2017 Northwest inventory remains low as local houses fly off the market By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
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espite some Realtors’ concerns about Donald Trump’s presidency harming the region’s economy, the local real estate market has yet to show warning signs, with D.C. homes selling faster than this time last year as inventory remains consistent. The average number of days
on the market in the District dropped from 44 last March to 38 this March, according to data provided by ShowingTime MarketStats, based on listing activity from Metropolitan Regional Information Systems. Five years ago, the average duration was more than double this year’s figure. The median sales price of D.C. residences rose 5.83 percent to $535,000 this year, compared to
$505,511 in 2016 and $405,000 in 2012. The overall dollar volume in sales also increased at a steeper year-to-year incline last month — up 29.65 percent to just over $518 million — than it did between March 2015 and March 2016. “I kind of sound like a broken record, but we continue to be in a very strong seller’s market in general,” Keene Taylor Jr., principal broker and sales manager at
the Taylor Agostino Group of Compass Realty, told The Current. The city saw 1,258 new listings last month, three fewer than in March 2016. The number of active listings in the city also decreased by a negligible amount, from 1,268 in 2016 to 1,266 this March. However, that’s well below the numbers from five years ago, when more than 1,700 active listings were on the mar-
Pernas extend family’s legacy in Tenleytown
INSIDE Wardman Tower ushers in a new generation with 32 renovated condominiums
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By MARK LIEBERMAN
Amid calls to boost affordable housing spending, audit finds flaws in existing use of funds
Current Staff Writer
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wo Tenleytown duplexes, each with two homes that mirror each other, earned special distinction as landmarks in the National Registry of Historic Places in February. But Frank Perna Jr. — who owns three of the four homes at 4112-4118 Chesapeake St. NW, and whose ancestors built the structures in the early 20th century — wasn’t immediately supportive when he heard designation was a possibility. “My first knee-jerk reaction was, ‘No, I don’t want it,’” Perna, a mortgage loan officer who lives in Great Falls, Va., told The Current. “I had a chance to appeal it or deny it or go to a hearing, but I thought, you know, it wasn’t that important to me or worth the battle. That was one of those battles I did not want to pick.” He was originally concerned that historic designation would prevent him from replacing some concrete in the front of the houses and conducting other needed exterior repairs. There was also a philosophical
ket. Unusually low interest rates and the increasing desirability of living in the city proper continue to drive sales. During the first weekend in January — typically a slow time for real estate transactions — one house in Burleith sold above list price for $900,000 with five offers, according to Lenore Rubino of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. See Market/Page RE16
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Between phone calls, Northwest Realtors find time to pursue artistic passion
Above: Brian Kapur/The Current; Left: Courtesy of Frank Perna Jr.
The Chesapeake Street duplexes were built in 1909 by brothers from Italy. Three of the four units remain in the Perna family. discomfort, he said: “The basic concept of you’ve got the government telling you what you can or cannot do to the facade of your house.” Perna is glad he didn’t object, though. The distinctions that come with landmark designation don’t interest him much, but the restrictions proved less onerous than anticipated. He’s focused now on keeping the houses in good shape for renters, and preserving them so he can pass them to his children, carrying on a family tradition that already spans four generations. Each two-story brownstone duplex includes a common roof and a recessed portion in the center of the facade with an attic above it, along with a nearly house-length front porch. While some minor details,
including roof shingles, have changed over the years, the appearance of the facades is consistent with the original design. The Tenleytown Historical Society first identified the houses as candidates for landmark designation back in 2003. The group, led by president Jane Waldmann, filed its application in October in the hopes of preserving structures that, according to the group, represent the foundation for the neighborhood as it exists today. The Perna family’s long history in Tenleytown dates back to the end of the 19th century. Frank Perna Jr.’s great-grandfather Francesco arrived in the United States from Italy in 1889 and moved to D.C. after a brief stint in New York. He took up residence in what was then called Tennallytown, quickly gaining foothold in the See Tenley/Page RE18
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Sometimes overlooked, Burleith joins the ranks of neighborhoods featured in Arcadia history series
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Georgetown’s house tour to celebrate 86th year with eight stylish homes
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City seeks proposed amendments to Comprehensive Plan, sparking debate over development goals
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