A blog about real estate, interior design, and the home in the Washington, DC area.

What Bubble?

By Mary Clare Fleury

VIPs who bought big homes for big bucks pumped up last year's slow real-estate market.

The January Washingtonian includes our annual round-up of the year’s top home sales. It highlights 32 big-dollar, big-name deals in the midst of last year’s much-discussed drop in real estate values. Although 2006 didn’t include the homes of any former presidents like 2005 did, Washington’s rich and famous still did a lot of wheeling and dealing.

Tucker Carlson bought this Colonial with a heated pool in DC's Kent neighborhood for a cool $3.8 million. Photographs by David Pipkin.

Tucker Carlson bought this Colonial with a heated pool in DC's Kent neighborhood for a cool $3.8 million. Photographs by David Pipkin.

Here are some of my favorite sales of last year:

In between hosting MSNBC’s Tucker and practicing his Dancing with the Stars routine, TV talker Tucker Carlson bought a six-bedroom, eight-bath Colonial in DC’s Kent neighbrohood with his wife, Susan, for $3.8 million.

Henry Paulson, Treasury secretary and former CEO of Goldman Sachs, bought a five-bedroom stucco mansion with his wife, Wendy, in Massachusetts Avenue Heights for $4.3 million.

Redskins owner Dan Snyder and wife Tanya sold their seven-bedroom, ten-bath Colonial in Bethesda’s Longwood neighborhood for $3.7 million. The house, which Snyder bought in 1995 for $2 million, has a pool, spa, and cabana. He now lives in an $11 million mansion on a 14-acre Potomac estate once owned by Queen Noor’s family and overlooking the river.

New Treasury secretary Henry Paulson sold his Manhattan high-rise condo for nearly $8 million and bought this $4.3-million mansion in DC's Massachusetts Avenue Heights.

New Treasury secretary Henry Paulson sold his Manhattan high-rise condo for nearly $8 million and bought this $4.3-million mansion in DC's Massachusetts Avenue Heights.

Lawyer Donald Stout put up $6.8 million for a 15,000 square-foot Georgian on more than four acres near the Madeira School in Great Falls—this after his Arlington patent-holding firm won a settlement against the makers of BlackBerry and earned him $177 million. HGTV’s Dream Builders featured the six-bedroom, ten-bath house in a segment taped before the sale.

Former Freddie Mac CEO Greg Parseghian also won a few minutes of fame for his house in McLean’s Spring Hill Farm neighborhood. Southern Accents featured the $5 million Colonial—all 10,500 square feet of it—as the magazine’s 2005 show house.

Having decamped to Queen Noor's old estate along the Potomac, Redskins owner Dan Snyder sold this Bethesda manse for $3.7 million.

Having decamped to Queen Noor's old estate along the Potomac, Redskins owner Dan Snyder sold this Bethesda manse for $3.7 million.

Comments

THAT WAS INTERESTING. DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY 2 PEOPLE NEED SUCH LARGE HOUSES. JUST CAUSE THEY CAN???

Posted by: JANICE |

I demand that you fire yourself for posting Tucker Carlson's personal private information.

Posted by: Pinko Punko |

oooooooooooo Tucker's gonna be maaaaaaaaaaaaaad...

I hope you have a second career to fall back on...

Posted by: gacracker |

Danny Boy,

Nice house for a guy who wears lucky belt buckles.

Posted by: Lucky Belt Buckle |

Mr Tucker will fire have to now have little ole' Mary fired- or he will live as a hypocritical buffoon.....

Posted by: Ernie |

None of these houses are cool enough to be on The Apprentice www.apprenticecard.com

Posted by: sanji patel |

My thinking exactly - why does anyone need a house so large? What a waste of space and money. These people must want to impress everyone with their money because there is absolutely no practical reason to live in a barn like these.

Posted by: Augydoggy |

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