Dupont Circle
Daniel Chester French's marble fountain sits in the center of the circle, with chess tables and lawn seating.
Dupont Circle & Kalorama, Washington DC
Buying a home in Dupont Circle and Kalorama
How condo, co-op and rowhouse purchases in Dupont Circle and Kalorama are financed.
What it costs here
$1.9M
Median house price · 139 sales
$868
Median per square foot
+71%
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
Dupont Circle and Kalorama landmarks
Dupont Circle has the fountain, Embassy Row and the Phillips Collection; Kalorama is a residential neighborhood where two presidents have lived.
Embassy Row
Gilded Age mansions along Massachusetts Avenue house embassies, starting at the circle.
The Phillips Collection
America's first museum of modern art, in a Kalorama rowhouse since 1921, with the Rothko Room and Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party.
Kalorama
A residential neighborhood where the Wilsons retired and the Obamas stayed after leaving the White House.
Transportation
Getting around Dupont
- Metro
- Dupont Circle (Red), with its Q Street entrance escalators.
- Bus
- Bus routes on Connecticut and Massachusetts Avenues, with 16th Street routes to the east.
- Bike
- The 15th Street protected bike lane on the east side and Rock Creek's trails on the west.
- Parking
- Most blocks are permit-zoned and street spaces are hard to find; visitors get a two-hour limit. Some rowhouses have a parking pad off the rear alley, and apartment buildings sell or rent garage spaces.
Neighborhood
Living in Dupont
Schools, restaurants, parks, and shopping in the neighborhood.
- Schools
- Ross Elementary is in the rowhouse blocks, School Without Walls at Francis-Stevens is just south, and the citywide application high schools (Walls, Banneker, Ellington) are a short ride away.
- Dining & nights out
- Anju, a Michelin-recognized Korean restaurant; Hank's Oyster Bar; Iron Gate's garden courtyard; and Kramers, the bookstore-café on Connecticut Avenue since 1976.
- Parks & recreation
- The circle's lawn and chess tables, Mitchell Park up in Kalorama, the S Street dog park, and Rock Creek at the western edge.
- The library
- The West End branch library is the closest, and the MLK central library is south of the neighborhood.
- Groceries
- Safeway on 17th Street, Whole Foods on P Street at the Logan Circle edge, and the Sunday FreshFarm market by the Metro.
- On foot
- Three restaurant corridors, the Metro and two grocery stores are within a fifteen-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 Dupont 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
Dupont Circle and Kalorama mortgage questions
How is a co-op in Dupont Circle different from a condo?
With a condo you own real property and finance it with a mortgage. With a co-op, and Dupont and Kalorama have some of DC's largest co-op buildings, you buy shares in the corporation that owns the building, finance them with a share loan that only some lenders offer, and pass the co-op board's own approval. Co-op monthly fees can include property taxes and the building's underlying mortgage, so compare total monthly cost instead of list prices. We'll confirm whether a listing is a condo or a co-op, and what that means for the loan, before you write the offer.
Will a Dupont or Kalorama house mean a jumbo loan?
The loan amount decides it. In DC 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. Jumbo loans have their own down payment, credit and reserve rules.
Does the historic district change what I can do with the house?
The Dupont Circle and Sheridan-Kalorama historic districts require design review for exterior changes: windows, additions, and anything visible from the street. The review does not change the loan terms, but a renovation loan's schedule has to allow for it, so we build the review timeline into the plan for any exterior project.
Can rental income from an English basement count toward qualifying?
Yes, when the unit is legal, with a certificate of occupancy and a DC rental license. Documented market rent from a legal basement unit can count as qualifying income on conventional and FHA loans, which can raise the loan amount you qualify for.
Which DC buyer programs apply at Dupont Circle 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. Qualifying first-time buyers pay the reduced 0.725% recordation tax rate on purchases up to $777,000 (tax year 2026), and the Tax Abatement program applies up to $576,000. In recorded sales through August 2026 (DC Office of the Chief Financial Officer data), Dupont Circle's median house price was $1,850,000, above both caps, and its median condo price was $454,000, below both. Every program has income limits. DC Open Doors (through DCHFA's participating lenders) has no maximum sales price and a $275,400 income cap.
How do I check a building before making an offer on a unit?
Ask us to pull the building's financing profile before your second visit. For condos we check warrantability signals — owner-occupancy, reserves, insurance, any litigation or special assessments. For co-ops we look at the underlying mortgage and what the board requires of buyers. Checking before you sign a contract avoids finding a problem after it is ratified.
Ask a question
A licensed DC loan officer will answer your question by email within one business day.
Loan options
Co-op, high-balance and basement-income loans in Dupont Circle
Co-op share loans, the high-balance limit below jumbo, and counting English basement rent as income.
Co-op share loans
Dupont and Kalorama have some of DC's large co-op buildings. A co-op purchase uses a share loan and a board package, and the building's underlying mortgage is part of the review.
High-balance and jumbo loan limits
DC's 2026 conforming limit is $1,249,125, above the $832,750 national baseline. A loan at or below $1,249,125 is high-balance conventional; only a loan above it is jumbo.
English basement rental income
Market rent from a legal English basement can count toward qualifying income, which can raise the loan amount you qualify for.
Get pre-qualified for a home in Dupont Circle or Kalorama
Send the listing for a condo, co-op or rowhouse with your income and savings, and your loan officer will lay out the loan that fits.