Why Is This DC Neighborhood Garnering So Much Attention From Homebuyers?

• September 24th 2018

by Nena Perry-Brown

Last Friday, UrbanTurf reported on the neighborhoods in DC where homes for sale are most regularly receiving multiple offers. One neighborhood, Marshall Heights, stood head and shoulders above the rest with an average of five offers per listing in the second quarter of 2018. So, what is driving the high level of demand in this neighborhood east of the Anacostia River?

Realtor Cedric Stewart, who does a high volume of transactions in Marshall Heights, thinks it comes down to simple economics. 

"Marshall Heights and Deanwood are areas that you can still find a house [in DC] for between $300,000-$450,000 with three bedrooms, 2.5 baths and a basement," he explained to UrbanTurf. The fact that many of these homes are in turnkey condition and don't require much work is attractive to many prospective homebuyers.

"This is the lowest barrier of entry for a lot of people who don't want to be pioneers and go into areas that no one is talking about," Stewart continues. "But the inventory is still really low for this kind of product." Nearly half of the listings in Marshall Heights in 2018 sold within ten days of hitting the market and inventory dropped from a nearly three months supply in August 2017 to two weeks' worth in August 2018. This supply and demand dynamic results in the out-of-whack contract ratio that the neighborhood is currently experiencing. 

 

The zip code that encompasses Marshall Heights was also identified earlier this year as being the most popular for home flipping in the District; however, Stewart doesn't find this sort of investment activity to be a primary driver of bidding wars in Marshall Heights. This year, fewer than one in five listings was purchased with cash, often an indicator of investment activity. 

Despite home prices in the neighborhood rising by 17 percent compared to last year, they still sit at an affordable $334,000 that commands buyers to pay an average of 99 percent of listing price. In this way, Marshall Heights is benefiting from its proximity to Deanwood and other east-of-the-River neighborhoods that have been receiving increased attention from buyers in recent years and have consequently become less affordable. 

"There is a trickle-down effect: you have Marshall Heights and you have Congress Heights, and all of these areas are going to see the people who cannot afford the over-priced homes in Deanwood and Anacostia," Stewart explained.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/why-is-this-dc-neighborhood-garnering-so-much-attention-from-homebuyers/14482.