This story is not exactly true. Prices for June in Arlington, Virginia — just across the river from Washington, D.C. — rose 3 percent (median) and 7 percent (average) over a year ago June. The average time on the market for a house has fallen to 47 days, 32 in some zip codes. Inventory has fallen to 4 months supply — a supply-demand situation that drives up prices. All because of the ever-bloating government.
“Inventory has fallen to 4 months supply — a supply-demand situation that drives up prices. All because of the ever-bloating government.”
Indeed! My kids got in a bidding war with four other couples LAST DECEMBER 2009 over a house in Arlington.
The DC metro area is supported by the government and everything associated with it in the defense department.
Right you are, WashingtonSource. We bought our house in Arlington VA (22207) ten years ago for just over 400K. Today I could sell it easily for 750K.
We are indeed prosperous here in the Washington DC inner suburbs. The schools are well funded and high-quality; municipal services are excellent; we have world-class amenities such as the Smithsonian museums, the Kennedy Center. etc.; the restaurants are full; etc., etc. Whenever I visit relatives in NC, it’s like we’re living in different universes. They’re dealing with high unemployment, crashing property values, and service cutbacks.
All that being said, the insulation of Washington DC is inevitable. Any capital city depends heavily on government, and so its economy will always be a function of guaranteed government spending. We shouldn’t allow ourselves to conclude that somehow Washington has morphed into something it wasn’t twenty or fifty or even one hundred years ago. It has always been thus!