Seven Homes to See in Greater D.C.
Spanning three states and the District of Columbia itself, Greater Washington, D.C., is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States. It also boasts some of the country’s most diverse housing stock, offering a full range of lifestyles from cosmopolitan to country. Whether you’re seeking a historic townhouse on Capitol Hill, a commutable haven in Northern Virginia or Maryland, or a rural estate in Virginia or West Virginia, there’s plenty to pick from inside and well outside the Beltway.
Here’s a look at seven properties currently on the market — and the communities they call home — in and around the nation’s capital.
District of Columbia
Washington, D.C., is a beautiful city with gorgeous architecture and a vibrant cultural life that also just happens to be the nation’s capital. Though a few of D.C.’s neighborhoods have become shorthand for political power — like Capitol Hill and Foggy Bottom — and politics is the lifeblood of the city, only about a quarter of Washington’s residents are federal employees. The city is an exemplar of urban planning, thanks to the vision of military engineer Pierre Charles L’Enfant, who designed his landmark city plan in 1791. Much of Washington’s signature look, including its elegant streets of colorful row houses with their distinct front yards, owes much to to L’Enfant’s plan, even as it evolved over the years.
The House: This classic D.C. townhouse, built in 1911, is home to this three-bedroom, three-bathroom condo unit spread over two floors. The main level has an open floor plan, with the living room flowing into the kitchen and dining room. The kitchen boasts high-end appliances, quartz countertops, and ample cabinetry, while the living area includes a large bookshelf/media unit and a separate storage unit with doors, all accented with picture-frame moulding on the walls. On the lower level, you’ll find the three bedrooms and two full bathrooms, as well as a desk nook setup that’s perfect for Zoom calls or homework in the afternoon. A parking space is included.
The Place: Capitol Hill, a lovely residential neighborhood filled with row houses and Congress members (plus plenty of non-politicos, too), has remained fairly unchanged over the years, with its pretty streets of painted brick houses standing merrily behind a deep setback through the centuries — even as administrations come and go. The distinct broad setbacks came about thanks to the 1870 Parking Act and Projection Act, which allowed home owners to create “park”-like features and project porches into the front yards that had been reclaimed from Pierre L’Enfant’s original wide boulevards. This townhouse’s flowering crepe myrtle tree is a colorful burst of color in the front yard during the spring.
Listed By: Katie Bertles Hennigan of Corcoran McEnearney.
The House: Enjoy city living at its finest in this 1916 four-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom house that spans three levels. The main level has been renovated into a showstopping open-concept floor plan, with the kitchen, living room, and dining room all seamlessly flowing together. The three bedrooms are located on the upper level, with the primary suite boasting a spa-style bathroom, as well as a laundry room. The lower level has front and rear entrances and can be used as a guest suite or as an income-generating vacation rental, with its own bedroom, bathroom, living area, washer and dryer, and a kitchenette/wet bar, with the potential of being transformed into a full kitchen. There’s also private parking for two cars.
The Place: LeDroit Park, a historic neighborhood in Northwest Washington, feels like a small village within the city’s confines. Home to Howard University, it was one of D.C.’s original suburbs before being absorbed into the city itself and was designed to emphasize lush landscaping, with each tree-lined street named after the type of tree that grew there. The community-minded priority on keeping LeDroit Park green continues with Common Good City Farm, a nonprofit that helps local residents grow their own vegetables. The neighborhood is served by the Shaw-Howard University Metro station and is within walking distance of U Street’s restaurants and bars.
Listed By: Cher Castillo and Lisa Coutts of Corcoran McEnearney.
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia, or NoVA as the locals call it, sits on the west side of the Potomac River, and is home two of Washington’s most well-known suburbs: Arlington and Alexandria. NoVA has a very strong economic base in its own right, being home to Amazon’s HQ2, Boeing, Capital One, as well as the Department of Defense and the CIA (shh!). Many who live in Northern Virginia also work in the region, making the daily commute even easier, while also being able to take advantage of the many amenities in these most urban of suburbs. Plus, it’s quick to hop on the Metro (or take a short drive) to travel to D.C. proper.
The House: Originally built in 1927, this jewel box of a home was renovated down to the studs in 2020 with enchanting results. The main floor has a separate kitchen, living room, dining room, and sunroom. The lower level has the primary bedroom with an en suite bathroom, a walk-in closet, and a library (complete with window seats), while the top floor has a family room or second bedroom with an en suite bathroom tucked under the eaves, with another built-in cozy window seat. Outside, the garden has a fire pit, lush landscaping, and space for an outdoor dining set. Finally, a lower level is left to be customized to your wishes.
The Place: Alexandria‘s Belle Haven is an elegant and social enclave built on the hills overlooking the Potomac River. Neighbors here are warm and newcomers are welcomed with a neighborhood directory and a cookbook of residents’ favorite recipes. And it feels like everyone in the neighborhood participates in the annual Fourth of July parade and seasonal parties. There’s an active garden club and the streets are abloom in the spring with the results of the residents’ green thumbs. Belle Haven is about a mile and a half from the Huntington Metro station on the Yellow Line, an easy commute into D.C.
Listed By: Janet Caterson Price of Corcoran McEnearney.
