Property Type
DC Row Houses.
Read the record before you buy or sell.
The DC row house you picture is Victorian. The typical one in the public record was built in 1926.
DC lists about 69,000 fee simple row houses. About one in eight is recorded as 1900 or earlier. Half went up between 1901 and 1939, and more than a fifth of the whole stock in the 1920s alone. Another fifth came between 1940 and 1959. Nine in ten are brick. Most are two stories over a basement.
That matters at the price. In the last two years, houses recorded as 1900 or earlier sold for a median of $633 a square foot. Houses from 1940 to 1999 sold for $369. The year built tells you which comparison is fair. The block sets the price. Here is how I read one.
69,000
Fee simple row houses in DC
1926
Median recorded year built
$902,000
Median sale, last 12 months
38%
Under contract in 14 days at 98%+ of ask
Stock: DC public property records · Sales: BrightMLS, fee simple, as of October 16, 2026
The Record
Know what the city says your house is
Every house in DC has a public record. It lists the year built, the stories, the square feet, the basement and the lot. Anyone can look it up on the DC Office of Tax and Revenue real property search.
The record is where the house started. A third floor or a finished basement it does not show is a question for the seller, in writing, before it is a line in the price.
Half the records carry a remodel year. None of them say what the remodel was. That part you learn from the house.
The Deed
Know what you own before you price it
The same front can be one house or several units. The deed tells you which. In the last two years, about one in eight row house sales in DC was a condo unit.
Fee Simple
You own the land.
You own the structure.
- + No condo association and no monthly fee
- + Every decision about the house is yours
- + Every repair and the insurance are yours too
- + Zoning and, in a historic district, preservation review still apply
- + The comps are other fee simple houses
Row House Condo
You own your unit.
You share the structure.
- + A condo association and its governing documents
- + A monthly fee for shared repairs and reserves
- + Read the budget, the reserves and the minutes before you offer
- + Exterior changes need the association
- + The comps are other condo units, not houses
The Era
Compare the house to its own era
Every fee simple row house sale in DC for the last two years, 3,627 of them, sorted by the year the record gives.
| Recorded year built | Share of sales | Median price | Median $ / sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 or earlier | 20% | $1.22M | $633 |
| 1901 to 1939 | 57% | $875,000 | $459 |
| 1940 to 1999 | 14% | $542,000 | $369 |
| 2000 or later | 9% | $825,000 | $409 |
BrightMLS closed sales, fee simple interior and end-of-row houses, 24 months to October 16, 2026. The city enters 1900 when it does not have the true year.
Age does not add the value. The oldest houses sit in the oldest neighborhoods, and location is most of that gap.
What the table does show is that a comp from another era is not a comp. I sort the sales by era before I compare a single one.
The Price
Know which section your house will land in
In the last 12 months, 1,726 fee simple row houses sold in DC. About two in five went under contract within 14 days at 98% of the original ask or better. Those sold at a median of 100.4% of the ask.
The rest sold at a median of 95.2%, after 45 days on market. On a $1M ask, that is 5.2 points, or $52,000.
The list price decided which section each house landed in. Your block shows where the line was.
Every closed sale on your block for 24 months, sorted into the two sections. No charge, no obligation. Then decide.
Send me every sale on my blockThe Inspection
Know what the inspector will look at before you offer
01
Roof and rear addition
The flat rear roof and any later addition are where water gets in. Price a roof near the end of its life into the offer.
02
Party wall
You share it with the neighbor, and neither owner changes it alone. Have the inspector look at it from the basement up for cracks, water and movement.
03
Historic district
Inside a historic district, exterior changes go through preservation review. Know what your plans need approved before the plans depend on it.
04
Systems
Older houses can carry knob-and-tube wiring, cast iron drains and galvanized supply pipes. None ends a deal. Each is a cost that belongs in the offer.
The Stock
Find the blocks that match the house you want
42% of DC's fee simple row houses are in Northwest, 34% in Northeast, 23% in Southeast and 1% in Southwest. Here is what the record shows where they cluster.
Frequently Asked
DC Row Houses: Your Questions, Answered First
What is a DC row house?
A house built wall to wall with its neighbors. Owned fee simple, it sits on its own lot, and you own the land under it.
Is a row house the same as a townhouse?
In DC listings, yes. The MLS files both as "Interior Row/Townhouse" or "End of Row/Townhouse", and the two words are used for the same house.
How old is the typical DC row house?
The median recorded year built is 1926. About one in eight is recorded as 1900 or earlier. The city enters 1900 when it does not have the true year, so some of those are older.
What is an English basement?
A lower level with its own entrance under the front steps. It is a legal rental only with a certificate of occupancy for the unit. Without one, the rent it earns is not income you can count on.
Can I remove a wall in a DC row house?
Not the party wall, which you share with the neighbor. An interior wall that carries the floors can move with an engineer, a beam and a permit.
Do row houses from different eras sell for different prices?
Yes. In the last two years, houses recorded as 1900 or earlier sold for a median of $633 a square foot, and houses from 1940 to 1999 for $369. Location is most of that gap, which is why a comp from another era is not a comp.
A word on this page you want explained? The row house dictionary defines about a hundred of them, from areaway to year built. The porch-front houses on so many blocks are Harry Wardman's, the builder my brokerage is named for.