ARE GORE OR BUSH HOMETOWN NATIVES READY FOR THE D.C. REAL-ESTATE MARKET?

The upcoming election will bring in a new administration and an inevitable new group of Executive Branchemployees. Many may already be established Washingtonians having spent years toiling away in thepolitical arena. Nonetheless, there's always a new crowd of faces hailing from the new commander inchef's state and hometown.

Those coming from Carthage, Tennessee, where Vice President Gore's familyfarm is located, or from Crawford, Texas, where George W. Bush's ranchis located, are in for sticker shock.

In Crawford, Texas, one of the most expensive homes available is a 1993-builtfour-bedroom, three and a half bath home that is approximately 3800 square feeton a 2 acre lot. It is currently on the market for $234,000. Rooms include aformal living room or music room with French doors, a formal dining room, atwo-story family room with built-ins, and a kitchen with a central work island,a walk-in pantry, a built-in computer center, and an eating bar opening intothe family-sized breakfast area which overlooks the deck and woods. The listingagent is Barbara Rusling of Coldwell Banker.

Crawford,Texas

In Carthage, Tennessee, the most expensive house available is a two-story homebuilt in 1997 with four bedrooms, three and a half baths, and approximately3650 sq. ft. of living space for $239,900. Rooms include a family room, formaldining room, eat-in kitchen, den, office, master bedroom, and recreation room. Other features include afireplace and hardwood floors. This home has a four-cargarage, an enclosed porch, and is located on seven acres. The listing agentis Margaret Stevens of Cumberland Real Estate.

2801 AllendalePlace, NW

A similarly sized home in a northwest neighborhood of Washington will costat least three times that much. In Forest Hills, for example, a Tudor home at2801 Allendale Place, NW with four bedrooms, three and a half baths andapproximately 3700 square feet of living space, on a quarter of an acre is onthe market for $995,000. Built in 1934 it is offered in "as-is condition," and is actuallyquite a bargain for the size. Closer to the White House, in Kalorama or Georgetown, a house of that sizecan cost much more. A renovated four bedroom, three-bath townhouse at 1336 31st Street, NW with3900 square feet of living space but no parking, on a .04 acre lot (this is not a typo) listed for$1,295.000.

1336 31st Street,NW

Although $239,000 will not buy you a house in Northwest Washington, it willhowever buy a Capitol Hill cottage, one block from Eastern Market at 655 A Street, SE. Thetwo-bedroom, one and a half-bath house has 1,100 square feet of living space, a small patio, and sitson .02 acres.

655 A Street,SE

NOVEMBER REAL ESTATE NEWS

3055 Whitehaven Street, NW, the Washington Home of Paul Mellon,the late heir to one of the great banking an industrial fortunes of the 20th-century America and theprimary benefactor of Washington's National Gallery of Art, was sold earlier this year for $5,000,000 bySally Stockdale and Alyce Rideout of Pardoe/ERA. The purchasers are Wayne and LeaBerman. Wayne was Assistant Secretary of Commerce in the Bush Administration and is currently aWashington lobbyist and a George W. Bush fundraiser. Mellon and his wife, Bunny, used the house primarilyto showcase their extensive art collection, much of which was left to the national Gallery at his death.

The 12,000 sq. foot residence was built in 1930 in the Palladian style on abeautifully landscaped lot of 13,203 sq. feet. The house is currently beingused for the National Symphony Orchestra Decorator's Showhouse, but later thisyear it will be renovated to suit the Bermans and their families.

3055 Whitehaven Street, NW

After fourteen years, the Avenel neighborhood behind Congressional CountryClub is almost finished. Home of the Tournament Players Club and the KemperOpen, there are now almost 850 homes on the former site of the Rapley Mansionand Avenel Farm. Senator John Glenn, CNN correspondent Wolf Blitzer,and auto dealer John Pohanka are all homeowners there.

