Missing middle- Arlington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you need a middle?

Most rich towns often have rich homes and a poorer section where the maids, landscapers, handiman live.

I mean does Beverly Hills, Palm Beach and Aspen concerned about the middle?

No

Don't worry, this will actually help get rid of the middle class, as old-time, middle and lower-class homeowners sell out to developers. And then upper-class people move into the new duplex, townhouses, and multiplexes. It's a developer's dream.

Yep. All the “entry level” SFH homes will be bought by all cash investors.

That was already happening. Except for unbuildable lots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you need a middle?

Most rich towns often have rich homes and a poorer section where the maids, landscapers, handiman live.

I mean does Beverly Hills, Palm Beach and Aspen concerned about the middle?

No

Don't worry, this will actually help get rid of the middle class, as old-time, middle and lower-class homeowners sell out to developers. And then upper-class people move into the new duplex, townhouses, and multiplexes. It's a developer's dream.

This has been happening for years. Do you have any proof that MMH policy will speed up the sale of older homes to developers?

+1

It already happens a lot.

Arlington agent here. Every older home in poor condition generally sells to a builder. Now that they can diversify from building single family homes to multi family housing that they can quickly sell to investors, it will likely accelerate the pace because they will not be concerned about carrying and marketing costs.

An agent asked for advice this morning on which builders to call to sell a tear down on an R-5 lot. I told her to call the three builders who have applied for MM permits.

Permitting has been in place for less than a month, so you may have to wait for a year to collect data on tear downs used for single family versus multi family.

If every older home is already sold to a builder how could it accelerate? Will they aggressively cold call people who live in older homes?

You must not own. Everyone in Real Estate does this. Half my mail is/was home related.

+1. But I think the potential buyers will step up their efforts now that lots can be developed for investors rather than sold to a SFH owner. I already saw an email from the county essentially warning people not to sell off-market if they want the best price. Sadly, an email isn’t likely to reach the people most at risk of leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table.

Meh. We sold off market and definitely got "market value". If you follow the market closely you can price it correctly.

Congratulations! But you probably aren’t an elderly person or someone out of town managing an estate who may not understand the market. What you did requires a lot of work. The county didn’t send the email bc of people like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you need a middle?

Most rich towns often have rich homes and a poorer section where the maids, landscapers, handiman live.

I mean does Beverly Hills, Palm Beach and Aspen concerned about the middle?

No

Don't worry, this will actually help get rid of the middle class, as old-time, middle and lower-class homeowners sell out to developers. And then upper-class people move into the new duplex, townhouses, and multiplexes. It's a developer's dream.

Are upper class people dying to live in multiplexes?

I know things get confusing in a HCOL area like DC, but if you're buying a $1.25 million duplex, or renting a $4000 unit in a multiplex, you're upper class. You're certainly not the 25-year-old middle-class nonprofit worker, teacher, or firefighter who thought this was the ticket to living the good life in Arlington

So naive and entitled (plus the misleading marketing by the Board for MMH) - these 20 somethings genuinely thought they were going to magically own in Arlington. I was in a community meeting with one of these young millennials who was arguing for MMH saying it was like a car, that she may not be able to own MMH right away (like a new car) but as more MMH is built prices will depreciate (like a car). A home owner in her 40s and 50s needed to explain that real estate and cars don’t depreciate/appreciate in the same way. This is what we were dealing with for a large number of YIMBYs. Lack of knowledge about economics and total naïveté/entitlement.

And a large number of MM supporters were home owners who certainly do understand "economics".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you need a middle?

Most rich towns often have rich homes and a poorer section where the maids, landscapers, handiman live.

I mean does Beverly Hills, Palm Beach and Aspen concerned about the middle?

No

Don't worry, this will actually help get rid of the middle class, as old-time, middle and lower-class homeowners sell out to developers. And then upper-class people move into the new duplex, townhouses, and multiplexes. It's a developer's dream.

This has been happening for years. Do you have any proof that MMH policy will speed up the sale of older homes to developers?

+1

It already happens a lot.

