DC Real Estate Rent Rising: Time to Buy a DC Condo
According to a study conducted by Ed Lazere of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, DC rents are rising rapidly. Lazere’s report comes just a couple of weeks after Forbes named DC one of the top cities in America to go from renting to buying.
After examining DC housing data from the Census Bureau, Lazere wrote these observations in his report:
- “DC’s low-cost rental stock has shrunk by more than one-third since 2000. The number of rental units with rent and utility costs of $750 or less fell from 69,000 in 2000 to 45,000 in 2007. (In this report, all figures are adjusted for inflation to equal 2007 dollars.) Meanwhile the number of rental housing units with costs of at least $1,500 a month more than doubled, from 12,000 in 2000 to 27,000 in 2007.
- Low-cost homeownership options also shriveled: The number of DC homes valued at $250,000 or less fell from 58,000 to 15,000 between 2000 and 2007. Homes valued at this level represented more than half of owner-occupied units in 2000 but just one-sixth in 2007. While home values have fallen in DC since 2007, home prices remain much higher than a decade ago. Median home sales prices at the end of 2008 were roughly double the median sales price from the late 1990s
- A growing number of DC households have housing affordability problems: Nearly 100,000 DC households — or two of five — spent more than 30 percent of income on housing in 2007, exceeding the federal housing affordability standard. The number of DC households with housing affordability problems is 20,000 higher today than in 2000.”
The low number of inexpensive rental housing options is just another reason that this is the right time to invest in a DC Condo. With the economy on the rebound, investing in a DC condo now will reap benefits in the future(See Forbes article naming DC NUMBER ONE CITY IN THE WORLD TO INVEST.)
Sick of renting and ready to buy? Contact one of our CondoDomain agents now and start touring your dream DC Condos!
