Are Washington-area prices finally catchingup with the New York andConnecticut suburbs outside ofManhattan? Bill Moody of Sotheby's WashingtonFine Properties has evidence that they are indeed!Last year, the nine-bedroom mansion, in NewYork's Westchester County, built by singer MariahCarey and Sony Music executive TommyMottola, fetched a record $20.5 million when itwas sold shortly after the couple's divorce. Well,look out New York. Washington is not too farbehind. Washington Fine Properties is offering"Glenstone" an 8-bedroom estate in Potomac,Maryland for $18,500,000. On 75 acres, the 21-room country manor home has a luxurious healthspa, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a ten-niscourt, a pond, and a pavilion. That ninth bed-roomin Mottola and Carey's house is probablythe only thing that brought them that extra $2million.

The owners of Glenstone, Mitchell Rales andhis brother Steve Rales are the majority stock-holdersin Danaher Corporation, manufacturer oftools and components, and process/environmen-talcontrols. If you have ever purchased a SearsCraftsman hammer or an Allen wrench, you haveprobably helped propel Danaher to the 498 thplace in the Fortune 500. With Danaher's yearlyrevenues of almost $3 billion, it is likely that theRales brothers could afford the $68,340 yearlytaxes on Glenstone.

If Mitchell and Steve are looking to trade up inthe Washington area, the White House is one ofthe few options. Since Danaher is also one of themost admired companies in the Fortune 500,maybe he should be running for President insteadof Donald Trump?

Also in Maryland, Raymond McGowan sold 10001 Avenel Farm Drive to James Cochrane for$1,750,000. Susan Koehler of Washington FineProperties represented the purchaser.

In McLean, Ronald and Bonnie West purchased 1320 Skipwith Road from its originalowner, former CIA Director Admiral StansfieldTurner and his wife, Eli Karin. The Merrywoodon the Potomac home, with luxurious mastersuite, exquisite interior design, and pool, sold for$850,000. Alison LaLand and Hugh Oates ofPardoe/ERA listed and sold the house.

Also in McLean, Hassan Sedaghatpour, theowner of "Sweet Stuff ", and restaurant-owner Mohammad Sedaghatpour sold 1106 Mill Ridge for $1,560,000 to Eric D. Prince. Penny Yerks ofWeichert represented the sellers.

Harold Wegner, attorney at Foley and Lardner,and his wife Barbara sold 881 Chinquapin Road in McLean for $980,000 to N. Hunter and Stephanie Johnston. Penny Yerks of Weichertrepresented the sellers.

William Swanson, an executive at Raytheon,and his wife Cheryl sold their home at 1163 OrloDrive in McLean for $1,775,000 to Joseph and Jenna Herman. Among its many amenities, theColonial mansion also includes a $100,000theater. Caroline Rocco of Coldwell Bankerrepresented the sellers.

1133 Towlston Road in McLean was sold by Pete Smith to Blake Barker, an Internet businessman,and his wife Karen. Sue Huckaby ofWeichert represented the seller. Nancy Itteilag and Mark McFadden of Pardoe/ERA representedthe buyers.

In Great Falls, Paul Muehr, of the U.S.Department of the Interior, and his wife June sold 65 Windy Hollow Court for $1,322,500to John F. Kraft of PSINet. Penny Yerks ofWeichert represented the sellers.

Also in Great Falls, Cornwall Farm, at 9414Georgetown Pike, was purchased by Sue and Jerry Huckaby, real-estate agents withWeichert, for $2,500,000. Cornwall Farm wasbuilt in 1928, and is listed in both the NationalRegistry of Historic Places and the VirginiaLandmarks Registry.

In Alexandria, Bonnie Alchin sold 2 WolfeStreet to Philip B. Rogers for $1,725,000. Susan Koehler of Washington Fine Properties representedthe purchaser.

In Spring Valley, 4220 Fordham Road was soldby famed author Sally Bedell Smith and her husband Stephen Smith, Editor and Chief of USNews and World Report for $725,000. Smith haspublished several best selling biographies. Hersubjects have included Pamela Harriman, andmost recently, Diana, Princess of Wales. The purchaser, Fred DuVal, former Deputy Assistant tothe President for Intergovernmental Affairs, isnow a Senior Vice President at Hill andKnowlton. Tessa Morris and Susanna Luddy ofPardoe/ERA represented the sellers.

Michael Lewis, author of Liar's Poker and mostrecently, The New New Thing, and his wife, formerMTV Veejay Tabitha Soren sold their condo in AdamsMorgan at 2428 17th Street to anNIH scientist. Lewis and Sorensold the 2-story loft, with terraceview of the city, to move toBerkeley, California. Diana Hart of Randall Hagner representedthe sellers.

Barry Dixon, designer of theSouthern Accents Showhouse,and Michael Schmidt sold 660716th Street for $483,000. The 1927 WardmanTudor facing Rock Creek Park was sold to JeanClaude Dakaud, a systems design engineer atSprint, and his wife Karen, a lawyer for Blue CrossBlue Shield. Diana Hart represented the sellers.

In Georgetown, Hugo and Edith Hoogenboom sold 1413 30th Street for $725,000 to fameddivorce lawyer Mark Sandground and his wife Davina. Stephen Vardas of Begg/Long and Fosterrepresented the sellers, and Julia Pardoe ofPardoe/ERA represented the purchasers.

Also in Georgetown, Carol Gray sold 131430th Street to Barrett Katz, Chairman of theDepartment of Ophthalmology at the GeorgeWashington University Medical Center, andhis wife Deborah. Bill Moody and Patrick Chauvin of Washington FineProperties represented the seller, and Julia Pardoe of Pardoe/ERA representedthe purchasers.

3128 P Street was sold by Mark and Tricia Malek-Brown to Dr. and Mrs.Ueno for $2,000,000. Jean Smith ofRemax and Nancy Taylor Bubes representedthe sellers, and Nancy Itteilag and Mark McFadden of Pardoe/ERArepresented the buyers.

Richard and Nancy Itteilag, the samereal-estate agent, purchased 3425 OStreet from Penn Kemble and MaryLouise Caravotti for $485,000.

In Massachusetts AvenueHeights, the Lucy Webb Trust sold 2910 Woodland Drive to Ronald and Katherine Hodge for $1,600,000. Page Thomas and Peter Clute of Pardoe/ERArepresented the seller, and JeanSmith of Remax representedthe purchasers.

Also in MassachusettsAvenue Heights, BeatriceSchwartzman sold 2520 30th Street for $3,150,000 to Gary and ElizabethNabel. Gary Nabel moved toWashington from the University ofMichigan to assume his Presidentialappointment as the first Director ofthe AIDS Vaccine Research Center atthe National Institutes of Health. Cathie Gill of Cathie Gill Real Estatelisted and sold the property.

E-mail any real-estate or housingscoop to Luddys@erols.com.