Inside Real Estate With Kevin: Some Random Thoughts About D.C. Real Estate

This is a sponsored column written by Kevin J. Wood, a licensed Realtor© in the District of Columbia and surrounding area. For more information on buying or selling a property, feel free to contact Kevin at 202-297-9753 or email him.

I remember the first time I saw a D.C. flag tattoo. I was working out at Results (now Vida) on U Street, and there was a guy with it tattooed on his calf. This was probably in about 1999, and I thought it was the coolest thing. I had never seen something like that before.

Flash forward to 2016 and the D.C. flag tattoo is everywhere. It seems like every other 20 to 30 something has one. There are even variants of it. The variants usually involve changing the three stars to other symbols. I’ve seen the stars replaced by maple leaves, marijuana leaves, dachshunds, plain circles and more.

I was wondering recently what this means for the future of real estate in D.C.

People like repeating myths about D.C., like that it was built on a swamp (maybe a few areas around the Mall/Foggy Bottom were, but not much else) and that D.C. is a transient city (ignoring the fact that D.C. is more than just NW).

Does the fact that so many young professionals have taken the step to have the flag of the city they live in tattooed on their bodies bode well for the long term growth of D.C. and the real estate market overall? Are they more likely to stay in D.C., and eventually buy real estate and settle here long-term? I’d be interested in your thoughts.

This time of year, people invariably ask if the election means a busy time for me. Their thinking is that because there are new Congress people and senators, along with their staffs, that there’s a big bump in sales.

Unfortunately, I’ve never seen a correlation between the general election and increased volume in D.C. There are only 100 senators, and only a third are up for election per cycle. More representatives are up for election but the combined number of senators and Congress people is relatively low.

I haven’t read any figures on this topic, but most members of the House of Representatives likely don’t buy in D.C., since they are up for reelection every two years. They have families and a house in their home district already, and D.C. is expensive. Senators are here for longer, but there are relatively few of them.

The Republican senators likely live in places like McLean and other Virginia suburbs. Democratic senators are more likely to live in D.C., but again, there aren’t very many senators. Their staffs will probably find it hard to afford D.C. on a congressional salary.

Thoughts?