Capital One Exec Bill Cilluffo paid $2.3 million for this new six-bedroom Colonial in McLean.

IN DC
Developer and real-estate executive Jeffrey Neal sold a two-bedroom, three-bath condominium on 22nd Street near Dupont Circle for $2.2 million. The condo, which comes with three parking spaces, has 20 windows. A former principal at DC-based Monument Realty, Neal bought the commercial real-estate brokerage GVA Advantis in 2008; the firm shut down in 2009.

Interior designer Thomas Pheasant sold a two-bedroom, three-bath Spanish-style house on Reservoir Road for $1.4 million. Pheasant, who has an office in Georgetown, is regularly listed as one of the world’s top 100 designers by Architectural Digest.

Lawyer Linda Lipsen bought a four-bedroom, three-bath Colonial on Ordway Street in Cleveland Park for $1.3 million. The list price dropped by $250,000; the house has a landscaped garden with waterfall and is two blocks from the Metro. Lipsen is CEO of the American Association for Justice, formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

>> See photos of selected homes

VIRGINIA
Sports and tech impresario Ted Leonsis and his wife, Lynn, sold a home on Sorrel Street in McLean for $9 million to telecommunications executive Chris Rogers and his wife, Nalini. The house has eight bedrooms, 13 baths, and eight fireplaces. An AOL executive for many years, Ted Leonsis is, among other things, owner of the Washington Capitals hockey team and Washington Wizards basketball team. Chris Rogers was one of the founders of Fleet Call, which became Nextel Communications.

Marvin Bush sold a four-bedroom, five-bath home on Fort Hunt Road in Alexandria’s Belle Haven neighborhood for $2.5 million. On more than an acre, it has a guest house with a media room and office. The youngest son of former President George H.W. Bush, Marvin Bush is cofounder and managing partner at Winston Partners, an investment firm based in Arlington. He recently bought a $2.5-million condo in Rosslyn’s Turnberry Tower building.

When questioned about the cost of maintaining one of his yachts, J.P. Morgan replied, “If you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it.” But if you’re curious to know what $15.5 million will buy you, look at 1824 R Street, Northwest, a 10,000-square-foot mansion with 8 bedrooms, 13 fireplaces, Toto toilets in all 11 full baths, and a hydraulic elevator.

If the property, on the market since November, sells for close to its asking price, it will be the highest sale since Steve Case’s former home at 1714 Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest, which the AOL cofounder sold to the government of Trinidad and Tobago for $12 million in 2009; it had listed for $14.9 million.

The R Street mansion was once the home of DC’s highest-paid female public-company CEO, Martine Rothblatt—who reportedly made $17.6 million in 2009 as founder of United Therapeutics and Sirius Satellite Radio—and her wife, Bina Aspen Rothblatt, whom Martine Rothblatt immortalized in Bina48, a robotic avatar capable of interactive conversation. Previously, the home belonged to the Embassy of Singapore.

Cheri and Bob Justis had lived in a five-bedroom house in Germantown for 14 years, but they’d long dreamed of trading it for a condominium closer to DC. After six months of condo hunting in places such as Alexandria and Bethesda, they fell in love with the Palladian in Rockville Town Square.

“The whole mixed-use community with restaurants, shops, and condos was amazing,” says Cheri. Their new two-bedroom unit, which sits just beneath the clock overlooking Rockville Town Square, gives them a front-row view of community activities. In December, they watched the town square’s Christmas-tree lighting from their window.

The couple also likes the condo’s proximity to the Metro—the Red Line’s Rockville stop is a short walk away. The Justises, both proposal writers, often take the subway to meet with clients who work in the District. Says Cheri: “We can either walk to everything or ride to where we want to be.”

The Rockville area has lots of condos and apartments. These five communities have new units for sale or rent:

Completed in March of last year, the Alaire (1101 Higgins Pl., Rockville; 301-770-4440) is the first gold-level LEED-certified apartment complex in the Washington area. It has a “green” roof, solar-powered trash compactors, and a saline pool. Within walking distance of the Twinbrook Metro station, the complex has 229 units, 66 of which are still available for lease. Rents range from $1,725 for a one-bedroom to $2,700 for a two-bedroom with loft. All units come with a free parking space.

From our February issue, a look at the biggest Washington real estate deals.

In DC: Former senator Bill Brock and his wife, Sandy, sold a two-bedroom, three-bath condo on Water Street in Georgetown for $2 million. The unit has floor-to-ceiling windows, a private terrace, and access to a shared rooftop pool. Bill Brock was a Tennessee senator from 1971 to 1977.

Palestinian-American businessman Hani Masri and his wife, Cheryl, bought a five-bedroom, six-bath home in DC’s Berkley neighborhood for $2.7 million. The house has a wine cellar, pool, and pool house. Hani Masri, a top fundraiser for Hillary Clinton in the 2008 presidential campaign, is an advocate for Palestinian causes in Washington.

Teacher and journalist Frank Sesno bought an Arts and Crafts–style house in the Palisades for $1.8 million. It has five bedrooms, six baths, and an artist’s studio. A former CNN correspondent, Sesno is director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University.

>> See the houses and the prices they sold for

The overall real-estate market might have remained slow, but Washington’s rich and famous kept right on buying. Among the big names making big deals were television celebrities, athletes, lobbyists, and politicians. The sales ranged from penthouse condos with Potomac River views to an $8.2-million mansion on more than an acre near DC’s Embassy Row. See our slideshow featuring some of the year’s biggest deals, then read on for more.