RSS FeedCribs VI: Mammoth On Mass
This installation of Cribs is large…no it’s huge…no it’s mammoth. The condo we’re profiling is #307 at 400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, and is registered in MLS (the Multiple Listing Service) as DC6529406. The size on the realtor’s website indicates 2950 square feet (that’s not a typo) and the list price is $1.149M dollars. Don’t let the 1 bedroom, 1.5 bath description fool you. What’s unique about this unit is that it appears to be one large space with no internal walls. For the buyer who wants to build to suit, this is as close to a “blank canvas” as they could get. It’s got enough space to be a house within a building. Take a look at the photos and you’ll see what we mean.
400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW – #307 – MRIS Slide Show Virtual Tour
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Comments
Didn’t this blog already feature this place? This one has been on the market for a while, and will probably be on there for another year.
Purchasing a condo in downtown right now would be insane. If someone isn’t already locked in, then they would be best served by waiting for another 8-10 months.
207 was down to $849k – no longer on the market but not clear if it sold. This one has actually been on the market the longest, but was taken off and relisted. Heck of a lot of square footage but only room for 1 bath – would be interesting to hear from the original architect about the thinking with these unusual (for DC) units.
Repeat – this is the first time we’ve featured this unit.
Pqresident stopped by CityVista and sales there have been brisk. not that it is representative of the resale market but CV does have a nice product to offer.
Repeat said, “Purchasing a condo in downtown right now would be insane.” This statement makes no sense to me. I strongly disagree. If you (presumably) think the market is bad right now, wouldn’t this be the RIGHT time to buy, if you’re going to buy at all? Buy low, sell high. Seems to me that your statement would be more appropriate for the crazy market of a couple years ago when the tiniest units were going for outrageously high prices. At that point, there was really nowhere to go but down.
In response to #1, the 4-11th floor units on this tier are 1400sf 1BRs (407/408 etc), only floors 2 & 3 have these huge open spaces. 12th floor was built out into a 2BR/2.5BA. Not sure about the 13th floor.
It is possible to add bathrooms, with some imagination.
I agree with CBD, I think this is the right time to buy. Condos are “on sale”, sellers/developers are willing to negotiate, rates are below 6% (last time I checked), PQ is gettng lots of good press (Best Place to Retire, etc.) and more businesses are opening their doors…
I put a deposit on my first condo in October, they might not have been as desperate to sell then because i feel like they ripped me a new one.
I got 10k towards closing costs. And I think there’s a free plasma in there?
Either way, I bought it and whenever they want to deliver it I’ll be the proud owner of an overpriced studio! : )
RE: Anon #8, We live on the 3rd floor in 400 Mass (renting), with our unit facing Mass Ave and have never experienced noise problems from the CVS. Cars driving over the recent metal plates on the road and people pumping their bass while they wait at the 4th Street light at 4 am on Mass Ave have kept us awake many a night though…
I agree with #5. When we bought about 6 months ago, we were fortunate enough to get two “free” parking spaces. We thought it was a great time to buy as this added negotiation power means we have a built-in cushion. Of course, it would probably be easier to sell our parking than our condo, but we love living in PQ and hope to own it a long time!
Yeah CVS makes no noise really. Its the other noise – cars, trucks, etc. I’m up on the 11th floor and I can hear people talking on the street in our building. The sound proofing in a lot of these buildings sucks, 400 Mass included.
The overall housing market is either in going to continue to fall through 2008 or we are in for a 13 year Japan style recession. It depends on the overall economy’s health. If we look at a real estate recession like Japan’s than all real estate could fall 25-50% even in DC.
Sorry for the doom and gloom forecast but all of that being said downtown is as good a place to be as any.
Here is one source that seems to indicate contracts and settlements are up slightly and YTD median and average DC condo prices are about same as last year.
http://www.gcaar.com/statistics/2007-home-sales/dccc1107.pdf
If that PDF link doe not work go to the main site and click on November DC Condo report.
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Thats the third in the building to go on sale. Im a realtor with Ken Taylor Real Estate and have been watching the building for quite a while. The Second floor unit, #207, was on the market for a monstrous 250+ days and was reduced to, if I recall correctly, less than $1 mil. The Fourth floor unit is on for rent for $3700-ish per month.
While the square footage may be amazing, I have shown the units quite a few times and it has not been an easy sell. Especially the inability to easy add bathrooms.