James and Jamie Coss spent nine months looking for a home that was close to work, a grocery store and a gym.
In December 2015, they bought a three-level condo on the third floor of a vintage 1895 townhouse near Logan Circle for $1,289,000 that checked all of the boxes. A desire to change a bathtub in the master bathroom started a chain reaction that would eventually make being near a gym irrelevant.
The couple had been renting an apartment at CityCenterDC in Northwest Washington for a year, and they were ready for something larger and more permanent. James Coss, 35, is a tax attorney for a large accounting firm with offices in the District. He used proximity to a grocery store as a real-estate compass to guide them to their new home.
“I subscribe to the Whole Foods theory of real estate,” James said. “Once they build one, the neighborhood will be full of yuppies for the next several decades. Selling your home will also be easier, because Whole Foods has put their stamp of approval on it.”