Last night, HGTV aired an episode of House Hunters that attempted to put purchasing a D.C. home into perspective. As a native Washingtonian, I’ve vowed to never live in the suburbs, however, finding your dream home in D.C. proper comes with compromise, and the show confirms it.
This episode of the network’s most addictive show follows twenty-something Krysten Mesner as she searched the D.C. region for her first home. She wanted a condo with a waterfront view—specifically, it had to be near the Potomac River. Her wish list also included colonial architecture, hardwood floors, crown molding, an updated kitchen with granite or marble countertops and stainless steel appliances, a dishwasher, two levels, central air, and a lot of natural lighting. Her budget: $350,000, “with a little wiggle room.”
Last month, the D.C. area’s overall median price for a home was $430,000, which was a $5,000 decrease from May 2015 (though still significantly over her range), according to data obtained by the Washington Post. But Mesner’s best friend, Vanessa Patterson, is a realtor who promised to help find the perfect place within her budget.
So last night, viewers watched the duo hit the D.C. region’s streets, beginning in Alexandria, where Mesner has been renting a studio apartment for several years. In Old Town, they looked at a colonial style, two-level, one bedroom condo with an outdoor deck. It was priced at $344,000, in addition to a monthly condo fee of $450. Her perfect home? Of course not, this is reality TV. Mesner points out that the space has carpet, which she made clear earlier in the episode that she absolutely hates. Plus, although the space has an outdoor patio, it isn’t private.
So they continue their search.
They end up in Southwest. Finally, D.C. proper. This condo is priced at $335,000, in addition to a monthly HOA fee of $350 and a monthly parking fee of $150. She loved the waterfront property… until she noticed the parquet floors. No, they’re not carpeted but they may as well be because Mesner is not impressed. Most of all, at 650-square-feet, the space is small, tiny even, for the price. But it’s close to a Metro station, Patterson reminds her skeptical friend, because that’s how properties are advertised in this region. “Location, location, location,” she says.
Clearly not sold on this one, Patterson takes Mesner out of the city (sigh) for something a little “out of the box.” Though they were looking for a condo, they rolled up to a single family home in Silver Spring. It had three bedrooms, while the other properties only had one. The rooms, though, are small. “You can use one of them as a closet,” Patterson points out. It also has a basement, she continues. But it’s unfinished, which could make it a costly project, Mesner responds.
So, just as in every episode of House Hunters, Mesner sits down to contemplate her investment. To my dismay, the D.C. house is out, based on its size, I suppose.
But a quick search on Redfin shows that a hunter doesn’t have to wind up in Silver Spring to get a three bedroom home. Nor do they have to be in Alexandria or Southwest to live near a body of water, because, you know, the Anacostia River also exists. D.C. homes can certainly be found under her budget and provide many of the same household amenities, but they also lack other desirables of city living.
In the end, affordable D.C. real estate is more than a tiny Southwest condo. But it all depends on what’s most important to you. Mesner did what was good for her, and she appears to be happy in Old Town.
