Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like the Federal employees who were mandated RTO will want to buy houses closer to DC so an increase in demand. It doesn't make any sense for people to sell their houses ASAP. Have they found a new job in another location that quickly? Do they want to uproot their children or would they try to find another job in an area that has plenty of other industries, like tech?

Why would they do that when the president is threatening their job right now?

And presumably trade a lower interest rate for one 2-3 times as high?

I don’t get this take. There are so many houses on the market right now that would have a low interest rate. People that bought before 2022. Just because you sell doesn’t mean you are moving to another home in the area.

I'm wondering if this could eventually spill over to the second/vacation home markets that are popular with DMV crowd... Delaware beaches, Shenandoah, OBX, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A friend on the Hill is seeing for sale signs popping up.

Just did a Redfin search. 44 listings in the last 7 days. 29 of them already pending. Truly a bloodbath.

So Musk is planning on eliminating 75% of federal employees and 95% of federal contractors. They have eliminated 0.06% so far. Look at the panic and hate. If Musk eliminates just 5% this area will be is a depression.

If he does that, there will not be any military or police to protect him from pitch fork wielding mobs coming for him.

Well, late last night 47 just legitimized and weaponized the Unitary Executive Theory.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/ensuring-accountability-for-all-agencies/

Democracy died. I feel like it’s happening so fast, faster than Hitler, and most people can’t keep up bc he does so much in the night and suppresses the news.

My concern is that people are still reeling from the job losses, still clinging to hope, and by the time they put their house on the market it will be too late. Plan now, today, for what your plan is to stay afloat. Don’t wait.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not nearly as expensive everywhere else. Lots of mid-sized cities that are way more affordable, especially in places that people on this board would call flyover country. Those places are safe, have good schools, and don't have nightmare commutes if you have to live far from your job. Broaden your horizons -- there's more to the world than the DMV.

Nice try but most of us are from.those places and we know why we left.

OK. The ivy league colleges are filled with kids from those places. And people there in blue collar jobs can afford houses that don't have nightmare commutes. They can even run their errands without running into long lines, lack of parking, and gridlock everywhere. I like this area too, but I am always surprised when people are too closed-minded to explore alternatives.

I have all those positives here in DC. No reason to leave or sell my house.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rent to whom? Too many homes, not enough jobs

There haven't been anywhere near enough homes in the DMV for years. Even if there were some "panic selling" there still wouldn't be enough -- even if the job market is terrible and less are buying.

This. I live in one of the worst school districts in MoCo and a house near us sold for 750k in one day on the market. There is huge pent up demand.

Most newer feds were priced out before they moved here.

The impact won’t be right now. I mean people just got laid off like last week.

So why are people posting lies about empty malls and a flooded real estate market? Sounds like wishful schadenfreude to me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rent to whom? Too many homes, not enough jobs

There haven't been anywhere near enough homes in the DMV for years. Even if there were some "panic selling" there still wouldn't be enough -- even if the job market is terrible and less are buying.

This. I live in one of the worst school districts in MoCo and a house near us sold for 750k in one day on the market. There is huge pent up demand.

Most newer feds were priced out before they moved here.

The impact won’t be right now. I mean people just got laid off like last week.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rent to whom? Too many homes, not enough jobs

There haven't been anywhere near enough homes in the DMV for years. Even if there were some "panic selling" there still wouldn't be enough -- even if the job market is terrible and less are buying.

This. I live in one of the worst school districts in MoCo and a house near us sold for 750k in one day on the market. There is huge pent up demand.

Most newer feds were priced out before they moved here.

Most feds I know, including myself, are part of a dual income family and often the fed spouse is the lower earner. In our case we bought years ago when salaries are much lower and are locked into a sub 3% mortgage. Even renting elsewhere would likely cost more so we’ll hang on as long as we can on one income even if I lose my job.

I do feel particularly badly for two fed families. Hopefully at least one stays employed.

Like me, I suspect a lot of people will try to scrounge by on one income for a while with the unemployed spouse taking over childcare duties to save money or pickup freelance work. This is the silver lining for many families to having 2 working adults. Being totally reliant on 1 income sounds scary though so I wouldn’t want to be a single income household for long. Also, families unexpectedly living off 1 income don’t spend as much, so this will hit industries like construction, restaurants, etc. pretty hard. I hope those families also have another income to fall back on.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like the Federal employees who were mandated RTO will want to buy houses closer to DC so an increase in demand. It doesn't make any sense for people to sell their houses ASAP. Have they found a new job in another location that quickly? Do they want to uproot their children or would they try to find another job in an area that has plenty of other industries, like tech?

Why would they do that when the president is threatening their job right now?

And presumably trade a lower interest rate for one 2-3 times as high?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're really going to have to wait and see for more data before we know whether or not the sky is falling.

I mean there is clearly a misinformation campaign trying to convince people the sky is falling in the DMV. The misleading 36% number. The fake news about a flooded real estate market. All the troll posts about empty malls (no girl). Why lie if the sky is actually falling? It actually gives me hope lol I'll worry when I have some real data.

Empty malls? I went to Montgomery Mall over the weekend and it was packed wall to wall.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rent to whom? Too many homes, not enough jobs

This is DC. People are always coming and going from all over the country and the world.

Not anymore. With over 200,000 laid off there will be a depression in this area. It could take a decade to recover.

Did you see the unemployment figures for DC? It's up 36% relative to last month, and DOGE was just getting started back then.

DP here. Do you have a link to those? I can't find it

Btw I found some data downloaded from here: https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/claims.asp )

The data doesn't seem to say much of anything at all. Unemployment claims in DC seem to have been trending up since before Trump's term started. Doesn't look like anything crazy (yet). In Maryland the highest week was the week ended 12/21. We're really going to have to wait and see for more data before we know whether or not the sky is falling.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rent to whom? Too many homes, not enough jobs

This is DC. People are always coming and going from all over the country and the world.

Not anymore. With over 200,000 laid off there will be a depression in this area. It could take a decade to recover.

Did you see the unemployment figures for DC? It's up 36% relative to last month, and DOGE was just getting started back then.

DP here. Do you have a link to those? I can't find it

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rent to whom? Too many homes, not enough jobs

This is DC. People are always coming and going from all over the country and the world.

Not anymore. With over 200,000 laid off there will be a depression in this area. It could take a decade to recover.

Did you see the unemployment figures for DC? It's up 36% relative to last month, and DOGE was just getting started back then.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rent to whom? Too many homes, not enough jobs

This is DC. People are always coming and going from all over the country and the world.

Not anymore. With over 200,000 laid off there will be a depression in this area. It could take a decade to recover.

Anonymous wrote:Rent to whom? Too many homes, not enough jobs

There haven't been anywhere near enough homes in the DMV for years. Even if there were some "panic selling" there still wouldn't be enough -- even if the job market is terrible and less are buying.