Source: The Real Deal —
Washington, D.C., is ready for its close-up.
D.C. may be the nation’s capital, but its housing market has long trailed other East Coast and even West Coast markets.
The District is a fixed, finite space that can’t grow vertically thanks to The Height of Buildings Act of 1910. As for demand, well, there’s no major reality series documenting attractive, wealthy people living here. Even the various scripted shows based in the nation’s capital — like “The West Wing,” “House of Cards” and “Veep” — were filmed just about everywhere except inside the city limits.
Despite its importance on the world stage, it’s rarely said in the same breath as New York or Miami when it comes to real estate.
“We always like to say — you know for the longest time — [D.C.] is undervalued in the sense of being the capital of a country,” Robert Hryniewicki of HRL Partners, which is under the Washington Fine Properties umbrella, said. “If you look at other capitals of the world — whether it’s Paris or London or Berlin — the cost of living compared to the rest of the country is very expensive.”
But now D.C.’s days in the shadows are over, says Hryniewicki.
“It was all fueled, really, by the pandemic,” he says, “but we’re starting to see that appreciation.”
