Good News For Borderstan Housing Market?

Two housing-related Washington Business Journal stories caught our eye here at Borderstan:

• “D.C. may offer a second chance at a homebuyers tax credit” – An expired $5,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers in DC may be coming back, reports WBJ.

• D.C.-area home prices increase most in U.S. over past year” – WBJ picks up a Washington Examiner story on DC-area home prices rising faster than another location in the country: “Area home prices increase most in U.S. over past year.”

The tax credit would be good news for first-time buyers, benefiting many of the young recently graduated living in the Dupont-Logan-U Street area. The rising prices are good for sellers in the neighborhood, especially if they purchased their house or condo before DC prices began to skyrocket around 2000. For example, in the late 1990s, you could buy a one-bedroom condo in the Logan Circle area for about $150,000–that same unit would go for about $400,000 now. (Trust me on this one.)

In DC (not including the suburbs), home prices increased 2.7 percent for the 12-month period ending March 31. This compares to the national average of 1.7 percent.

We would love to hear from some realtors here on DC home prices, especially in the Borderstan area. What’s the supply of condos like these days? Are there still enough people moving into the city who can afford $400,000 for less than 1,000 square feet of living space?

Any buyers and sellers out there with advice… stories to tell?