Aerial view of the Navy Yard skyline — new high-rises and their rooftops, Nationals Park, and the Anacostia River with the Frederick Douglass Bridge beyond, Washington, D.C.

Photo: Duane Lempke, CC BY-SA 4.0

Navy Yard, Washington DC

Home financing by the riverfront.

From Nats Park to the Anacostia waterfront — condo and home loan guidance for DC's fastest-growing neighborhood.

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What it costs here
$1.1M
Median house price · 40 sales
$689
Median per square foot

Recorded arm’s-length sales from the District’s assessment records, through 2026-08-12. Not an appraisal or a valuation of any particular home. Compare every DC neighborhood

Today's DC mortgage rates — example pricing by program, each shown with its APR, effective date, and the borrower assumptions behind it.See the rate table

Why here

Nats Park, the boardwalk, and the river.

Navy Yard built a whole lifestyle in fifteen years — ballpark summers, a boardwalk for a backyard, and the only DC neighborhood where the river is the main street.

Panoramic view of the field, crowd, and scoreboard at Nationals Park at sunset, Washington, D.C.

Photo: Rudi Riet, CC BY-SA 2.0

Nationals Park

Eighty-one home games a year in your neighborhood — half the buildings can hear the fireworks from the roof deck.

A sculptural wooden lounge chair on the Yards Park boardwalk overlooking the Anacostia River, Washington, D.C.

Photo: AgnosticPreachersKid, CC BY-SA 4.0

Yards Park

The boardwalk, the wading fountain, and Friday summer concerts on the lawn — the riverfront lives like a resort amenity that happens to be public.

Candlelit outdoor dinner table at a marina at twilight — generic dockside-dining vibe (card is about the dining scene, no venue depicted)

The riverfront table

The Point and the Salt Line on the water, Bammy's island plates, Dacha's beer garden, and Catahoula's rooftop — dinner here comes with a marina view.

Skaters on an outdoor rink under string lights at night — atmospheric for Canal Park's winter ice rink

Play, year-round

Canal Park's winter ice rink, the Riverwalk Trail in both directions, Audi Field a short walk over — and half the buildings top out in rooftop pools.

Who's moving in: young professionals making the rent-to-own leap inside the neighborhood, and military buyers from Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling putting VA benefits to work.

The sculptural pedestrian bridge over the canal basin at Yards Park, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.
The bridge at Yards Park — the riverfront boardwalk's signature span.Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0

Getting around

Car, train, bus, or bike — how Navy Yard moves.

The coffered concrete crossvault of Metro Center station, Washington, D.C.

Photo: Ben Schumin, CC BY-SA 3.0

Metro
Navy Yard–Ballpark (Green) — one entrance at the ballpark gates, one at M Street.
US city bus crossing a downtown intersection at twilight, American flag visible
Bus
M Street SE is the crosstown corridor, linking Capitol Hill and Southwest.
Pennsylvania Ave protected bike lanes leading straight to the US Capitol
Bike & trails
The Anacostia Riverwalk Trail runs the waterfront in both directions, and the Douglass Bridge walks to the east bank.
DC brick rowhouses with cars parallel-parked at the curb, sunny day, DC plates
Parking
Meters, ballpark event restrictions, and permit blocks share the streets here — buildings sell or rent garage spaces separately, so plan on one.
The white arches of the new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge over the Anacostia River at dusk, Washington, D.C.
The new Frederick Douglass Bridge — the fifteen-minute walk between the ballpark and the east bank, over the water.

Daily life

Living in Navy Yard, day to day.

Schools, suppers, parks, and errands — the practical texture of the neighborhood, named specifically.

Yellow school bus from behind on a tree-lined street in autumn, no children visible
Schools
Van Ness Elementary reopened as the neighborhood grew and built a devoted early-childhood following; Jefferson Middle School Academy's renovated campus sits just west, with Eastern High as the feeder and the citywide application schools in easy reach.
Warm dimly lit restaurant interior, diners at candlelit tables under a fringed lamp
Dining & nights out
Albi's Michelin-starred kitchen, the Salt Line's oysters and The Point on the water, Bammy's, Dacha's beer garden, Bluejacket's brewery, and Catahoula's rooftop — plus 81 home games a year.
Wide green park lawn with picnickers, mature trees, city buildings behind
Parks & recreation
Yards Park's boardwalk and wading fountain, Canal Park's winter ice rink, Diamond Teague's kayak piers, and the Riverwalk Trail in both directions.
Wooden library bookshelves in the foreground with a warm reading room beyond
The library
The new Southwest branch — one of the system's architectural standouts — is one stop or a short ride across South Capitol.
Shopper reaching for produce in a warmly lit grocery produce aisle, face in profile
Groceries
Whole Foods at New Jersey and H, Harris Teeter on M Street — both inside the neighborhood's walkshed.
A row of porched brick rowhouses with dormer windows on Quincy Street NW, Washington, D.C.
On foot
Car-optional by design: groceries, Metro, the ballpark, and the boardwalk all inside a ten-minute walk of every building.
The riverwalk boardwalk at Diamond Teague Park at golden hour, with the old Navy Yard smokestacks beyond, Washington, D.C.
Diamond Teague Park's riverwalk — water taxis and kayak piers at the ballpark's front door.Photo: Payton Chung, CC BY 2.0

Wherever you are

Start from where you actually are.

Buying takes most first-time DC buyers the better part of a year. The useful next step depends on which part you're in.