Arlington agent here. Every older home in poor condition generally sells to a builder. Now that they can diversify from building single family homes to multi family housing that they can quickly sell to investors, it will likely accelerate the pace because they will not be concerned about carrying and marketing costs.

An agent asked for advice this morning on which builders to call to sell a tear down on an R-5 lot. I told her to call the three builders who have applied for MM permits.

Permitting has been in place for less than a month, so you may have to wait for a year to collect data on tear downs used for single family versus multi family.

If every older home is already sold to a builder how could it accelerate? Will they aggressively cold call people who live in older homes?

You must not own. Everyone in Real Estate does this. Half my mail is/was home related.

+1. But I think the potential buyers will step up their efforts now that lots can be developed for investors rather than sold to a SFH owner. I already saw an email from the county essentially warning people not to sell off-market if they want the best price. Sadly, an email isn’t likely to reach the people most at risk of leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table.

Meh. We sold off market and definitely got "market value". If you follow the market closely you can price it correctly.

Congratulations! But you probably aren’t an elderly person or someone out of town managing an estate who may not understand the market. What you did requires a lot of work. The county didn’t send the email bc of people like you.

It didn't take a lot of work at all. But it did require knowledge.

It's not like those populations you are concerned about would receive an email from the county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you need a middle?

Most rich towns often have rich homes and a poorer section where the maids, landscapers, handiman live.

I mean does Beverly Hills, Palm Beach and Aspen concerned about the middle?

No

Don't worry, this will actually help get rid of the middle class, as old-time, middle and lower-class homeowners sell out to developers. And then upper-class people move into the new duplex, townhouses, and multiplexes. It's a developer's dream.

This has been happening for years. Do you have any proof that MMH policy will speed up the sale of older homes to developers?

+1

It already happens a lot.

Arlington agent here. Every older home in poor condition generally sells to a builder. Now that they can diversify from building single family homes to multi family housing that they can quickly sell to investors, it will likely accelerate the pace because they will not be concerned about carrying and marketing costs.

An agent asked for advice this morning on which builders to call to sell a tear down on an R-5 lot. I told her to call the three builders who have applied for MM permits.

Permitting has been in place for less than a month, so you may have to wait for a year to collect data on tear downs used for single family versus multi family.

If every older home is already sold to a builder how could it accelerate? Will they aggressively cold call people who live in older homes?

You must not own. Everyone in Real Estate does this. Half my mail is/was home related.

+1. But I think the potential buyers will step up their efforts now that lots can be developed for investors rather than sold to a SFH owner. I already saw an email from the county essentially warning people not to sell off-market if they want the best price. Sadly, an email isn’t likely to reach the people most at risk of leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table.

Meh. We sold off market and definitely got "market value". If you follow the market closely you can price it correctly.

Congratulations! But you probably aren’t an elderly person or someone out of town managing an estate who may not understand the market. What you did requires a lot of work. The county didn’t send the email bc of people like you.

It didn't take a lot of work at all. But it did require knowledge.

It's not like those populations you are concerned about would receive an email from the county.

Which is exactly what I wrote in my post: that the people needing the advice won’t be helped by an email….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you need a middle?

Most rich towns often have rich homes and a poorer section where the maids, landscapers, handiman live.

I mean does Beverly Hills, Palm Beach and Aspen concerned about the middle?

No

Don't worry, this will actually help get rid of the middle class, as old-time, middle and lower-class homeowners sell out to developers. And then upper-class people move into the new duplex, townhouses, and multiplexes. It's a developer's dream.

This has been happening for years. Do you have any proof that MMH policy will speed up the sale of older homes to developers?

+1

It already happens a lot.

Arlington agent here. Every older home in poor condition generally sells to a builder. Now that they can diversify from building single family homes to multi family housing that they can quickly sell to investors, it will likely accelerate the pace because they will not be concerned about carrying and marketing costs.

An agent asked for advice this morning on which builders to call to sell a tear down on an R-5 lot. I told her to call the three builders who have applied for MM permits.

Permitting has been in place for less than a month, so you may have to wait for a year to collect data on tear downs used for single family versus multi family.

