This article incorrectly described which real estate agency handled the listing for the most expensive house sold in Washington to date. Randall Hagner listed the Bowie-Sevier mansion, sold last year for $25 million. Washington Fine Properties represented the purchaser.
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$49 Million. In This Economy?
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Maguire and Livingston said the timing of the sale was the decision of the family. A family member had lived in the house as recently as three years ago, she said, but in recent years the property was the setting for many parties and weddings booked through the nonprofit Evermay Society.
The neighbors, however, were not all enthusiastic about the party traffic, and some agents think their complaints might have spurred the listing. Owner Harry Belin and the Evermay Society had applied for a zoning exception to continue and expand the activities.
After extensive hearings by the local advisory neighborhood commission and postponements of action by the D.C. zoning board, Belin wrote an open letter to the community this summer, saying he would shut the gates. "The tragic fact is that, given what will now be at least one year of lost revenue opportunities, the Evermay Society cannot continue in its present lockdown status, the financial burden is just too great," said the letter, which was printed in a recent issue of the Georgetowner.
Whether that prompted the listing isn't known. Belin's agents said they believe the family had simply reached a decision to sell.
"My guess is that he probably thought things were going to get too restrictive," said William Starrels, a local advisory neighborhood commissioner who said the commission had been trying to craft a compromise with Belin.
Whether the house can bring $49 million in this economic climate is another unknown. There was competition among brokerage firms to get the listing, so the asking price was probably set by some combination of value estimates and the owner's aspirations.
"It is really in a class by itself," said Suzanne Goldstein, a Long & Foster agent in Friendship Heights. "It's one of those 'what do you think the Empire State Building is worth?' questions."
The listing agents are optimistic: They say they already have "several people lined up" to see the house in about five days, after some repainting.
