDC.com)
Courtesy of HomesNearDC.com
This five-bedroom home in Manassas, Va., sold for $480,000 in the Owens Wood neighborhood. (Courtesy of HomesNearDC.com)
Courtesy of HomesNearDC.com
The Springfield home is located in the Monticello Forest neighborhood. (Courtesy of the Nellis Group, James Nellis II, Re/Max Allegiance)
Courtesy of the Nellis Group, James Nellis II, Re/Max Allegiance
This four-bedroom home in Springfield, Va., has hardwood floors and a patio and sold for $485,000. (Courtesy of the Nellis Group, James Nellis II, Re/Max Allegiance)
Courtesy of the Nellis Group, James Nellis II, Re/Max Allegiance
The two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo comes with access to the building gym and a parking spot. (Courtesy of listing agent J.D. Callander, Weichert Realtors)
Courtesy of listing agent J.D. Callander, Weichert Realtors
This 950-square-foot condo in Arlington sold for $492,000. (Courtesy of listing agent J.D. Callander, Weichert Realtors)
Courtesy of listing agent J.D. Callander, Weichert Realtors
299069 The unit has granite and stainless in the kitchen, hardwood floors, a large rear deck, fenced yard and off-street parking. (Courtesy of Peter Evans Photography)
Courtesy of Peter Evans Photography
This four-bedroom, three-bathroom home in the Petworth neighborhood of Northwest Washington D.C. sold for $499,900. (Courtesy of Peter Evans Photography)
Courtesy of Peter Evans Photography
This five-bedroom, four-bathroom Tudor-style home in Silver Spring, Md., sold for $525,000.(Courtesy of Express Home Buyers)
Courtesy of Express Home Buyers
The Leesburg home sits on a cul-de-sac and has a master bathroom suite. (Courtesy of Elite Realty)
Courtesy of Elite Realty
This five-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath with a two-car garage in Leesburg, Va., sold for $499,000. (Courtesy of Elite Realty)
Courtesy of Elite Realty
A two-bedroom, two-bathroom condominium in Alexandria, Va., sold for $509,000. (Courtesy of Jennifer Halm, McEnearney Assoc., Inc.)
Courtesy of Jennifer Halm, McEnearney Assoc., Inc.
The master bedroom in this La Plata home and one other bedroom upstairs have private baths. The basement has a full bath and an area to use as a fifth bedroom. (Courtesy of Jeff Sutten, Century 21 New Millenium)
Courtesy of Jeff Sutten, Century 21 New Millenium
This four-bedroom, five-bathroom home in La Plata, Md., sits on 4.5 acres. It sold for $499,000. (Courtesy of Jeff Sutten, Century 21 New Millenium)
Courtesy of Jeff Sutten, Century 21 New Millenium
The Dupont property is a one-bedroom with a den and fireplace and features a private upper and lower patio and exposed brick. (Courtesy of Brandon Green, Keller Williams Capitol Properties)
Courtesy of Brandon Green, Keller Williams Capitol Properties
This renovated condominium in Dupont Circle sold for $525,000. (Courtesy of Brandon Green, Keller Williams Capitol Properties)
Courtesy of Brandon Green, Keller Williams Capitol Properties
The home in Alexandria's Old Town has hardwood floors throughout and a patio with off-street parking. (Courtesy of Martine Irmer, Long & Foster Old Town Historic Office)
Courtesy of Martine Irmer, Long & Foster Old Town Historic Office
This three-level home in Old Town Alexandria is in a courtyard and has two bedrooms. It sold for $499,900. It's also near the King Street Metro. (Courtesy of Martine Irmer, Long & Foster Old Town Historic Office)
Courtesy of Martine Irmer, Long & Foster Old Town Historic Office
The Leesburg, Va., home features three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a luxurious master suite, a main level library and gas fireplace. (Courtesy of Elite Realty)
Courtesy of Elite Realty
This craftsman-style home in the Town of Leesburg, Va., is within walking distance of a park and restaurants. It sold for $495,000. (Courtesy of Elite Realty)
Courtesy of Elite Realty
A $500,000 budget will get you a lot or a little depending on where you buy, says realtor Tim Pierson. (Courtesy of Brandon Green, Keller Williams Capitol Properties)
Courtesy of Brandon Green, Keller Williams Capitol Properties
WASHINGTON – Homebuyers can expect a varied house hunt in Washington, all depending upon where they look.
The median sale for a home in the D.C. area is $490,000, according to real estate website Urban Turf. Based on that figure, WTOP put together a photo gallery showing just what potential buyers can get around that price in different neighborhoods around the region.
While it remains a buyer’s market, real estate agents say Washington’s plump home prices often keep some potential buyers from investing in a home.
But there are affordable options everywhere and they don’t stay on the market long, says Tim Pierson of Pierson Real Estate.
“Whenever the country goes through a recession, D.C. tends to grow in size because we have more government jobs here. So, we’ve got an increase in demand from a growing city and low interest rates. And we’ve got a stagnant supply because housing has not been built to keep up with the increase in demand,” Pierson says.
He lists Bethesda, Clarendon, Northwest D.C., Glover Park and Capitol Hill as the most in-demand neighborhoods among buyers. Pierson says buyers shouldn’t be looking at how trendy a neighborhood is, but rather should be paying attention to indicators that are most important to them such as schools, crime and capitol improvements.
Pierson says the buyers who are willing to look outside the most desirable neighborhoods can stretch their budgets by looking elsewhere. Some are choosing to purchase homes in transitional neighborhoods, he says.
“So you’re able to get more for your dollar when you go into neighborhoods that are still more in transition. So it’s a risk reward factor. The higher risk that you take, the better off, the more you’ll get for your money,” Pierson says.
While there is a disparity between the median price of a home depending on where you look, most reports land the average Washington home sale in the mid-$400,000s.
However, no one debates that the median sale price is climbing — up 8.2 percent in May 2013 from the year before, according to RealEstate Business Intelligence. The real estate website lists the median price for a home sale at $424,800 in the D.C. metro area.
“Both Alexandria City and the District of Columbia posted their highest median price on record at $525,000 and $490,000, respectively,” RealEstate Business Intelligence says.
Working off that general price point, WTOP researched what buyers are finding on the market.
A $500,000 budget will get you a one-bedroom home in Dupont Circle, a three-bedroom home in Silver Spring, Md., and a five-bedroom home in Leesburg, Va. But it’s not always about going farther from the city.
A four-bedroom home in Northwest D.C.’s Petworth neighborhood recently sold for $499,000.
See a breakdown of what houses in specific Washington-area neighborhoods are selling for here.
WTOP’s Rachel Nania and Natalie Tomlin contributed to this story.Follow @WTOP on Twitter.
