The Pandemic Hit Cities Hard And Then There's Washington, DC

[Anonymous]

I’m not surprised that DC has been hit harder than other cities.

There are many people who live in NY, LA, SF etc because they are world class cities and have a lot to offer.

Most people live in DC because of....work. Now there have been shifts in work structures that will likely result in a portion of DC office workers having a hybrid or fully remote work arrangement. I don’t see these people staying chained to DC like I might expect someone to still stay in NY or LA.

On top of that, add in the high COL, social unrest, homeless people and crime. DC is on the decline. It’s pretty easy to figure this out. Now see what happens with a government shutdown!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The post has run articles with District leaders almost begging for a return to the offices. Feds definitely aren’t ever coming back en masse and this will inform other sectors decisions. WFH is here to stay as the President has alluded to.

Based on quotes in the article, the plan from city officials is to convert hotels in downtown to residences with the goal to provide demand for retail and restaurants. But who wants to live at Metro Center?

All the people who want to be close to the River, museums and sporting events, with easy access to bike trails and other amenities.

Wake up. The developers who would transform those buildings think demand is soft so they won't do it. Retrofitting can be more expensive than building from the ground up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like robbing Peter to pay Paul. If you build a ton of condos and rental units down town, it seems like you'll just cannibalize demand from other parts of the city

I think that is what is happening with the Wharf vis-a-vis Adams Morgan, Cleveland and Woodley Park. Young professionals have now moved down the the Wharf and Navy Yard and those neighborhoods are not as vibrant as they used to be.

They'll move back to those neighborhoods once they have kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m not surprised that DC has been hit harder than other cities.

There are many people who live in NY, LA, SF etc because they are world class cities and have a lot to offer.

Most people live in DC because of....work. Now there have been shifts in work structures that will likely result in a portion of DC office workers having a hybrid or fully remote work arrangement. I don’t see these people staying chained to DC like I might expect someone to still stay in NY or LA.

On top of that, add in the high COL, social unrest, homeless people and crime. DC is on the decline. It’s pretty easy to figure this out. Now see what happens with a government shutdown!

spoken like someone who has never lived in the district.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I go downtown every day, you won't even find a single taxi anywhere. There is basically zero traffic downtown. Nearly all of the small businesses have closed, leaving behind only chains. Meanwhile, the neighborhoods all seem to be doing well. There is more traffic on Wisconsin than K Street. Hard to find parking on a weekend at the Wharf. A Whole Foods is about to open at the old Walter Reed.

Even more worrisome for downtown DC is that traffic in the suburbs is back to normal. 270, 66, the Beltway are all congested but those people are not going downtown.

I was in downtown DC during the day mid-week a few weeks ago and I was stunned how empty it was. Barely anyone on the street. I was meeting a lobbyist for lunch and the restaurant was thrilled to have some customers.

There are no lines for anything: coffee, lunch. Biggest problems are that most establishments are at bare minimum staffing levels so service can be slow and prices for everything jumped like 25-50%. Really discourages you from wanting to buy something when they are trying to charge you $15 for a sandwich.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like robbing Peter to pay Paul. If you build a ton of condos and rental units down town, it seems like you'll just cannibalize demand from other parts of the city

I think that is what is happening with the Wharf vis-a-vis Adams Morgan, Cleveland and Woodley Park. Young professionals have now moved down the the Wharf and Navy Yard and those neighborhoods are not as vibrant as they used to be.

They'll move back to those neighborhoods once they have kids.

Except for the SFH parts of Woodley and Cleveland Park, those are not kid neighborhoods. Its the apartments that are looking worse for the wear and it is probably a good thing because landlords have been charging high rent for dated apartments for too long. Now they will have to decide to either become low income or "affordable" apartments or invest. But no, they will not move their when they have kids. When people traditionally have kids in DC they move to the suburbs or a SFH in the city if they can afford it.

[Anonymous]

The encampments occupying every random patch of green throughout the city is a big deterrent to return to work. The city has got to get a handle on it and on the crime.

[Anonymous]

I wonder how many of you actually live in DC. We live in the U Street/Logan area and it's basically like there never was a pandemic. If you need to move to Frederick because of housing prices and "social unrest," well, good luck to you. You'll be replaced soon enough by the more prosperous.

Oh, a couple days ago a realtor knocked on my door and literally begged me to sell my townhouse. If DC is dying, you sure can't tell from the real estate prices.

So many suburbanites seem to get off on DC's impending demise. It's ain't gonna happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m not surprised that DC has been hit harder than other cities.

There are many people who live in NY, LA, SF etc because they are world class cities and have a lot to offer.

Most people live in DC because of....work. Now there have been shifts in work structures that will likely result in a portion of DC office workers having a hybrid or fully remote work arrangement. I don’t see these people staying chained to DC like I might expect someone to still stay in NY or LA.

On top of that, add in the high COL, social unrest, homeless people and crime. DC is on the decline. It’s pretty easy to figure this out. Now see what happens with a government shutdown!

