Compass Vice President Rachel Levey, a third-generation Washingtonian, reports a decade with the brokerage, more than $100 million in career sales, and 90 percent repeat and referral business.
-- Rachel Levey, a Vice President at Compass and a third-generation Washingtonian, is marking her tenth year with the brokerage and more than $100 million in career residential real estate sales. Levey has 14 years of experience representing buyers and sellers, with a focus on Upper Northwest Washington neighborhoods including the Palisades, Kent, Cleveland Park, American University Park, Berkeley, Spring Valley, and Foxhall. According to Levey, she closed more than $22 million across 21 transactions in 2025 and has already passed that volume in 2026. She reports that more than 90 percent of her business this year has come from repeat clients and referrals.
“At this stage of my career, I’m less interested in measuring success by volume alone,” said Levey. “What matters most to me is where my business comes from, the relationships behind it, and knowing my clients trust me enough to come back or recommend me to the people they care about.”
A More Selective Washington Market
Bright MLS data for August 2026 showed active inventory across the Washington metropolitan area up 11.3 percent from a year earlier, while new pending sales in the District fell 11.5 percent. New listings declined 3.8 percent and showing activity fell 7.3 percent. The metro median sale price reached $640,000, up 2.4 percent from August 2025, and the median time on market was unchanged at 19 days.
Levey says the figures show that a slower market does not mean falling prices in every neighborhood or property type. “DC is extremely hyperlocal,” said Levey. “What is happening in one neighborhood, price point, or property type can look very different just a few blocks away. You can’t rely on citywide averages to determine what a particular home is worth or how buyers will respond to it.”
She says that in Upper Northwest Washington, architecture, lot size, renovation quality, and location can all influence demand. A detached home in the Palisades may face different conditions than a condominium in Cleveland Park, and a renovated home in Kent may draw a different buyer pool than an unrenovated one on the same street.
Preparation and Pricing for Sellers
Levey advises sellers not to assume that listing a home will create immediate competition. “The work you do before a home goes live, from pricing and preparation to photography and marketing strategy, can make a tremendous difference in the outcome,” she said.
She works with homeowners to identify which improvements are likely to affect buyer perception and which may not deliver a meaningful return. That can include repairs, painting, landscaping, staging, lighting, and photography. Her service often includes coordinating contractors, landscapers, painters, stagers, and photographers. “My role is to look at the entire picture, help prioritize where their money is best spent, and coordinate the process so they aren’t left managing a dozen moving pieces on their own,” said Levey.
Compass Private Exclusives
During 2026, Levey worked on both the buyer and seller sides of Compass Private Exclusive transactions in the Palisades, Kent, and Cleveland Park. A Compass Private Exclusive lets a seller market a property within the Compass network before it is publicly listed on the multiple listing service (MLS), the shared database of homes for sale, and on major real estate websites. During that phase, a property’s public days on market and price-reduction history do not begin to accumulate.
In July 2026, Compass published research on 70,809 closed residential transactions listed between April 2025 and March 2026. The company reported that homes that began as a Private Exclusive or Coming Soon listing closed at an average price 4.6 percent higher than comparable homes marketed directly through the MLS, after statistical adjustments. The research used Compass’s own data and excluded withdrawn or expired listings, and it does not guarantee results for any individual property.
Levey describes private marketing as an option and not an automatic recommendation. “Some sellers want maximum public exposure from day one, and for many homes that’s absolutely the right approach,” said Levey. “My job is to explain the advantages and tradeoffs of each approach, not to push a particular program.”
Relationships and Background
Levey says personal relationships remain valuable even as technology changes how buyers search. “Some of the most valuable information comes from conversations, not necessarily from what’s already online,” she said. Before real estate, she worked in nonprofit fundraising, including as Director of Development at Sixth & I in Washington, D.C. She says that experience reinforced the importance of listening and maintaining relationships.
For sellers, her work includes pricing, preparation, marketing, negotiation, inspections, and settlement coordination. For buyers, it includes identifying properties, evaluating comparable sales, structuring offers, and coordinating with lenders and attorneys. “I don’t think clients hire me just to tell them what they want to hear,” said Levey. “They hire me because they want someone who will give them an honest assessment, advocate for their interests, and help them make informed decisions.”
Roots in the Palisades
Levey is a longtime Palisades resident and lives there with her husband, Brian, and their three children, who attend DC public schools. She has supported the Palisades Community Association, including sponsoring its Fire Station Potluck Dinner and the Engine 29 centennial celebration. Her practice extends across the District, close-in Maryland, and Northern Virginia, and she is licensed in all three.
Her published Compass transaction history includes sales at 4511 Klingle Street NW for $5,150,000, 3003 Audubon Terrace NW for $4,500,000, 5400 Cathedral Avenue NW for $3,150,000, and 2210 Wyoming Avenue NW for $3,040,000. She is also listed in Washingtonian’s 2026 real estate agent directory with an Elite Producers Platinum team designation.
Plans for 2027
As she enters her next decade at Compass, Levey plans to help homeowners plan sales earlier, offer guidance on which improvements are worth making, and stay connected to past clients. “Going into 2027, my goal is to continue growing without losing the very personal approach that built my business in the first place,” said Levey.
About Rachel Levey
Rachel Levey is a Vice President at Compass and a third-generation Washingtonian specializing in residential real estate in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Northern Virginia. She reports more than $100 million in career sales, 14 years of experience, and a decade at Compass. Her business centers on Upper Northwest Washington, and she lives in the Palisades with her husband and three children. Her Compass office is at 1313 14th Street NW, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20005. D.C. real estate license SP98371969. More information is available at rachelleveyrealestate.com. Follow her on Instagram. Inquiries may be sent to [email protected] or by calling (202) 361-4073.
Contact Info:
Name: Rachel Levey
Email: Send Email
Organization: Compass
Website: https://rachelleveyrealestate.com/
Release ID: 89207901
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