If every older home is already sold to a builder how could it accelerate? Will they aggressively cold call people who live in older homes?

You must not own. Everyone in Real Estate does this. Half my mail is/was home related.

+1. But I think the potential buyers will step up their efforts now that lots can be developed for investors rather than sold to a SFH owner. I already saw an email from the county essentially warning people not to sell off-market if they want the best price. Sadly, an email isn’t likely to reach the people most at risk of leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table.

Meh. We sold off market and definitely got "market value". If you follow the market closely you can price it correctly.

Congratulations! But you probably aren’t an elderly person or someone out of town managing an estate who may not understand the market. What you did requires a lot of work. The county didn’t send the email bc of people like you.

It didn't take a lot of work at all. But it did require knowledge.

It's not like those populations you are concerned about would receive an email from the county.

Which is exactly what I wrote in my post: that the people needing the advice won’t be helped by an email….

Got it. I misread your post.

Anyway, point was that it's fine to sell off market if you are well-informed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you need a middle?

Most rich towns often have rich homes and a poorer section where the maids, landscapers, handiman live.

I mean does Beverly Hills, Palm Beach and Aspen concerned about the middle?

No

Don't worry, this will actually help get rid of the middle class, as old-time, middle and lower-class homeowners sell out to developers. And then upper-class people move into the new duplex, townhouses, and multiplexes. It's a developer's dream.

Are upper class people dying to live in multiplexes?

I know things get confusing in a HCOL area like DC, but if you're buying a $1.25 million duplex, or renting a $4000 unit in a multiplex, you're upper class. You're certainly not the 25-year-old middle-class nonprofit worker, teacher, or firefighter who thought this was the ticket to living the good life in Arlington

So naive and entitled (plus the misleading marketing by the Board for MMH) - these 20 somethings genuinely thought they were going to magically own in Arlington. I was in a community meeting with one of these young millennials who was arguing for MMH saying it was like a car, that she may not be able to own MMH right away (like a new car) but as more MMH is built prices will depreciate (like a car). A home owner in her 40s and 50s needed to explain that real estate and cars don’t depreciate/appreciate in the same way. This is what we were dealing with for a large number of YIMBYs. Lack of knowledge about economics and total naïveté/entitlement.

Let’s say there are two homes next to each other with equal square footage and identical lots. One is brand new and the other is 20+ years old with few updates. Is there a meaningful price difference? The MMH supporter was arguing that yes, there is. She couldn’t afford the brand new home but could possibly buy the old one with outdated fixtures. So years from now, a 20 something will have more housing options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you need a middle?

Most rich towns often have rich homes and a poorer section where the maids, landscapers, handiman live.

I mean does Beverly Hills, Palm Beach and Aspen concerned about the middle?

No

Don't worry, this will actually help get rid of the middle class, as old-time, middle and lower-class homeowners sell out to developers. And then upper-class people move into the new duplex, townhouses, and multiplexes. It's a developer's dream.

This has been happening for years. Do you have any proof that MMH policy will speed up the sale of older homes to developers?

+1

It already happens a lot.

Arlington agent here. Every older home in poor condition generally sells to a builder. Now that they can diversify from building single family homes to multi family housing that they can quickly sell to investors, it will likely accelerate the pace because they will not be concerned about carrying and marketing costs.

An agent asked for advice this morning on which builders to call to sell a tear down on an R-5 lot. I told her to call the three builders who have applied for MM permits.

Permitting has been in place for less than a month, so you may have to wait for a year to collect data on tear downs used for single family versus multi family.

If every older home is already sold to a builder how could it accelerate? Will they aggressively cold call people who live in older homes?

It will happen naturally.
There are neighborhoods in Arlington that would not support building a $2.3 M house so the lots were cheaper. People who buy a $1.3 M townhouse or rent a 2 bed 2 bath in a 6 plex are not as discerning about the neighborhood, so those lots will become desirable and increase in value.