DC has seen too much recent new investment to be on the decline as a city. But certainly if you distinguish the neighborhoods from the business center, it is easy to see downtown DC rapidly and further morphing into a highly undesirable place to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how many of you actually live in DC. We live in the U Street/Logan area and it's basically like there never was a pandemic. If you need to move to Frederick because of housing prices and "social unrest," well, good luck to you. You'll be replaced soon enough by the more prosperous.

Oh, a couple days ago a realtor knocked on my door and literally begged me to sell my townhouse. If DC is dying, you sure can't tell from the real estate prices.

So many suburbanites seem to get off on DC's impending demise. It's ain't gonna happen.

I believe you that your neighborhood is doing great. People who used to go into offices and spend money downtown are now spending their money closer to home. When is the last time you went downtown?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not surprised that DC has been hit harder than other cities.

There are many people who live in NY, LA, SF etc because they are world class cities and have a lot to offer.

Most people live in DC because of....work. Now there have been shifts in work structures that will likely result in a portion of DC office workers having a hybrid or fully remote work arrangement. I don’t see these people staying chained to DC like I might expect someone to still stay in NY or LA.

On top of that, add in the high COL, social unrest, homeless people and crime. DC is on the decline. It’s pretty easy to figure this out. Now see what happens with a government shutdown!

spoken like someone who has never lived in the district.

I lived in DC for years. I don’t think I ever met anyone who moved to DC for anything other than work. I never met anyone who moved to DC because it is such a great city. I did meet people who enjoy living in DC. But DC isnt a city like NY where recent college grads move there without having a job yet because they so badly want to live in NY.

DC is a company town that revolves around the government. Even removing 25% of the workforce will have a profound effect

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how many of you actually live in DC. We live in the U Street/Logan area and it's basically like there never was a pandemic. If you need to move to Frederick because of housing prices and "social unrest," well, good luck to you. You'll be replaced soon enough by the more prosperous.

Oh, a couple days ago a realtor knocked on my door and literally begged me to sell my townhouse. If DC is dying, you sure can't tell from the real estate prices.

So many suburbanites seem to get off on DC's impending demise. It's ain't gonna happen.

Real estate prices are up everywhere.

It just seems delusional that you have a large % of employers moving away or no longer requiring butts in seats, and that there won’t be any consequences.

Real estate may very well continue to be a good investment for quite some time. But common sense tells me that there will be some long lasting effects from the pandemic and that DC is on the losing end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how many of you actually live in DC. We live in the U Street/Logan area and it's basically like there never was a pandemic. If you need to move to Frederick because of housing prices and "social unrest," well, good luck to you. You'll be replaced soon enough by the more prosperous.

Oh, a couple days ago a realtor knocked on my door and literally begged me to sell my townhouse. If DC is dying, you sure can't tell from the real estate prices.

So many suburbanites seem to get off on DC's impending demise. It's ain't gonna happen.

I believe you that your neighborhood is doing great. People who used to go into offices and spend money downtown are now spending their money closer to home. When is the last time you went downtown?

+1. Funny that PP even brings up her hot neighborhood and the market value of her home. It’s obvious she is in deep and unable to see the forest from the trees. Downtown is suffering and it will spread. Clients aren’t coming back to office for a long time. Conference and tourists? Same story. There is a world of hurt coming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how many of you actually live in DC. We live in the U Street/Logan area and it's basically like there never was a pandemic. If you need to move to Frederick because of housing prices and "social unrest," well, good luck to you. You'll be replaced soon enough by the more prosperous.

Oh, a couple days ago a realtor knocked on my door and literally begged me to sell my townhouse. If DC is dying, you sure can't tell from the real estate prices.

So many suburbanites seem to get off on DC's impending demise. It's ain't gonna happen.

I believe you that your neighborhood is doing great. People who used to go into offices and spend money downtown are now spending their money closer to home. When is the last time you went downtown?

I never go downtown because I don't work. But I know, for example, that most of the major law firms are soon to require their workers to return to the office full or nearly full time. The delta variant has slowed things down, to be sure, but DC is going to come back.

I don't get why so many on DCUM seem to delight on DC having problems. It's an odd psychology.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how many of you actually live in DC. We live in the U Street/Logan area and it's basically like there never was a pandemic. If you need to move to Frederick because of housing prices and "social unrest," well, good luck to you. You'll be replaced soon enough by the more prosperous.

Oh, a couple days ago a realtor knocked on my door and literally begged me to sell my townhouse. If DC is dying, you sure can't tell from the real estate prices.

So many suburbanites seem to get off on DC's impending demise. It's ain't gonna happen.

Real estate prices are up everywhere.

It just seems delusional that you have a large % of employers moving away or no longer requiring butts in seats, and that there won’t be any consequences.

Real estate may very well continue to be a good investment for quite some time. But common sense tells me that there will be some long lasting effects from the pandemic and that DC is on the losing end.

Post some numbers.