What's happened to the value of your house in the past four years?

In Washington, D.C., home prices have edged up slightly. And that means President Barack Obama can say that his house, at least, is better off now than it was four years ago.

The White House is now worth about $284.9 million, or about 1.5% more than the $280.8 million in was worth in 2008, MarketWatch reports. If homes in the area continue to increase in value, then the White House's worth could rise an additional 1.1% in the next year to $288 million. MarketWatch got the data from real-estate site Zillow (Z).

So why is the D.C. area doing so well when other parts of the country are not? Washington is home to four sectors that have done extraordinarily well even in the housing downturn: health care, government, education and military, Zillow CEO Stan Humphries told MarketWatch.

A recent report found that D.C. home prices rose 4% in the third quarter from a year earlier, The Washington Post notes. Sellers there are getting about 98% of their asking prices.

But the White House still hasn't reached the value hit during the years of President George W. Bush. In June 2006, the building was worth $299.9 million.

My question: Has Zillow figured the White House's mysterious renovation into its value calculations? The mansion has wrapped up an $86 million, two-year project that appeared to build something deep underground, The Associated Press reports. No one in the federal government will talk about it, though.

More from Top Stocks

• Starbucks: Buy it, own it, love it
• Sandy: Beware the bubble in storm stocks
• In retail, pessimism doesn't pay