Big Bear Café
The corner cafe at First and R Streets NW, with a Sunday farmers market outside.
Bloomingdale & LeDroit Park, Washington DC
Buying a home in Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park
How rowhouse and condo purchases in Bloomingdale, LeDroit Park and Truxton Circle are financed, including basement units and sewer-backup history.
What it costs here
$932K
Median house price · 502 sales
$611
Median per square foot
+55%
Renovated over average condition
Recorded arm’s-length sales from DC’s assessment records, through August 12, 2026. Not an appraisal or a valuation of any particular home. Compare every DC neighborhood
Highlights
Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park landmarks
Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park are rowhouse neighborhoods with corner cafes, a First Street restaurant row, and Howard University up the hill.
First Street eats
The Red Hen and Boundary Stone are on First Street, a restaurant row in a residential part of Bloomingdale.
Crispus Attucks Park
A park inside a block: a green interior courtyard owned and maintained by the neighbors who surround it.
LeDroit Park & Howard
LeDroit Park dates to 1873. Its architect-designed houses were home to Paul Laurence Dunbar and Mary Church Terrell, and Howard University's campus is up the hill.
Transportation
Getting around Bloomingdale
- Metro
- Shaw–Howard U (Green, Yellow) serves the LeDroit Park side; NoMa–Gallaudet (Red) is the closer stop for the eastern blocks.
- Bus
- Bus routes on North Capitol Street and Rhode Island Avenue run into downtown.
- Bike
- Flat, gridded streets connect to the Metropolitan Branch Trail.
- Parking
- Most blocks are residential permit parking zones: your zone permit covers you, and visitors get a two-hour limit or a guest pass. Some rowhouses have rear parking pads off the alleys.
Neighborhood
Living in Bloomingdale
Schools, restaurants, parks, and shopping in the neighborhood.
- Schools
- Langley Elementary is at the north end. Dunbar High, the nation's first public high school for Black students, is in Truxton Circle on a rebuilt campus, and McKinley Tech's application STEM program is just east. Howard University is up the hill.
- Dining & nights out
- The Red Hen, Boundary Stone, The Pub & the People, and Big Bear Café for breakfast and coffee.
- Parks & recreation
- Crispus Attucks Park inside its block, Common Good City Farm in LeDroit Park, and the Harry Thomas Rec Center's pool and courts on the eastern edge.
- The library
- Shaw's Watha T. Daniel branch is the closest, a ten-minute walk down Rhode Island Avenue.
- Groceries
- The Sunday farmers market at Big Bear, corner markets on First Street, and full-size grocery stores at the Giant on O Street and NoMa's Harris Teeter.
- On foot
- Flat, gridded blocks put the cafes, parks and schools within about a five-minute walk.
Next steps
Next steps by buying stage
Pick the step that matches where you are in buying a home.
01 · Still running numbers
Work out what you can afford
Estimate the full monthly payment, including DC property tax, insurance and any condo fee. The condo fee counts in full in your debt-to-income ratio.
See what you can afford →02 · Saving up
Plan the down payment
At Bloomingdale prices, the down payment depends on the loan program and the property type. FHA needs 3.5% down, and the whole down payment can be a gift from family.
See what you'd need →03 · Writing offers
Get a pre-qualification letter
Attach a pre-qualification letter to your offer. Pre-qualification takes about two minutes and does not pull your credit.
Get pre-qualified →
FAQ
Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park mortgage questions
Does Bloomingdale flood?
Bloomingdale's flooding was sewer backup during heavy storms, a drainage problem; the neighborhood is not in a river floodplain. DC Water's Northeast Boundary Tunnel, in service since 2023, was built to relieve it. Before you buy, ask whether the house has a backwater valve, check the seller's disclosures for basement water history, and get a sewer-backup rider priced into the insurance quote. Standard homeowner's policies typically exclude sewer backup unless you add that coverage.
Do I need flood insurance to get a loan here?
Lender-required flood insurance applies when the property sits in a FEMA special flood hazard area, and most of Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park does not — the historical problem was storm sewers, which FEMA maps don't capture. So the lender usually won't require flood coverage. Sewer-backup coverage on the homeowner's policy is optional; for a house with a finished basement, we recommend it.
Will a Bloomingdale rowhouse mean a jumbo loan?
Only if the loan amount is above $1,249,125. DC is a designated high-cost area, so for 2026 loan amounts up to $832,750 are standard conforming, amounts from $832,751 to $1,249,125 are high-balance conforming, and amounts above $1,249,125 are jumbo. High-balance conforming loans follow standard conforming rules, not jumbo's separate down payment, credit and reserve requirements.
Can basement rental income count toward qualifying?
Yes, when the unit is legal. If a Bloomingdale rowhouse has an English basement, market rent from a legal unit (certificate of occupancy and DC rental license) can count as qualifying income on both conventional and FHA loans. The appraiser documents the market rent in the appraisal. We check legality at the listing stage, because legality decides whether the income counts.
Which DC buyer programs apply at Bloomingdale prices?
An FHA loan needs 3.5% down, and the whole down payment can be a gift from family; for a condo, the building must be FHA-approved or pass FHA's single-unit review. Condo conversions here can sell under the $777,000 (tax year 2026) cap for the reduced 0.725% first-time buyer recordation rate, and some come under the Tax Abatement program's $576,000 cap, which waives recordation tax and abates property tax for five years. Full rowhouses generally sell above both caps. Buyers within the income limits can also apply for DC Open Doors (through DCHFA's participating lenders), which has no price cap, or HPAP (through DHCD-certified housing counseling agencies).
What is the history of the LeDroit Park arch?
LeDroit Park began in 1873 as one of DC's first planned suburbs — architect-designed houses behind a fence that was later torn down. By the early twentieth century LeDroit Park was a center of Black intellectual life in Washington, home to Paul Laurence Dunbar, Mary Church Terrell, and generations of Howard University faculty. The reproduction arch at 6th and T marks the old entrance. LeDroit Park is a historic district, so exterior renovations need design review. Build that review into the schedule before you plan a renovation loan.
Ask a question
A licensed DC loan officer will answer your question by email within one business day.
Before you buy
What to check before buying in Bloomingdale
Check whether the basement unit is legal, the house's water history, and which price range your budget reaches.
Loans for bay-front Victorian rowhouses
Bloomingdale's turreted, porch-fronted rowhouses date from the 1890s. In DC for 2026, a loan up to $1,249,125 is conforming or high-balance conforming; only a loan above that amount is jumbo.
Basement rental income and water history
Rent from a legal English basement can count as qualifying income. On these blocks, ask whether the house has a backwater valve and price sewer-backup coverage into the insurance quote.
Condo conversions
One- and two-bedroom condos in converted rowhouses can fall under DC's $777,000 (tax year 2026) and $576,000 first-time buyer program caps. Lenders review small condo associations too, so we read the condo documents before you commit.
New townhomes for sale on the former McMillan site are listed in our Reservoir District guide.
Get pre-qualified for a home in Bloomingdale or LeDroit Park
Send the address and your income and savings, and your loan officer will tell you which loan fits, including whether basement rent can count.