The Georgetown house once owned by John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy has sold for $6.125 million, closing a sale that put one of Washington’s most storied homes back in new hands. The Marbury House, built around 1811, changed ownership on May 12 after being listed in October 2025 for $7.5 million.
It was the first Washington home the Kennedys bought, in 1957, when Kennedy was still a senator. They lived there with five bedrooms, five full bathrooms and one partial bathroom, along with a sprawling parlor, a library, a spacious garden and a one-car garage with two parking spaces. The house later became part of Kennedy’s campaign during the 1960 presidential election, before the couple left on the morning of January 20, 1961, for his inauguration and moved into the White House.
For many buyers, the price is only part of the appeal. The home’s history is built into its walls: Caroline was born there in 1957, JFK Jr. arrived in 1960, and the residence served as the Kennedys’ base in Georgetown before the White House years. That gives the sale a weight few houses can match in Washington, where political history and real estate often overlap, but rarely so directly.
The Marbury House was commissioned by William Marbury, a Georgetown financier and Federalist whose name is tied to Marbury v. Madison. The property has changed hands multiple times since the Kennedys left, but the listing agent said its character and integrity have been preserved. He described the home as having high ceilings, proportion and the kind of light associated with the Federal period.
That original architecture still matters because the house is not just another preserved address. It is a 5,215-square-foot reminder of a moment when the Kennedys were still building toward national power and the home itself was part of that rise. Michael Rankin said advisors came and went through the gracious doorway, Cabinet choices were weighed in the front rooms and, on winter mornings, the president-elect stepped onto the porch to address reporters gathered along the brick sidewalks. He also said Jacqueline Kennedy, with a sharp eye for design, repeatedly reshaped the interiors, turning the double living room into a polished salon for political teas and small gatherings that helped her husband’s prospects.
The sale closes the latest chapter for a house that has sat at the intersection of family life, campaign politics and Washington legend. What remains now is the question of who will live with that history next, and whether the new owners will treat the Marbury House as a private residence, a showcase property or a piece of the city’s political memory.