NV is building $900plus townhouses in one of the slummiest parts of Arlington off Carlin Springs Road. The area is filled with dumpy semi detached houses and old red brick garden apartments. Once those townhouses sell, they will improve the area enough to attract builders who will replace the current semi detached housing with the new version.

Same thing will happen when MM goes into the few lower cost single family areas

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you need a middle?

Most rich towns often have rich homes and a poorer section where the maids, landscapers, handiman live.

I mean does Beverly Hills, Palm Beach and Aspen concerned about the middle?

No

Don't worry, this will actually help get rid of the middle class, as old-time, middle and lower-class homeowners sell out to developers. And then upper-class people move into the new duplex, townhouses, and multiplexes. It's a developer's dream.

Are upper class people dying to live in multiplexes?

I know things get confusing in a HCOL area like DC, but if you're buying a $1.25 million duplex, or renting a $4000 unit in a multiplex, you're upper class. You're certainly not the 25-year-old middle-class nonprofit worker, teacher, or firefighter who thought this was the ticket to living the good life in Arlington

Yes, but you’re not the same level of upper class that can afford a $2.5m new SFH. Most likely you are looking at a two professional income family that brings home around $300k - $400k and has little bit of money saved up or some family help, probably has some student loans from getting those professional degrees, and if they have kids has about $40k or more in annual childcare costs. That’s who is going to benefit- the UMC folks who used to buy here and found themselves increasingly priced out of what has become a place that is only welcoming to the very wealthy and very poor who won a lottery slot.

The nonprofit workers and public servants have been priced out of the types of houses they want here for a long time. Yes, they could buy a tiny condo or rent a small garden style apartment even at their incomes, but they want space and a few walls of their own. MM isn’t going to give that to them.

I think MM is precisely for those people. Compromises are going to have to be made of course, that’s what we did. We’ll have to wait and see but MM is ideal for those people. Only their entitlement will be an issue the way I see it, everyone here thinks they deserve a sfh

You caught the red herring that Arlington threw at you. EHO housing is not about buyers but housing types not available in areas zoned only for single dwellings. They simply want to build diverse thousing types throughout most of the areas now zone only for single houses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you need a middle?

Most rich towns often have rich homes and a poorer section where the maids, landscapers, handiman live.

I mean does Beverly Hills, Palm Beach and Aspen concerned about the middle?

No

Don't worry, this will actually help get rid of the middle class, as old-time, middle and lower-class homeowners sell out to developers. And then upper-class people move into the new duplex, townhouses, and multiplexes. It's a developer's dream.

This has been happening for years. Do you have any proof that MMH policy will speed up the sale of older homes to developers?

+1

It already happens a lot.

Arlington agent here. Every older home in poor condition generally sells to a builder. Now that they can diversify from building single family homes to multi family housing that they can quickly sell to investors, it will likely accelerate the pace because they will not be concerned about carrying and marketing costs.

An agent asked for advice this morning on which builders to call to sell a tear down on an R-5 lot. I told her to call the three builders who have applied for MM permits.

Permitting has been in place for less than a month, so you may have to wait for a year to collect data on tear downs used for single family versus multi family.

If every older home is already sold to a builder how could it accelerate? Will they aggressively cold call people who live in older homes?

It will happen naturally.
There are neighborhoods in Arlington that would not support building a $2.3 M house so the lots were cheaper. People who buy a $1.3 M townhouse or rent a 2 bed 2 bath in a 6 plex are not as discerning about the neighborhood, so those lots will become desirable and increase in value.

NV is building $900plus townhouses in one of the slummiest parts of Arlington off Carlin Springs Road. The area is filled with dumpy semi detached houses and old red brick garden apartments. Once those townhouses sell, they will improve the area enough to attract builders who will replace the current semi detached housing with the new version.

Same thing will happen when MM goes into the few lower cost single family areas

Developers have been tearing down older homes in S Arlington for years. The new SFHs sell for less but the land is cheaper. Profits are similar.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like there are lots of 20-something non-profit workers in Arlington who could use an economics lesson, and specifically a lesson about supply and demand. If they want to buy a new townhouse or duplex being built through EHO/MMH, they need to become one of the nonprofit execs making $300K+, marry rich, have family money, or find a more lucrative line of work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you need a middle?

