Reply to Why can't a nice, normal house like this be in our price range?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Arlington's government workers are often limited to lawyers who worked at law firms long enough to pay off student loans and amass enough to make a large enough down payment to buy a house and then take government jobs.  The people who now buy in Arlinfton are consultants, techies, lawyers, a few doctors who are still paid well and people who won the parent or grandparent wealth transfer lottery

There is little foreign investment in Arlinfton, particularly in single family homes.  Many condos were bought mid-century by foreign investors but they smartly dumped them when the market improved.  Gpforeign investors may buy in Turnberry or Watervuew but it us mire likely for their occasional use or their relatives attending a local university.

Schools and location drive housing demand in Arlington.  
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At the higher end of the market, there are a significant percentage of purchases that are cash-only, no inspection, foreign investors. It is true that is more prevalent an issue in the District. And yes, they might use the property for relatives or visiting once a year, establishing residency, etc, but please do not pretend this is not a significant force in the market. [/quote]

PP here.

Also, I don't believe these transactions are handled by agents, more the title companies and RE lawyers who see this traffic... so if you're an agent, I doubt you see this.

My point is, if you think this residential market is driven by local demand only, it really doesn't make sense. However, this pricing makes more sense when consider that there are significant streams of global capital looking for a safe home, and yes, decent schools while at it. The market is soft for other types of investments, real estate is holding its value better than other investments, and if you can park some cash and let your relatives enjoy a house in the DC region at the same time, why not?

These articles are DC-centric: They focud primarily on commercial transactions, but guess what, there is a very real impact on the residential market as well.

http://wdcep.com/washington-dc-proclaimed-an-american-city-of-the-future-for-foreign-investment/

https://www.bisnow.com/washington-dc/news/capital-markets/foreign-money-likes-dc-in-2016-54436

For a more specific suburban example,  take a look at the change in the Korean population in Howard County over the past 6 years and you'll get a sense of what I mean with respect to the suburban markets. In the Howard County situation, it is actually families more so than sheer investors, but this is not Korean-American families relocting from other parts of the country, these are emigres from Korea.

I don't think it is a bad thing, quite the opposite, I LOOOOOVE the international aspect of living in this region. But it does not favor young families scraping their downpayments together... Even with significant family help, it is not an easy market.

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