Anonymous wrote:I'm AA who has been in DC since 1991. Sometimes I feel like it's our fault too. I bought my first house in Brookland for $142K - renovated. All of our friends told us we were crazy bc we could buy in PG and get a huge house. We kept telling them that DC was a better investment.
At the time, black people didn't want to live in those smaller houses when you could get something 4x bigger in PG. Fast forward, I now own a difference house in Brookland, a new house in Ft. Totten and my ex lives in Colonial Village.
We watched the tea leaves and wanted a good investment. We couldn't convince our friends to do the same and now they complain about being priced out of the market.
Another AA who bought in DC in the early 2000s while friends turned their noses up at buying in the city. In fact, my boyfriend at the time tried to convince me to buy in Wheaton. I didn't want or need a great big house, because at the time I was single, I just didn't see renting at the prices rent went for at the time when I could buy and build equity, plus I worked in DC and didn't want a long commute cutting into my social life. Now those same friends are dealing with still being underwater because of the recession and my house (that I still own and is rental property my husband owned a DC home before we met so win-win) is worth several times what I paid for it.