The five-bedroom farmhouse in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood includes four bedrooms in the main unit, off-street parking, and a snazzy ADU out back. The listing also has quite the backstory: Its current owner is the vice president of the United States.
JD Vance bought the house in 2023 for about $1.6 million. The neighborhood was an unusual choice for a prominent conservative—Del Ray voted overwhelmingly for Joe Biden in 2020 and for Kamala Harris four years later, and its boho-by-way-of-Patagonia-vest vibe is not an easy fit with the MAGA philosophy. Vance and his family kept largely to themselves, a trend that security concerns accelerated when Trump chose Vance as his running mate last July.
The US Secret Service instituted frequent closures at a park that adjoined Vance’s property the following month, along with roadblocks and a strong police presence that tested neighbors’ patience. Some people chalked pro-Harris messages on the Jersey barriers that appeared around the park’s perimeter, and someone—I never quite found out whom—ordered them repainted at one point.
Agitation about Vance’s presence helped fuel a battle of political signs that gripped Del Ray before the last election: Some people placed signs and banners in ways that seemed designed to enter Vance’s view; others filed complaints with the city about their size. One house urged voters to “Keep JD in Del Ray”—one got the impression this was not because they appreciated him as a neighbor.
That effort, as we are all quite aware, was not successful. Vance and his family now occupy the US Naval Observatory on Embassy Row. And his house can be yours for $1.7 million.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
