Gap Closes, but Georgetown Still More Expensive than Logan

If you’re like GM, you’ve taken note of the remarkable changes that have occurred to neighborhoods to the east of Georgetown. When GM first moved to DC over 15 years ago, he was frequently advised not to venture must east of 16th St. Whether that was ever genuinely sage advice, it certainly isn’t any more.

Now when he scans real estate listings in the newspaper, GM is often struck just by how damn expensive these formerly “no-go” neighborhoods have become. So much so that it makes him wonder if a neighborhood like Georgetown–which has traditionally been much more expensive than, say, Logan Circle–is still more expensive.

To test this, GM looked at all sales in Georgetown vs. Logan Circle in the last year. The results are that the gap remains, but it’s not as much as conventional wisdom would suggest.

According to GM’s calculations, Logan Circle (which for GM’s calculations went only east to 11th) homes sold for a median price of $609/sqf and a total price of $900,000. Homes in Georgetown sold for a median of $773/sqf and a total price of $1.460 million.

GM doesn’t have historical numbers to compare with, but one doesn’t have to go too far into real estate listing archives to find a time when a price of $900k was rare for Logan, let alone the average.

Comparisons between these two neighborhoods can only go so far. Despite the fact that late 19th century rowhouses dominate both neighborhoods, the housing stock is still very different. There are more condo conversions in Logan Circle, for instance.

So if you ever feel like following former Georgetowners like Herb and Patrice Miller to hipper parts of town, realize that your housing costs won’t decline that much.