9706Berman Woods Way

Recently, a five-bedroom home at 9706 Berman Woods Way, overlookingthe 11th Fairway at Avenel, was sold for $900,000. Holly Pampilloniaof Pampillonia Jewelers sold her home to Thomas and Ann Adamson ofVirginia Beach. Nancy Itteilag of Pardoe/ERA represented the seller,and Gar Eners of Pardoe/ERA represented the purchasers.

NBC White House correspondent David Bloom and his Wife Melaniesold their five-bedroom Tudor-style house in Forest Hills at 4915 30th Place,NW for $941,100 to Valerie Anderson and Lester Houtz. Marilyn Page of WashingtonFine Properties represented the Blooms.

4915 30th Place,NW

James Hershberg, a George Washington University professor of International Affairs, recentlypurchased 3825 Huntington Street, NW in Chevy Chase, D.C. for $807,000. He bought the four-bedroomhome from H. Lawrence and Janice Clark. Larry Clark, who is the Program Director of OceanSciences at the National Science Foundation, is also the Great-grandson of David Hall McConnell,founder of Avon. Great grandfather McConnell began his career as a door-to-door book salesman in New YorkState in the 1880s offering potential customers as an added value, a vial of homemade perfume, whichproved to be more popular than the books. Recognizing a market when he saw it, McConnell formed theCalifornia Perfume Company in 1886 and recruited housewives to sell the perfume as a way to augment theirfamily income. The company later added a number of other household products and cosmetics, and in 1936 itwas renamed Avon.

Mr. and Mrs. Clark purchased a three-bedroom penthouse apartment with fabulous views at ParcSomerset for 1,997,000. Salley Widmayer of Pardoe/ERA represented the Clarks in both the saleof their house and the purchase of their apartment.

7300 ArrowoodDrive

Thomas Scholl, the founder and former CEO of Telogy Networks, purchased7300 Arrowood Drive in Bethesda from Marueen Ferguson for $1,800,000. The six-bedroom homeoverlooking the Burning Tree Golf Club was listed by Brad Rozansky of Long and Foster and sold byKrystina Litwin of Coldwell Banker.

Paul Taskier, a partner at the law firm of Dickstein, Shapiro, Morin & Oshinsky, purchased anhistoric, seven-bedroom fieldstone Colonial 4701 Linnean Avenue, NW in Forest Hills for $2,250,000from Giant Foods heiress Frederika L. Lehrman, an attorney and author on domestic-violence legalissues.

4701 LinneanAvenue, NW

Glenn and Ann Wise, (he the Director of the Pacific Basin EconomicCouncil.) sold their five-bedroom Federal townhouse at 2909 Garfield Street,NW in Woodley Park for $745,000. The purchasers are Diane and RichardCummins. Richard Cummins is a Professorial Lecturer in Law at George Washington University LawSchool. Prior to joining the faculty, Mr. Cummins practiced international law with Cravath, Swaine& More and the Mobil Corporation. The home was listed by Sue Safer of Pardoe/ERA, and LindaLow of Long and Foster represented the Cummins.

In Georgetown, Carol Bastek of Saddle River, New Jersey, purchased her Washingtonhome-away-from-home at 3603 Winfield Lane, NW for $625,000.The four-bedroom home, with large living and dining areas in The Cloisters isperfect for entertaining guests. Glen W. Sutcliffe of Coldwell BankerStevens represented the purchaser.

In McLean, Price Waterhouse Coopers' Raymond Ranelli and his wife Melody sold their home at1211 Stuart Robeston Drive for $1,255,000. The purchasers were former Louisiana RepresentativeJames Hayes and his wife Leslie, the owner of a local special events firm. Sue Huckaby ofWeichert listed and sold the house.

Also in McLean, former Texas Representative Ronald Coleman and his wife Amy sold their homeat 1209 Stable Gate Court to Michael Pusateri III, the Senior Vice President of Sales andMarketing for Proxicom. The house sold for $5,000,000. Sue Huckaby of Weichert represented theColemans.