If you’re looking to buy a home in the DMV, you have no shortage of options. And while housing inventory has been an interesting ride in recent years, existing homes and new builds alike continue to pop up throughout the area.
Northern Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. offer buyers a variety of styles, configurations, and options, but there’s nothing quite like owning your own home in the District proper. Here are just four of the reasons to buy in Washington, D.C.
1. Location, location, location
Each area of the DMV has its own flavor. From waterfront views in Annapolis, Arlington, Alexandria, and parts of D.C., to the vineyards and hills of northern Virginia, every turn is stunning. But if you love city living and a view of the nation’s capital, you can’t beat living in the District itself.
Take your morning run across the National Mall, the National Zoo, or Rock Creek Park. Hit a concert or a Capitals or Nationals game just minutes from home. Dine on cuisine from every corner of the world. Shop Georgetown’s boutiques or a farmer’s market. Whatever your interest, when you live within the District, it’s bound to be just minutes from your doorstep.
2. Commutability
Similarly, it’s hard to have a better commute than the one you’ll have when you start your day already in the city. While traffic is nearly guaranteed if you prefer to drive, the city is incredibly well connected via the Metro system’s buses and rail. And if you’ll work in the suburbs off the metro line, you get the benefit of a reverse commute.
3. The trends are favorable
Inventory across the nation has been a bit of a roller coaster in recent years, but the data trends show there’s good news for homebuyers looking for a new space to call their own across the DMV. The unemployment rate has fallen to less than 3 percent over the past year, and with more people employed and able to buy, more inventory is bound to follow.
What’s more is that, while new-build permits in D.C. are still far below the eight-year average, they maintain a slight advantage over the nation’s rate as a whole and appear to have bottomed out.
4. Resale value
Some areas of the country are more prone to pricing changes than others, but luckily, housing prices in the DMV have remained quite favorable throughout the past 15 years. And while no market is entirely infallible, the industries in our area have helped support a fair bit of consistency in the market’s desirability and housing need, which helps support generally favorable resale values.
If you’re thinking about buying, there’s a certain amount of peace of mind that comes from knowing that, should you need (or want) to move somewhere down the road, there will almost always be buyers in the market.
