June 27, 2008

Dupont Circle: The Chastleton Reduced

Smart DC sellers seem to be reducing their prices faster these days - realizing that if a property does not move within the first few weeks then it will likely sit for a while. Below are some recent reductions for condos in the Dupont Circle area. This includes three of the eight condos for sale at one of Dupont Circle’s well-known buildings, The Chastleton.

Pictured here, the Chastelton is at the corner of 16th St. and R St.  Built in 1920, it has been undergoing refurbishment and conversion to condo units for several years now. Some of the old rental apartments used to be less than impressive, and not in line with the elegant lobby. Today, the renovated units look good, in my opinion.

While the condos are not overly large, the building offers some elegance and style without a huge price ($150k-$500k - and of course I am not saying this is cheap, just not exorbitant.) You’ll find modern interior renovations, wood floors, granite kitchens and open floor plans. One of the reduced price units is open this weekend, as is another unit that is newly listed. You can view all the open houses in this category on Redfin.com.

At the moment condos in the Dupont Circle area are listed for an average of $554/sqft. As always, you need to check on (and understand) the financial status and management of any condo building that you may buy into. I have not done this for the Chastleton or any property here, and I leave that up to readers.

• 1701 16th St NW #429 in The Chastleton - $349,900 REDUCED (on Jun 17) - 1 bed/1 bath unit with balcony. This listing shows photos of the living and bedroom areas. Monthly fee is $292. Open 6/29, 2-4 pm.
• 1701 16th St NW #250 in The Chastleton - $359,000 REDUCED - 1 bed / 1 bath unit with 667 sqft, or $538/sqft. As mentioned above, renovated kitchen and bathroom, wood floors. Conveniences include stacked washer/dryer in the unit. Monthly fee is $360.
• 1701 16th St NW #515 in The Chastleton - $484,000 REDUCED - 2 bed / 1 bath unit with 897 sqft, or $540/sqft. From the one kitchen-to-living-area photo it looks like there has been a pretty nice renovation to create an open floor, with large windows. It makes me want to see the rest. Monthly fee is $484.

Other reductions:

• 1725 17th St NW #103 - $219,000 REDUCED - studio/bath with 450 sft. It is located in a tidy building in the heart of the neighborhood. You could use tall bookshelves to create a sleeping area. On a $/sqft basis this is not a bad deal - at $489/sqft. The monthly fee is $377 and the listing notes that there is no underlying mortgage.
• 1930 18th St NW #36 - $349,000 REDUCED - 1 bed /1 bath corner condo unit in The Belgrade building, at the corner of 18th and Florida, close to Adams Morgan. This is a distinctive, smaller building built in 1908. The unit has 681 sqft, big windows and open plan. Monthly fee is a $254 and the price comes in at $512/sqft. Open 6/29, 2-4 pm. 

Cheers,
Allison

Photo: M.V.Jantzen, Creative Commons license

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