One in Five DC Homes Is Priced Above $1 Million

• May 20, 2016
• 4 Comments

by Nena Perry-Brown

A home for sale in Logan Circle.

A recently-released report from Trulia revealed that the percentage of million-dollar homes in the DC area rose slightly (2.7% to 4.4%) between 2012 and 2016. However, UrbanTurf took a more granular look around the region and found that a price point of $1 million and above is becoming more and more prevalent.

For example, 290 of the 1,307 homes on the market in DC in April were listed above $1 million — more than one out of every five homes on the market. The percentage of $1 million-plus listings in DC has actually risen 10 percentage points since 2011, from 12.1 percent to 22.2 percent.

These dynamics are even more pronounced in certain neighborhoods. In the last five years for the month of April, the number of listings priced at $1 million and above in Georgetown have accounted for at least 58 percent of active inventory in the neighborhood. On Capitol Hill, the proportion of homes above $1 million has ranged form 35 to 50 percent of active listings for four of the last five years. Logan Circle has a far smaller number of active listings, but the percentage of $1 million-plus homes there mirrors the percentage in the city overall.

DC’s suburbs are no slouch when it comes to pricey houses either. At least 49 percent of the active listings in Bethesda for the month of April have been above $1 million over the past five years. The percentage is even higher in Great Falls, Virginia, with at least 75 percent of active listings priced in the millions over that time.

Nationwide, the share of homes priced above $1 million rose from 1.6 to 3 percent between 2012 and 2016. And San Francisco lives up to its reputation for insane real estate prices — 57.4 percent of listings in the entire metro area for the California city are priced north of the seven-figure price point.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/one_in_5_homes_in_dc_are_priced_in_the_millions/11258

4 Comments

1. MP said at 4:38 pm on Friday May 20, 2016:
   That's a pretty misleading headline. I think 'One in Five Listed DC Home Is Priced Above $1 Million' would be more appropriate. Still impressive, but a very different story being told.

1. skidrowedc@gmail.com said at 8:53 pm on Friday May 20, 2016:
   MP is corrrect, but an equally large editorial miss is the use of the word "home." From context (since the article doesn't specify), I have to assume that you're referring to single-family dwellings (either detached houses, semi-detached, or rowhouses), which in realtor lingo are sometimes categorized as "homes." Doubtless the realtors have their reasons, but it's inaccurate and narrow minded to restrict the word "home" to a single-family dwelling. In terms of the qualities that make a "home"--love, laughter, life, neighborliness, etc.--I'm doubtful that single-family dwellings do much better than multifamily dwellings. Moreover, in an article like this, an ambiguous term like "home" introduces a huge element of uncertainty, which one doesn't want in statistical analysis. I've given up on the sloppy use of "condo" versus "apartment"--one should say "condo" and "rental" since both are types of apartments--but I'm not willing to give up on "home." The idea that only a single-family dwelling can be a "home" is insulting and promotes unsustainable lifestyles. For statistical analysis, it's too vague. UrbanTurf, of all sources, should have an editorial policy against this usage.

1. Nena UrbanTurf said at 11:47 pm on Friday May 20, 2016:
   @skidrowedc@gmail.com, we appreciate your point! In this article, "home" refers to any kind of non-rental dwelling.

1. skidrowedc@gmail.com said at 7:08 pm on Sunday May 22, 2016:
   I appreciate your response! But ownership is not a prerequisite to stability, coziness, love, etc., so this is still a problematic use of "home." At this point, "home" is mostly a marketing term. Your sponsors, naturally, apply the term quite broadly, to rentals, ownership, apartments, rowhouses, and detached houses. But marketing and journalism are not the same thing. Journalism has higher standards of accuracy, and it seeks to impart information rather than a feeling. Maybe an article on the feel of a dwelling/character of a design could reasonably use the word "home," but it's clearly much too vague for a presentation of statistics. If you're speaking of any kind of dwelling that's for sale, you need to say so. And, lest we forget my first complaint, in a statistics article, you must be vigilant and specific about the areas covered. "DC Area" or "the suburbs" are much too ambiguous. You should either cite "The Washington Statistical Metropolitan Area" or state the specific jurisdiction(s) covered.