Testimonials

Kara and Jesus

Michael is the best! He was thorough and great to work with. He kept us apprised about available mid-century modern homes, answered our questions, and always let us know as soon as a new one came on the market. We felt lucky to work with Michael and are deeply appreciative of his professionalism and responsiveness.

Tom

I would not hesitate to strongly recommend Michael’s realtor experience and passion for whatever housing transitions you’re considering. In my particular case I had a mid-century modern property and I did not want to educate a realtor about the particulars of this kind of building. Michael has a substantial background in this building type, as well as architecture in general, and is already an advocate and true believer for mid-century modern architecture. His clientele seek out this expertise, buying or selling, which is critically important in a tight market. In summary, if you want a proactive realtor with great resources who is also passionate about architecture Michael Shapiro is an excellent choice.

Arthur & Linda

Working with Michael and Elissa was great from start to finish. I had no real estate experience and Michael was patient and taught me a lot in our first call. He is very responsive, knowledgeable about mid-century modern architecture, and knows the DMV market well. He helped me navigate a rapidly changing market, guiding me through the entire process with excellent advice. I never felt rushed or pressured and found a home in my preferred neighborhood. I would definitely work with Modern Capital again.

Grant

Michael was our realtor several years ago when we bought a house in Bethesda and again when we sold years later. His passion for modern architecture and his professionalism as a realtor are unsurpassed. He earns all of the accolades he has received in the DC area through his integrity and excellence. Michael helped us find our dream home and also helped us to sell at a price beyond our expectations. And he did both while making the experience as straightforward and seamless as possible in a hot market with a lot of competitive offers. We had ups and downs during the process as all buyers and sellers do but Michael was a trusted and transparent advisor throughout, never hesitating to lend his informed advice. We could not recommend him more highly.

Jack & Jennifer

Michael was amazing to work with! He was incredibly responsive, insightful, helpful, and professional throughout our recent purchase. He is very knowledgeable of the local market and was extremely supportive. He helped navigate the myriads of choices and considerations through the many complex steps in the buying process. Over the years, we have bought and sold a number of places and have interacted with many Realtors®. We can honestly say Michael is exceptional when it comes to his client support. He is enjoyable to work with and was incredibly available. He made us feel as though we were his only or most important client, even though we know he was super busy. We trusted him implicitly from the onset, as he demonstrates high integrity and ethics. For us, this was incredibly important, as we were new to the local market, and purchasing a home is such a major undertaking. Michael helped us strategize our offer to secure the house we wanted despite a number of competing offers. He truly went above and beyond to answer our questions and concerns. In addition to being such a great guy to work with, he is also an expert in all things mid-century modern and can provide amazing insights and context in this unique part of the market. We are so glad we found Michael and would highly recommend him to anyone looking to buy or sell a home in the area.

Tracy & Keith

As California natives and former MCM homeowners, we were worried that we would have a very difficult time finding this unique style home in the DMV area in our price range. Mike’s name came up in numerous online searches and in interviews, so we reached out and he responded immediately. He completely understood our aesthetics and also our quirks. Though we liked turn-key homes, we also liked the idea of getting a project that could be saved. It also needed to be a larger lot, but not too far from DC and our work. He found us exactly that with a custom-built MCM home in Silver Spring on a large lot and with the style we love, but room for improvement and a chance to save a beautiful home from a likely wrecking ball and the construction of something utterly lacking in style, charm, and warmth. We really can’t say enough good things about how wonderful Mike was and how quickly he responded to all our questions; we had a lot of questions. His wife even helped us, getting us into a showing on a highly competitive property when Mike was out of town. Whether you’re looking for an MCM home or not, we cannot imagine going to anyone else and cannot recommend him more heartily or highly.

Lauren & Nick

We met Michael at one of his open houses in the middle of what was turning into a long and frustrating search for our first home. While we knew that the property we were visiting that day wasn’t the right one for us, we walked away completely impressed by Michael’s real estate knowledge and professionalism. Deciding to work with him for the remainder of our search was one of the best choices we made. We found him to be incredibly easy to work with–he was responsive and seemed to have an innate ability to pinpoint which houses on the market would appeal to us the most. We never felt pressured or rushed in our search–he was the first agent we worked with who really seemed to understand our goals and put our interests ahead of making a quick sale. He is a wealth of knowledge on architecture (especially MCM), home renovations, and market trends which helped us confidently make decisions during the home buying process. We spent over a year looking at houses we didn’t love with real estate agents who didn’t seem to understand what we wanted. With Michael, it took us three months to find a home that we love. We can’t recommend him highly enough. Thanks again for everything!

Sara

When it came time to sell my mid-century modern home in the DC area, Michael was the first real estate agent that came to mind. Why? First, Michael is extremely knowledgeable of and committed to modern architecture. It was important for me to have an agent who understood the design and historical significance of my home. Second, Michael is very well connected in the modernist community in the DC area and beyond. Those connections were valuable in getting out the word about the sale of my home and getting that message out to the right audience. Third, Michael is very experienced and strategic in this work. For every concern I had in the process of listing a home and going under contract, Michael always presented creative, strategic, and logical solutions and always kept my interests a priority. I have met and worked with a lot of real estate agents across my entire home-buying lifetime, and Michael is still the agent I first think of when I want to turn to someone that I can trust.

Theresa

When I decided to sell my mid-century home in the Moyaone Reserve, my first thought was to reach out to Mike. I’d been following his blog for some time and knew that he had a passion and knowledge for all things MCM, and I knew I needed that to find the right buyer for my MCM gem. Thanks in large part to Mike’s efforts, we got a contract with blinding speed. But it was a unique property and there were many hurdles to clear before we finally closed. Yet through it all, from preparing the house to dealing with inspections and contract revisions, to make sure a very complicated closing process finally made it to the signing table, Mike was always there with good advice, helpful suggestions, and a wonderful sense of humor that made even the trickiest times easier. Whether you are selling or buying an MCM property, I cannot recommend Mike highly enough, either way, you will have an experienced, consummately professional agent on your side to make sure things go well. And they will!

Diana

Mike turned what could have been a stressful ordeal of selling my late father’s house, especially since I live out of state, into unexpected pleasure. I didn’t know the market and had no idea what was needed to prepare the house for sale, let alone how to get it done. Mike was calm, analytical, energetic, good-humored, and not fazed by having an absentee client. He was wonderful to work with. His responsiveness and his meticulousness in communicating made it easy not to be local. His expert recommendations were proved exactly right. To my never-ending gratitude, Mike consistently went the extra mile — including scheduling and overseeing the work on the house because I couldn’t be there, and frequently checking on the unoccupied house just to make sure everything was ok. I could not have been better served.

Brendan & Gail

Finding a Mid-Century Modern home in the Washington D.C. metro seemed very overwhelming until we talked to Michael. His deep knowledge of the area’s neighborhoods, homes, and sellers turned our lofty goal into something attainable. Within two months, we had an offer accepted on the exact type of house we were looking for in a neighborhood that blew us away. Best of all, he was able to get the deal done before the home went to market. It could not have been a better experience. We were also so pleased with the amount of time Michael spent with us explaining the process, visiting homes, weighing options, and answering questions. If you are buying or selling MCM, do yourself a huge favor and contact Michael.

Jeremiah & Tiffany

Without hesitation, we recommend him. Michael is in the top 1% of Realtors® to work with hands down. His breadth of knowledge about the DMV area and appreciation for midcentury modern homes is unparalleled. He took the time to introduce us to the market and then showed us lots of houses so we had great choices to work with. We were able to determine and understand what we really were looking for in the perfect home. And, it was like magic when we found it. Michael guided us through the entire process. Helping to mitigate potential future risks, as well as presenting opportunities we had never thought about. My wife and I consider Michael not only our Realtor® for life but a friend.

