Say you're in love with two Capitol Hill rowhouses near Eastern Market, but you can only afford to drop a million plus on one. How do you decide? The answer is easy — shove them into a virtual cage, and let them battle it out until one is victorious. It's time for Real Estate Deathmatch.
Address: 108 7th St. SE / 657 South Carolina Ave. SE
Price: $1,140,000 / $1,150,000
Square Footage: 1,716 / 1,848
Beds, Baths: 3 bed, 2.5 bath / 3 bed, 3.5 bath
Parking?: 1 car / street
This 3-bed, 2.5-bath brick rowhouse at 108 7th Street SE boasts a facade that's pure 1908 (when the place was built). But inside, a 2014 gut rehab creates a modern-feeling space on three levels and a little over 1,700 square feet. The open floor plan first level features a shimmery white kitchen (hooray) with a steel farmhouse-style sink plus a living room with a warm exposed brick wall. Up what appears to be an original staircase to the second floor, you'll find a master bedroom with a vaulted ceiling, a pair of contemporary baths and two other decent-sized bedrooms.The main drawback: The basement is just partially finished, and the lone photo of it just shows a sad cement floor and a rack of wine — perhaps the latter conveys? Still, the front porch (a rarity on the Hill), offstreet parking spot and location within (wine) spitting distance of Eastern Market are definite plusses. Worth noting: It's a flip with an asking price that's been recently reduced $55K.
Behind a classic Victorian facade, pointy roof and all at 657 South Carolina Avenue SE, this 3-bed, 3.5-bath also recently underwent a down-to-the-studs remodel. What stayed in the nearly 1,900-square-foot space: stained-glass window panels and, maybe, old staircases. The first floor has another open floor plan with an exposed brick wall and a white kitchen with snazzy marble countertops. Upstairs, there are three bedrooms with at least one reasonable closet plus two bathrooms rocking more of that white marble. The drawback here? You'd have to park on the street (which maybe doesn't matter — Metro is super close) and no photos of the backyard (no mention if there is one) suggests you won't be hosting a lot of cookouts. Still, a nicely finished basement that looks to get decent light should appeal to many buyers. The asking price is $1.15 million, and it's been on the market for 19 days — 16 days less than its pretty neighbor above. - Jenn Barger