This D.C. mansion, built into a terraced hillside in 1927, was designed by architect George N. Ray, who crafted more than 50 homes in the area. Notable owners include a Treasury Department undersecretary, an ambassador to Switzerland and president of Washington National Bank, and Bill Frist, a former U.S. Senate majority leader. The stone manor, embellished with wisteria vines and adorned with five terraces, played host to such dinner guests as Elizabeth Taylor and Vincent Price. It was a filming location for the 1977 movie “The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover.”

List price: $9.75 million

Time on market: Three months

Listing agent: Robert Hryniewicki, Washington Fine Properties

The only Maryland sale on the list belonged to former Washington Wizards star guard Bradley Beal, whose lavish mansion sold for almost a million under the asking price of $10 million after he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. The listing described an “elevated South Miami vibe,” with black ceiling accents and hand-laid Italian mosaic tile. The 2016 house has six bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, and an elevator to traverse its 13,482 square feet. It also has an NBA-built regulation half-court, an arcade room, a tennis court with stadium lighting and parking for 14 vehicles. It was purchased by Dean Seavers, a businessman who served as president of of National Grid USA, in November.

Sale price: $9.185 million

Time on market: Two months

Listing agent: Andres Serafini, RLAH @properties

This six-bedroom, nine-bathroom house with a modern black-and-white facade was built in 2022 in a set of three adjacent houses. The lots, next to federally owned Battery Kemble Park, were prospected by developers for more than a decade before Bryce Arrowood, managing partner at Cliveden Group, figured out how to access the land: by buying a house at the end of Cathedral Avenue that bordered the lots, and building a private road. The transitional-style house has a floating staircase, wine cellar, exercise room, and ample outdoor space that includes a pool. The house was bought in January by TEWBDC, LLC, which has the same mailing address as ALS Finding a Cure, a service mark of the Leandro P. Rizzuto Foundation. The latter is a tax-exempt organization.

List price: $9.495 million

Sale price: $9.45 million

Time on market: Two and half months

Listing agent: Lee Arrowood, Compass Realty

This Italian-villa-inspired estate with a limestone-domed foyer comes with a name of equal gravitas, dubbed by its builder Palazzo Della Felicita, or “Palace of Happiness.” With a twin grand staircase, library with wood walls and ceilings, movie theater, 5,000-bottle wine cellar, patio and garage for up to 11 cars, the 2019 Forest Hills neighborhood house was designed for entertaining. It should come as no shock, then, that it was bought by the Israeli embassy for Ambassador Michael Herzog in September – for about half a million under the original listing price.

List price: $9.95 million

Time on market: Under two weeks

Listing agent: Michael Rankin, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

We’re getting into the eight-digits now! The many adornments of this 16,000-square-foot Western European-inspired mansion come from sources as diverse as the Oregon Trail (300 tons of fieldstone) and a French castle (an artist-signed fireplace built in 1900). The property is designed to accommodate as many as 160 guests, and boasts a sunlit entertainment room, circular wine cellar, hearth room, arched hallways, massive walk-in closets, two-story library with a spiral staircase and an indoor basketball court. Outside, a stone veranda overlooks the property’s 1¼ acres, designed by landscape architect Charles Owens. The mansion was bought in January by the thus-unidentified Earthly Castle LLC.

List price: $13.5 million

Sale price: $10.8 million

Time on market: Four months

Listing agent: William Thomas, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

This Beaux-Arts estate in Massachusetts Avenue Heights was built in 2008 as a showpiece of the late venture capitalist and major Republican donor Melvyn J. Estrin. The mansion hosted plenty of fundraisers for his candidates of choice, and for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Boasting 13,595 square feet and four stories, it has a heated motor court, several terraces, a heated swimming pool, reception foyer, library, wine room and parking for 14 vehicles. It will become a new official residence for the Irish ambassador, selling in December for more than $4,000,000 under the listing price.

List price: $16.5 million

Sale price: $12.25 million

Time on market: Three days

Listing agent: Charles Holzwarth Jr., Washington Fine Properties

The most expensive new construction in 2023 — and priciest condo ever sold in the area — this record-breaking penthouse in the Wharf’s posh, futuristic Amaris was designed by the late Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly. His other projects include Manhattan’s “pencil tower” at 432 Park Avenue, Tokyo International Forum and the Cleveland Museum of Art. The penthouse, which overlooks the buzzy entertainment district and the Washington Channel, has four bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a large terrace and three parking spaces. It sold in April. According to the Wall Street Journal, the buyer was a West Coaster who wanted an East Coast dwelling for family; they also purchased two boat slips at the Wharf.

List price: $12.5 million

Sale price: $12.762 million

Time on market: None (sold the day before listing appeared)

Listing agent: Michelle Giannini, Hoffman Realty

Located adjacent to former Kennedy family estate Hickory Hill in upper-crust Langley Farm, this 13,882-square-foot stone mansion has a handcrafted mahogany and glass front door, an antique limestone fireplace, coffered ceilings, custom chandeliers and a room labeled “morning bar.” Outside, the “edgeless” pool flows into a waterfall, fountains bubble and a built-in stone firepit comes with matching irremovable and hard-looking stone seating. The landscaped gardens encompass nearly two acres.

List price: $13.8 million

Sale price: $13.25 million

Time on market: Four months

Listing agent: Piper Yerks, Washington Fine Properties

Speaking of the Kennedys, this combined estate includes a National Historic Landmark once owned by former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Other notable past tenants include a World War I-era secretary of war, a Soviet spy and Yolande Fox, a former Miss America and Washington society magnate. The property, with 13 bedrooms and 18 bathrooms, was remodeled into one compound by late real estate proprietor David Hudgens, who had lived at 3017 N St. NW since 1997 — but its history extends to the 1700s, when it was built by Georgetown mayor Thomas Beall. Combined, the houses have more than 16,000 square feet of living space and include original fireplaces, a three-car garage, several terraces and a salon with hand-painted frescoes. It sold in November to an LLC named HistoryHouse Properties for nearly $6 million above asking price.

List price: $9.25 million

Sale price: $15.1 million

Time on market: Eight months

Listing agent: John Taylor, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

The priciest “house” sold in the D.C. area last year has more in common with commercial sales than residential. Built in 1925 for a wealthy newspaper publisher, this sprawling Mediterranean villa in American University Park was home to Swedish ambassador Karin Olofsdotter before she relocated to a “Scandi-cool” Georgetown abode. This sale marks the first time since the 1950s that the 6.7-acre property was on the market. It seems that D.C. ultra-luxury buyers have less use for such estates now — according to Pearlman, none of the roughly 13 offers were end users. Though the manor house is protected from major changed by a D.C. historic landmark designation, developers plan to build a luxury community reminiscent of Phillips Park on the rest of the property, Pearlman said. It sold to the Banks Development Co. in February.

List price: $19.5 million

Sale price: $17.3 million

Time on market: Four months

Listing agent: Cara Pearlman, Compass Realty