HOUSINGNEWS REPORT
STATE SPOTLIGHT
That pattern reversed in 2010. New building permits started inching upward again in 2010, when the pace of new construction started to rebound. Across the metropolitan area, the District has experienced a building boom and waves of gentrification started changing the face of the nation’s capital. Young, well- educated white professionals are moving into once minority neighborhoods, where new condo and rental apartment construction is surging, according to Urban Turf , which lists some 460 new apartment and condo projects. In the Beltway, new home building permits have surged in the last seven years, nearly doubling from 12,329 permits in 2009 to 23,007 in 2015. There was a slight decline in 2015 for the first time in six years, when developers pulled 23,007 new home permits, according to the Census Bureau . As of August 2016, D.C. developers had pulled 16,755 new home building permits. Sales Up, Inventory Low When there is not enough housing supply to meet demand, prices go up. Since 2010, median home prices in the District have been steadily rising, increasing from $365,000 in 2010 to $525,000 so far in 2016, according to ATTOM Data Solutions . But the District’s population started to decline in 2012, according to D.C.’s Chief Financial Officer . The city’s population growth, so important to continuing its economic revival, appears to be returning to the sluggish numbers
of the pre-2009 era. It appears that fewer Americans are moving to D.C. (or more residents are leaving). Federal employment boomed during the recession years, as the stimulus and other initiatives bulked up the D.C. area workforce; since then, it has slowed. And in-migration to D.C. has declined sharply, the CFO report claims. Unemployment Rate On nearly every measure, the capital is exceptional. At 4 percent, the District’s unemployment rate is easily among the lowest among America’s largest metropolitan areas. By comparison, New York’s unemployment rate was 5.2 percent and Los Angeles clocked in at 6.1 percent in August, while the national rate was 4.9 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics . Incomes are high and rising, and the combination of jobs and income growth has buoyed the real estate market. To many Americans, the capital’s boom mainly reflects the relentless growth of big government. The federal government jobs accounts for nearly 2 percent of all jobs nationally, but for nearly 27.4 percent of those in the Washington area, according to Governing magazine. Over 200,000 D.C. workers are employed by Uncle Sam.
• QUINCY PARK CONDO WHAT: 1-bedroom condo HOW MUCH: $600,000
Located in the historic Mount Vernon neighborhood, this one bedroom, 8th floor condominium, has an open floor plan, hardwood floors and granite counter tops in the kitchen. The Quincy Park Condos are located one block from Marriott Marquis, Logan Circle and CenterCityDC. The unit is freshly painted and has a private balcony. It has underground parking and is two blocks from the Metro (Green and Yellow Lines). Agent: Kent Fowler, Keller Williams Capital, (202) 288-9111, http://www.kw.com/kw/agent/ kent-fowler
ATTOM Data Solutions • P22
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