Apr 03, 2009  |  By: James Worsdale  | COMMENTS     

Washington’s real estate market has been holding its own — even flourishing in some cases — despite depressing national reports of high foreclosure rates, a burst housing bubble and a detrimental effect on housing markets from the recession.

Several local gay realtors, buyers and property managers say Washington is an insulated market and are optimistic about the maintenance and growth of real estate in and around the city.

Brent Stephens, director of advertising for Realty Management Services and a gay Washingtonian, says Washington’s comparably low foreclosure rate indicates the strength of the market.

“The foreclosure rate in D.C. is far lower, really, than anywhere else in the nation,” Stephens says. “When foreclosure auctions do go on, a lot of these properties aren’t going too much below the market value. They may go on short sale but they’re not going at 40 to 50 percent of their value, they’re going at their full value.”

Evan Johnson, a gay Washington realtor, also says D.C. is doing “extremely better” in terms of maintaining prices. He credits the government with adding stability to the market.

Stephens says the government also contributes to Washington’s comparably strong job market and cites that the majority of new jobs created by the stimulus package are coming up in or around the D.C. area.

The government’s stabilizing effect, however, doesn’t necessarily cross the District’s borders. Lesbian real estate agent Suzanne Goldstein notes that in neighboring Prince George’s County, Md., there have been “a huge number of foreclosures.”

But Goldstein says that within the city’s boundaries, Washington’s status as a government town is a positive influence on the market.   

“Nationally, places like Michigan and Nevada are doing very poorly, but we’re different because we’re not relying on a particular industry” she says.

Goldstein says the availability of a new buyer’s tax credit has encouraged buyers to hasten settling.

The prerequisites of the credit are that you are a first time buyer with an income as a single person of $75,000 or less, or a joint income of $150,000 or less, and you settle before Dec. 1. Those who qualify get an $8,000 tax credit that does not need to be repaid.

Washington had a buyer’s tax credit before, but this one is different in that it doesn’t need to be repaid and is national rather than local.

The trends in what both buyers and renters are seeking out in properties revolve around high quality, low price and greater interest in minimalism rather than lavishness.

Stephens says the economic recession has had a notable impact on tastes with renters sacrificing luxuries like granite countertops that are more about aesthetic than practicality.

“People are concerned about getting a deal from everything today from their groceries to their homes,” he says.

The demand for quality has also caused property owners around the district to prioritize upkeep rather than upgrade, Johnson says. This has translated into a slowing down of gentrification processes around the city.

“What we’re seeing is there’s not as much cash flow or credit available to a lot of homeowners who were fixing properties up,” Johnson says. “Right now there’s a lot more maintenance of those properties, so gentrification has slowed very much. Everyone who is in their properties is mostly making sure they keep up with them.”

There are, however, some new projects. One that Johnson is excited about is an infill project in a lot located at 1349 V St., where construction of a three-story, double-row house is slated to be finished by the end of the month.

“Quality projects like that are still having an amazing amount of progress, where a lot of the smaller developers and people who weren’t serious are the ones who aren’t doing as much” he says.

Goldstein sees potential for a “trickle-up effect” in the industry from first-time buyers purchasing from those who are trying to upgrade, giving those individuals opportunity and resources to do so.

Gay buyers and renters alike are less focused on settling together in areas traditionally called “gayborhoods,” Goldstein and Johnson say, causing more of a speckle and less concentration of gay populations in the city.

Johnson approximates that 80 to 90 percent of his clients identify as LGBT and what they’re looking for are not specifically Dupont and Logan circles, but quality of life from restaurants, clubs, gyms and transportation.

 “My clients are open to everything from Constitution to Columbia Heights and Rock Creek to North Capitol,” he says. “When you have Nellie’s opening up on U Street and BeBar over on Ninth, it really makes the entire area open to everything. It’s not just one ...