The House: This four-bedroom, two-bathroom house is a delightful example of a Sears catalog home. Greater D.C. developers were avid customers of the mail-order kit houses offered by Sears, Roebuck & Co. (and other brands like Lewis and Aladdin) in the early decades of the 20th century, enthusiastically building some 2,000 of them in the area. Known for their high quality and straightforward plans, these kit houses married practicality with charm, and they’re often sought-after in the area as a local architectural specialty. This 1930s Sears Barringer Model retains its vintage allure and pairs it with a plethora of modern upgrades, including a bright, updated kitchen. There’s an expansive backyard with plenty of room for a play set or a vegetable garden and includes an additional rear lot of 10,640 square feet.
The Place: Arlington‘s Alcova Heights is a cute residential neighborhood whose name is an amalgamation of Alexandria County, Virginia (VA). It has a a 13-acre park with a playground, basketball court, and volleyball court at its heart and it’s a short drive to the many great eateries of Arlington, including James Beard semifinalist Queen Mother’s Fried Chicken, which started here before opening a permanent location in nearby Crystal City. It’s also about a 15-minute drive to the Pentagon Metro stop.
Listed By: Lisa L. Smith and Richard McGuire of Corcoran McEnearney.
Virginia’s Countryside
Virginia’s countryside is a land of rolling hills, stacked stone walls, and arguably one of the best equestrian scenes in the entire United States. This swath of countryside does not have definitive borders, but is generally considered to stretch over Loudon, Fauquier, and Rappahannock Counties. Depending on who you ask, the region’s boundaries may extend into nearby counties, but everyone agrees that the equestrian scene is centered on the Middleburg and Upperville corridor, home to prize-winning horse farms, the Middleburg Hunt, and the Upperville Colt & Horse Show, the oldest American horse show.
The House: This unusual structure was created by connecting a historic church from 1900 and the neighboring 1936 studio cottage, and renovating the combo into a two-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bathroom house. Though its roots are more than a century old, the final result resembles a contemporary farmhouse, with clean lines, shiplap walls, and a vaulted ceiling and built-in cabinets in the kitchen. As a result of its beginnings as two separate buildings, the house has multiple gathering spaces: two living rooms, one of which could be converted into an expansive dining room, and a den in the modern addition. The backyard has beautiful views of the mountains and neighboring fields.
The Place: Upperville and Middleburg, eight miles to Upperville’s east, defines the Upperville-Middleburg corridor at the heart of Virginia’s horse country. The Upperville Colt & Horse Show, first held in 1853, is the oldest horse show in the country, and the small village is home to some of the country’s most prestigious thoroughbred horse breeding stables and farms in the United States. Famously, Paul and Bunny Mellon owned Rockey Stables in town, birthplace of multiple prize winners.
Listed By: Kevin Chung of Corcoran McEnearney.
Maryland
Maryland, which puts the M in the DMV, is an integral part of Greater D.C., stretching from Montgomery County’s well-known suburbs of Silver Spring, Bethesda, and Germantown all the way to the borders of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, where the towns are smaller, more rural, and often come with considerable acreage. The C&O Canal is the thread that connects these two disparate parts of Maryland, flowing from one region to the next. MoCo, as the locals call Montgomery County, functions more as a bedroom community to D.C. than its Virginia counterparts, but there’s notable culture, dining, and shopping to be found within its borders as well.
The House: A sweet 1918 Craftsman-style bungalow keeps its historic bones, while being cleverly updated for modern life, offering a total of four bedrooms and two bathrooms spread over two floors. The original heart pine wood floors, more than a 100 years old, have been meticulously refinished throughout, and built-in storage systems have been added, as well as a transformation of the attic and the basement into additional storage spaces. Particularly creatively, the bungalow’s original detached garage that was built for a Model-T now houses a studio space with fully functioning heating and cooling systems making it into a flexible bonus space. There’s a two-level back patio and a classic Craftsman-style front porch with a swing.
The Place: Takoma Park is just south of Silver Spring, Maryland, and shares its southern border with Washington, D.C. It’s often described as a “small town within the big city,” and its reputation as an eclectic but welcoming community make it a beloved suburb for its residents, both old and new. This is a city that memorialized a wild rooster (“Roscoe”) who wandered the town’s streets in the 1990s with his very own bronze statue. Takoma Park also has had its very own poet laureate since 2005 and is one of the most walkable and bike-friendly suburbs, with the ability to hop on the Red Line at Takoma Metro Station, across city lines, just an eight-minute walk away.
Listed By: Phillip Allen of Corcoran McEnearney.
The House: Heavenly Acres is a 63-acre horse farm that can be subdivided into smaller parcels. The property includes two dwellings: The first is a classic 1880 three-bedroom farm house, while the second is an ADU with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. In addition to a bank barn with RAMM fencing in three fields, there is also a top-quality orchard grass hay field that produces round bales and square bales. Ditch Run Creek runs through the farm. Enjoy the bucolic landscape of verdant fields and mature trees surrounding the two houses, with plenty of space to develop your agricultural or equestrian dreams.
The Place: Hancock is located in western Maryland, tucked away between the Potomac River and the Appalachian Mountains, close to where Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia meet. Both in vibe and in literal distance, rural Hancock is closer to Charles Town and the rest of West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle than the close-in Maryland suburbs, offering plenty of space to build your dream house and enjoy the country life. The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal runs through Hancock and it’s a popular spot for hiking and cycling, as is the Maryland Rail Trail along the Potomac River.
Listed By: Josh Beall and Jess Derr of Corcoran McEnearney.