Most rich towns often have rich homes and a poorer section where the maids, landscapers, handiman live.

I mean does Beverly Hills, Palm Beach and Aspen concerned about the middle?

No

Don't worry, this will actually help get rid of the middle class, as old-time, middle and lower-class homeowners sell out to developers. And then upper-class people move into the new duplex, townhouses, and multiplexes. It's a developer's dream.

Are upper class people dying to live in multiplexes?

I know things get confusing in a HCOL area like DC, but if you're buying a $1.25 million duplex, or renting a $4000 unit in a multiplex, you're upper class. You're certainly not the 25-year-old middle-class nonprofit worker, teacher, or firefighter who thought this was the ticket to living the good life in Arlington

So naive and entitled (plus the misleading marketing by the Board for MMH) - these 20 somethings genuinely thought they were going to magically own in Arlington. I was in a community meeting with one of these young millennials who was arguing for MMH saying it was like a car, that she may not be able to own MMH right away (like a new car) but as more MMH is built prices will depreciate (like a car). A home owner in her 40s and 50s needed to explain that real estate and cars don’t depreciate/appreciate in the same way. This is what we were dealing with for a large number of YIMBYs. Lack of knowledge about economics and total naïveté/entitlement.

Let’s say there are two homes next to each other with equal square footage and identical lots. One is brand new and the other is 20+ years old with few updates. Is there a meaningful price difference? The MMH supporter was arguing that yes, there is. She couldn’t afford the brand new home but could possibly buy the old one with outdated fixtures. So years from now, a 20 something will have more housing options.

Uh, no, she won’t. Don’t you get it? 20+ year old houses (with outdated fixtures) will be torn down because the lot is so valuable. That’s literally what’s happening right now. Developers are snapping up old properties and building new ones, only now with the ability to build a six plex and have rental income this trend is going to accelerate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you need a middle?

Most rich towns often have rich homes and a poorer section where the maids, landscapers, handiman live.

I mean does Beverly Hills, Palm Beach and Aspen concerned about the middle?

No

Don't worry, this will actually help get rid of the middle class, as old-time, middle and lower-class homeowners sell out to developers. And then upper-class people move into the new duplex, townhouses, and multiplexes. It's a developer's dream.

Are upper class people dying to live in multiplexes?

I know things get confusing in a HCOL area like DC, but if you're buying a $1.25 million duplex, or renting a $4000 unit in a multiplex, you're upper class. You're certainly not the 25-year-old middle-class nonprofit worker, teacher, or firefighter who thought this was the ticket to living the good life in Arlington

So naive and entitled (plus the misleading marketing by the Board for MMH) - these 20 somethings genuinely thought they were going to magically own in Arlington. I was in a community meeting with one of these young millennials who was arguing for MMH saying it was like a car, that she may not be able to own MMH right away (like a new car) but as more MMH is built prices will depreciate (like a car). A home owner in her 40s and 50s needed to explain that real estate and cars don’t depreciate/appreciate in the same way. This is what we were dealing with for a large number of YIMBYs. Lack of knowledge about economics and total naïveté/entitlement.

Let’s say there are two homes next to each other with equal square footage and identical lots. One is brand new and the other is 20+ years old with few updates. Is there a meaningful price difference? The MMH supporter was arguing that yes, there is. She couldn’t afford the brand new home but could possibly buy the old one with outdated fixtures. So years from now, a 20 something will have more housing options.

Uh, no, she won’t. Don’t you get it? 20+ year old houses (with outdated fixtures) will be torn down because the lot is so valuable. That’s literally what’s happening right now. Developers are snapping up old properties and building new ones, only now with the ability to build a six plex and have rental income this trend is going to accelerate.

I haven’t seen that happen when a home shares a wall. It could be gutted and flipped, but it won’t be torn down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you need a middle?

Most rich towns often have rich homes and a poorer section where the maids, landscapers, handiman live.

I mean does Beverly Hills, Palm Beach and Aspen concerned about the middle?

