What's Hot: RFK Stadium Cleared For Demolition | Airbnb Unveils Icons
Rents Start to Drop Around the DC Metro
Residential rents in and around DC softened significantly in 2008, according to Alexandria-based real estate research firm Delta Associates. The drop in rents was most pronounced among Class A properties in DC proper, which saw rents fall 0.7 percent from December 2007 to December 2008. While 0.7 percent might seem nominal, the last time Delta recorded a rental decline at all in the DC metropolitan area was during the post-9/11 recession.
Rents are expected to soften even more in 2009, according to Delta vice president Grant Montgomery, who noted that the recent figures only incorporated three months of the financial crisis that began in September. Delta’s next quarterly report due in April will look at rents from March 2008 through March 2009, and the numbers could be even bleaker.
When Class A rents from the entire metropolitan area are added to those in DC proper, the picture is slightly better: they grew 0.1 percent. In what seems like good news, residential rents for the entire DC metro area — Classes A, B, and C — grew 2.6 percent. However, that number has historically been around 4.5 percent.
The problem, explained Montgomery, is oversupply, particularly among Class A properties. Class A are the new, high-end residential buildings with lots of amenities. There are many Class A projects that were originally planned as condos, but have had to convert to apartments because of the current buying climate. Because that has happened so much amid slackened demand for condos, there is a glut of Class A rentals, particularly within DC itself.
“We’ve got 51 rental projects in the metro region which are brand new and still leasing up.” Montgomery told UrbanTurf. “That’s huge.” To put those numbers in perspective, Montgomery said there were only 12 new rental projects leasing up during the height of the condo market in the first quarter of 2006.
See other articles related to: renting in dc
This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/rents_start_to_drop_around_the_dc_metro/513.
Most Popular... This Week • Last 30 Days • Ever
Georgetown Metropolitan reported on Tuesday that the Instagram account for the nation... read »
A Home Equity Line of Credit, commonly referred to as HELOC, is a borrowing product t... read »
The National Park Service has given the green light for DC's 62 year-old stadium to b... read »
UrbanTurf continues our tour of neighborhood developments around the region as we tak... read »
A regular inclusion as one of DC's most expensive housing markets, Georgetown remains... read »
DC Real Estate Guides
Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market
We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!
First-Timer Primers
Intro guides for first-time home buyers
Unique Spaces
Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro