How hot is Washington, D.C.'s real estate market?
Laura Schwartz, a realtor with Keller Williams, recently worked with a luxury high-rise apartment in the Ballston neighborhood of Arlington, Va. Two days after being listed, the property received five offers, and ultimately closed at $15,000 over the asking price.
"Our spring market has taken off quite early," said Schwartz. "We've reached that stable point where we're out of a buyer's market."
The nation's capital has been a leader when it comes to real estate.
While much of the country's housing market continues to languish, Washington and the surrounding area have seen tight inventory and price growth in recent months. For particularly competitive listings, even bidding wars have returned.
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The D.C. Metro Area, defined as the city of Washington and seven surrounding counties, saw the average sales price rise five percent to $406,555 in December, compared to the previous year, according to research firm RealEstate Business Intelligence LLC (RBI).
Sales totaled 3,169 in December, up 89.09 percent compared to the previous year, and the total value of homes sold was $1.28 billion, up 12.69 percent from the previous year.
The federal government's mass of workers has been a stabilizing factor for the region, providing a base of high-paying jobs. Related industries, such as government contractors, have also kept unemployment down. Tech firms have been growing, as well.
The Washington area had an unemployment rate of 5.5 percent in December 2011, the 36th lowest among 372 metro areas, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Federal budget cuts could slow further price growth later in the year, but for now, the recovery continues.
Communities inside the Capital Beltway, such as Arlington and Fairfax County have done particularly well, said Lisa Sturtevant, an assistant research professor at George Mason University's Center for Regional Analysis.
"They didn't experience the downturn that we saw in the rest of the country," she said. "Prices are back to the peak."
But in outlying areas, such as Stafford County and Prince William County, overdevelopment has led to weaker markets. "Those places are still struggling," said Sturtevant.
Still, distressed sales have made up around 10 percent of the market, below most of the country. Washington saw a wave of defaults due to subprime mortgages, but the second, largely triggered by job losses, hasn't really materialized, said Sturtevant.