Loretta & Matt

If you have a mid-century modern house, you know you have a gem. But MCM is not everyone’s taste, and having a specialist like Michael who appreciates what you have makes all the difference. Michael advised us on how to get ready for sale, arranged for terrific photos and a video to show off our mid-century modern house, and helped us figure out the best price. His networking really helped drive interest in the house. As a result, we had four offers and sold the house above our asking price in one weekend. Michael helped us review offers, deal with inspections, and successfully close the sale. If you have an MCM house, go with Mid-Century Mike!

Karen

I chose Michael at Modern Capital because I was selling my 1967 Mid-Century Modern house in Rockville that I had lived in for 20 years. In a quick market, I had the feeling that anyone could list and sell my house. However, finding new owners who would be looking for this era home and would appreciate the location, the historically designated subdivision, and its amenities, was important to me. I was happy with the home description and the photos of the home I loved. And, the showing process and offer evaluation were top-notch.

Paul & Jane

We worked with Michael to sell our home recently, and the whole process went very well. Michael really knows the market, and that was a big help for us in pricing our house, getting some very good offers, and ultimately closing for a price that we were very pleased with. Michael and his firm were also great at helping us prepare the house for showing and presenting the house for sale online. Michael is very good to work with and I would both happily work with him again and highly recommend him.

Jim

Before we sold my late mother’s house, we spoke to knowledgeable agents and appraisers. In a little more than a month on the market, Michael, by effectively marketing to home buyers interested the house’s mid-mod character, was able to bring in offers that were 10% to 15% above what the local market experts thought we should be asking. Michael’s enthusiasm and knowledge of mid-century modern are communicated to the buyers, and they get it.

John & Charlotte

Michael’s appreciation and deep understanding of mid-century modern architecture and its place in the world of design are what brought him to our notice. His keen analytical skills and business acumen are what allowed us to make a winning offer on a beautiful Goodman home that we are still enjoying. He has an amazing set of connections in both the real estate market as well as the architectural community.

Kristin & JP

Michael helped us purchase an off-market house. We had no idea where to start, but Michael was able to make a potentially complicated situation easy and manageable. Given his extensive knowledge of mid-century homes, we felt confident that we were making a good decision and paying a fair price. On top of all of that, he is both friendly and fun to talk to. We would work with him again in a heartbeat.

Holly & Kevin

We had a great experience! Mike provided support and expertise through every step of the process. He was very responsive and professional. More importantly, he gets results! We had numerous showings and a wildly successful open house. We went under contract in a week with multiple offers. Even at the closing table, Mike was advocating on our behalf. I highly recommend Mike at Modern Capital!

Debra

When it came to selling my mother’s mid-century house, we did not know what to do or how to price it. Michael was knowledgeable, friendly, helpful, and responsive. He made a difficult process so much easier. If you are buying or selling a mid-century modern house in the DC area, he is your man. I recommend him enthusiastically.

James & Shimica

We’ve long been fans of Mike’s blog on mid-century homes, and no other agent can match his deep experience and appreciation for these homes. When Mike sold our mid-century gem, his research into its architectural history and his tailored marketing strategy undoubtedly went a long way to a quick sale at full price.

David & Iris

Michael Shapiro did an incredible job for us. He is knowledgeable and helped us so much in selling our old house and buying a new one. He also really listens and is patient as we thought through the various options. We highly recommend him!

Anne & Adam

If not for your creative, outside-the-box thinking on the offer, this would never have happened! Seriously, great work. Your deep experience, network, and ability to see the business or investment side is a huge asset for your clients.

Justin

Michael demonstrated a high level of professionalism, knowledge, and patience while helping me find the right home for my family. If and when I seek to sell and make another purchase in the DMV, Michael will be my first call.