Northwest DC · Washington, DC
Wakefield
A few dozen row houses between the Van Ness and Tenleytown Metro stations. Few of them ever sell.
Quick Answer
Wakefield is the Ward 3 neighborhood bounded by Connecticut Avenue, Nebraska Avenue and Albemarle Street NW, about midway between the Van Ness-UDC and Tenleytown-AU Red Line stations. DC lists about 44 row houses there. Two sold in the last two years, so a price here is built from nearby sales as well as its own.
Row House Market
Fee simple & rowhouse condo · Closed sales, last 12 months
Median Sale Price
$639K
▲ +3.1% YoY
Median Days on Market
8 days
▼ -21d YoY
List-to-Sale Ratio
100%
Full Ask
Median $/sqft
$435
Row Houses in Wakefield
44
6 currently for sale
How We Calculate $/sqft
$/sqft is calculated on above-grade finished square footage, the standard used by DC appraisers, MLS systems, and most market participants. Properties with finished below-grade space (English basements, rental units) carry that square footage as additive value, but appraisers typically apply a discount of 50 to 75 cents on the dollar relative to above-grade space. Blending the two into a single $/sqft figure would make a home with a finished basement look cheaper than it is and obscure the real comparison. When a property has significant finished below-grade square footage, both metrics are presented in context so you understand the full picture before the appraiser does.
Row homes only (fee simple & rowhouse condo) · Source: BrightMLS via Compass · 11 closed sales · 12-month rolling period · Median figures · Updated periodically
Brian's Take
"Wakefield is about 44 row houses set among detached houses, between the Van Ness and Tenleytown Metro stations. Two sold in the last two years. I price one here from the Wakefield sales there are, then from row houses of the same era and size nearby, and I show you each comp. If you want a row house on these blocks, tell me early. You will be ready the week one lists. Scarcity rewards the buyer who is ready."
Brian R. Hill · Let's talk about Wakefield →
The Neighborhood
Wakefield, Washington DC: What You Are Buying Into
Wakefield sits in Ward 3. Connecticut Avenue NW is its eastern edge, Nebraska Avenue NW its western edge and Albemarle Street NW its southern edge. It is largely single-family houses, with apartment buildings along Connecticut Avenue. The row houses are a small part of it: about 44, most on Fessenden, Albemarle and Everett Streets and along Nebraska Avenue. DC records date them from the 1920s to the 1940s.
Wakefield takes in DC Fire Engine Company 31 and the shops on Connecticut Avenue between Fessenden Street and Nebraska Avenue. It sits about midway between two Red Line stations, Van Ness-UDC and Tenleytown-AU.
Before You Offer
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Wakefield has about 44 row houses. Two sold in the last two years and seven in the last ten, so a listing here is rare.
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Shops sit on Connecticut Avenue between Fessenden Street and Nebraska Avenue, on Wakefield's eastern edge. The row house blocks are to the west, toward Nebraska Avenue.
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With two sales in two years, an appraiser has to reach outside Wakefield for comps. The useful ones are nearby row houses of the same era and size, not the detached houses around them.
Market Position
What Drives Wakefield Prices
The record is too thin for a reliable Wakefield price. The site's figure is $639K, and it rests on few sales. Treat it as a reference point, not a price.
Supply is the constraint. Seven Wakefield row houses sold in the last ten years, fewer than one a year.
Streets + Pockets
Best Streets and Blocks in Wakefield
Not all blocks price the same. Street by street, what sets each one apart.
Fessenden Street NW
The largest group of Wakefield row houses in DC's records, about a third of them.
Albemarle Street NW
Wakefield's southern edge, and the second largest group of its row houses in the records.
Everett Street NW
About one in five of Wakefield's row houses in the records.
Nebraska Avenue NW
Wakefield's western edge. A handful of its row houses face the avenue.
Row Houses
Wakefield Row Houses: How Many There Are, and How Many Are for Sale
How to read a DC row house →Total Row Houses
44
in Wakefield
Currently for Sale
6
active listings
Housing stock: DC public property records, two-unit conversions included · Active listings: BrightMLS via Compass
The Houses
Price a Wakefield row house when its own streets have no comps
Wakefield has 44 row houses. Two sold in the last two years.
DC lists about 44 row houses in Wakefield, all single-family. Most sit on Fessenden, Albemarle or Everett Street, or along Nebraska Avenue NW. About two in three went up between 1901 and 1939, most of those in the 1920s. The rest came in the 1940s. Every one has a basement, and about nine in ten have finished it. None rise to three stories. The typical house has about 2,050 square feet in total on a lot of about 2,600 square feet. About three in ten have four bedrooms or more. Most are brick.
Two sales in two years is not a market. It is an anecdote. A Wakefield house has to be priced partly from houses outside Wakefield.
Here is what I do with that. I start with the Wakefield sales and adjust them for time. Then I find row houses of the same era and size, with a finished basement, on the nearest blocks outside it. I ask the seller in writing what has been replaced and when: the roof, the windows, the HVAC, the basement finish. With this few sales, condition moves the number more than the street does.
A thin record is a reason to show every comp, not to guess.
Housing stock: DC public property records and BrightMLS closed sales, fee simple row houses
From the Record
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DC's assessment records date Wakefield's row houses from the 1920s to the 1940s.
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DC Fire Engine Company 31, inside Wakefield, went into service in 1930.
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Wakefield is still the area's name in DC's real property assessment database, though listings often call it Van Ness or North Cleveland Park.
Frequently Asked
Wakefield Real Estate: Your Questions, Answered First
How do I find properties in Wakefield?
Watch the few streets where the row houses are: Fessenden, Albemarle and Everett Streets and Nebraska Avenue NW. Two sold in the last two years, so the wait can be long. When one lists, see it in the first days.
What are realistic prices in Wakefield?
The site's Wakefield figure is $639K, but it rests on few sales. A real price comes from comps matched on era, size and basement: inside Wakefield where they exist, on nearby row house blocks where they do not.
Free · One Page
Own a row home in Wakefield? See what your block is actually selling for.
The Block Report: every closed sale on your block in the last 24 months, set against the Wakefield numbers on this page. Built from 25 years of DC MLS data. Free with your address and email.
Also Consider
Neighborhoods Near Wakefield, DC
Forest Hills
Across Connecticut Avenue to the east, running to Rock Creek Park.
Median Price
$1.2M
Median DOM
6 days
North Cleveland Park
Across Albemarle Street to the south, between Wisconsin and Connecticut Avenues.
Median Price
$1.5M
Median DOM
12 days
Chevy Chase
North up Connecticut Avenue.
Median Price
$1.3M
Median DOM
12 days
Next Step
Before you decide on Wakefield, one conversation.
The median and the days on market are the start. The specific blocks, the condition range, and what the numbers leave out are the conversation. 20 minutes. No commitment.