No

Don't worry, this will actually help get rid of the middle class, as old-time, middle and lower-class homeowners sell out to developers. And then upper-class people move into the new duplex, townhouses, and multiplexes. It's a developer's dream.

This has been happening for years. Do you have any proof that MMH policy will speed up the sale of older homes to developers?

+1

It already happens a lot.

Arlington agent here. Every older home in poor condition generally sells to a builder. Now that they can diversify from building single family homes to multi family housing that they can quickly sell to investors, it will likely accelerate the pace because they will not be concerned about carrying and marketing costs.

An agent asked for advice this morning on which builders to call to sell a tear down on an R-5 lot. I told her to call the three builders who have applied for MM permits.

Permitting has been in place for less than a month, so you may have to wait for a year to collect data on tear downs used for single family versus multi family.

If every older home is already sold to a builder how could it accelerate? Will they aggressively cold call people who live in older homes?

It will happen naturally.
There are neighborhoods in Arlington that would not support building a $2.3 M house so the lots were cheaper. People who buy a $1.3 M townhouse or rent a 2 bed 2 bath in a 6 plex are not as discerning about the neighborhood, so those lots will become desirable and increase in value.

NV is building $900plus townhouses in one of the slummiest parts of Arlington off Carlin Springs Road. The area is filled with dumpy semi detached houses and old red brick garden apartments. Once those townhouses sell, they will improve the area enough to attract builders who will replace the current semi detached housing with the new version.

Same thing will happen when MM goes into the few lower cost single family areas

Here's a $2.3M house in Lyon Park on a lot that probably would have been better off as two $1.2M duplexes. Been on the market for a long time (more than the 23 days listed in redfin). I walk past it all the time. Close to the park, walkable to metro, but the lot really isn't big enough for this house. Doesn't even have a real driveway. People who can spend that much have much better options.
https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/722-N-Highland-St-22201/home/11256176

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you need a middle?

Most rich towns often have rich homes and a poorer section where the maids, landscapers, handiman live.

I mean does Beverly Hills, Palm Beach and Aspen concerned about the middle?

No

Don't worry, this will actually help get rid of the middle class, as old-time, middle and lower-class homeowners sell out to developers. And then upper-class people move into the new duplex, townhouses, and multiplexes. It's a developer's dream.

This has been happening for years. Do you have any proof that MMH policy will speed up the sale of older homes to developers?

+1

It already happens a lot.

Arlington agent here. Every older home in poor condition generally sells to a builder. Now that they can diversify from building single family homes to multi family housing that they can quickly sell to investors, it will likely accelerate the pace because they will not be concerned about carrying and marketing costs.

An agent asked for advice this morning on which builders to call to sell a tear down on an R-5 lot. I told her to call the three builders who have applied for MM permits.

Permitting has been in place for less than a month, so you may have to wait for a year to collect data on tear downs used for single family versus multi family.

If every older home is already sold to a builder how could it accelerate? Will they aggressively cold call people who live in older homes?

It will happen naturally.
There are neighborhoods in Arlington that would not support building a $2.3 M house so the lots were cheaper. People who buy a $1.3 M townhouse or rent a 2 bed 2 bath in a 6 plex are not as discerning about the neighborhood, so those lots will become desirable and increase in value.

NV is building $900plus townhouses in one of the slummiest parts of Arlington off Carlin Springs Road. The area is filled with dumpy semi detached houses and old red brick garden apartments. Once those townhouses sell, they will improve the area enough to attract builders who will replace the current semi detached housing with the new version.

Same thing will happen when MM goes into the few lower cost single family areas

Here's a $2.3M house in Lyon Park on a lot that probably would have been better off as two $1.2M duplexes. Been on the market for a long time (more than the 23 days listed in redfin). I walk past it all the time. Close to the park, walkable to metro, but the lot really isn't big enough for this house. Doesn't even have a real driveway. People who can spend that much have much better options.
https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/722-N-Highland-St-22201/home/11256176

Wow. That will sit for a long time. They probably don't want to throw any more money at it but they should have done something with the side yard - fence, landscaping.