  1. 01 · Still running numbers

    What can we actually afford?

    Start with the payment, not the price. DC property tax, insurance and any condo fee move it more than buyers expect — and the condo fee counts against your ratios in full.

    See what you can afford →

  2. 02 · Saving up

    How do we get to the down payment?

    What you actually need down at Navy Yard prices is usually less than people assume, and the property type moves it as much as the program does.

    See what you'd need →

  3. 03 · Writing offers

    We need to look credible.

    DC listing agents expect a pre-approval attached to the offer. Ninety seconds, no credit pull to start.

    Get pre-qualified →

You asked

Will FHA or VA work in Navy Yard?

How much does a condo in Navy Yard cost?
Studios start around $300,000-$400,000, one-bedrooms run $400,000-$550,000, and two-bedrooms range from $550,000 to $800,000. Penthouses and townhouse-style units can reach $1 million or more. Prices have appreciated steadily since 2015 as the neighborhood has developed.
Are Navy Yard condos FHA- and VA-approved?
Many Navy Yard buildings have proactively obtained FHA and VA approval to attract the broadest buyer pool, including military personnel from nearby installations. Check HUD's condo lookup tool for FHA approval or the VA's approved condo list. Verify that the approval is current, as approvals can expire.
Can I use a VA loan to buy in Navy Yard?
Yes, if the building is VA-approved. VA loans offer zero down payment, no monthly mortgage insurance, and competitive interest rates. Navy Yard's proximity to Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling and the historic Navy Yard makes it popular with military buyers. A one-time VA funding fee of 2.15% applies (waived for disabled veterans).
How much are HOA dues in Navy Yard?
High-rise luxury buildings typically charge $500-$700/month, mid-rise buildings $350-$500/month, and townhouse-style condos $200-$350/month. Dues usually cover amenities like gyms, pools, rooftop terraces, water, trash, and common area maintenance. Higher dues reduce your borrowing power since lenders include them in your debt-to-income ratio.
What is the minimum down payment for a Navy Yard condo?
As little as 0% with a VA loan, 3% with a conventional loan, or 3.5% with an FHA loan. On a $500,000 condo, that's $0, $15,000, or $17,500 respectively. DC's HPAP and DC Open Doors programs can help cover down payment and closing costs for qualifying first-time buyers.
Are Navy Yard condos warrantable?
Most are. New-construction buildings with professional HOA management, well-funded reserves, and high owner-occupancy ratios typically meet Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac warrantability requirements. This means the widest range of loan options and best rates. Always verify with the HOA questionnaire, as buildings with high investor concentrations can lose warrantability.
Is Navy Yard a good investment?
Navy Yard has strong investment fundamentals: consistent rental demand from young professionals and government workers, continued development and infrastructure investment, and strong appreciation since 2015. Investment financing requires 15-25% down and higher rates. Check the building's rental cap before purchasing — many buildings limit the percentage of rentable units.
What are closing costs for a Navy Yard condo?
Expect $10,000-$20,000 in total closing costs on a typical purchase. This includes DC's 1.1% recordation tax on the mortgage amount, your share of the 1.1% transfer tax, title insurance, lender fees, and prepaid items. First-time DC homebuyers qualify for a reduced recordation tax rate of 0.725%.
Does parking come with Navy Yard condos?
Not always. Some units include a parking space; others sell spaces separately for $30,000-$75,000 or rent them for $150-$300/month. Given Navy Yard's Metro access and walkability, some buyers forgo parking entirely. If you need a space, factor the cost into your total purchase budget.
How long does it take to close on a Navy Yard condo?
Plan for 45-60 days from contract to closing. Condo purchases take longer than single-family homes due to HOA document review, lender project approval, and warrantability verification. New-construction buildings may have additional documentation requirements. Getting pre-approved and starting document collection early helps streamline the process.
Is District Mortgage a bank or a mortgage broker?
District Mortgage is a licensed mortgage broker, not a bank or direct lender. We do not fund loans with our own money. We take your application and shop it across our wholesale lender network, so the lenders compete for your loan and you take the winning offer. NMLS #2819502 — verify us at nmlsconsumeraccess.org.
Can District Mortgage do a loan on a property outside Washington, DC?
No. We are licensed in the District of Columbia only, so the property has to be in DC. We cannot accept an application or a pre-qualification request for a property in Maryland, Virginia, or any other state. If your property is elsewhere, nmlsconsumeraccess.org will show you licensed originators in that state.
Where do the rates on this site come from?
Our rates page is the canonical source for our pricing and carries an effective date, the APR alongside every rate, and the borrower assumptions each example is priced on. Rates shown anywhere on this site are illustrative examples, not offers of credit or commitments to lend, and pricing moves daily. Anyone quoting a rate from us should cite the effective date it was published with.

Local expertise

Built for how Navy Yard buys.

Almost everything here is a condo — which makes the building you choose as important as the loan you choose.

Condo-first financing

Navy Yard is DC's newest condo market, and condo loans have their own rules: building warrantability, HOA review, and project approval. We know which questions to ask before you write an offer — not after.

VA loan expertise

With Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling and the historic Navy Yard nearby, this neighborhood draws military buyers. Many buildings carry VA approval, and we help eligible veterans and service members put VA benefits to work.

First-time buyer friendly

New construction, Metro access, and a deep rental market make Navy Yard a natural first purchase — and pricing across the buildings spans from starter one-bedrooms to penthouse territory.

Ready to land in Navy Yard?

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