The 5 New Facts About D.C. Real Estate You Need to Know

As Washington, D.C.'s population grows (10.8 percent from 2010 to 2015), so too does the number of residential developments. Since 2001, 538 projects have completed since 2001, and currently 93 projects are under construction, totaling 13,294 units and 12,180,360-square-feet of planned development. The non-profit Washington, D.C. Economic Partnership (WDCEP) recently released their D.C. Development Report with research on the number of major development and construction projects in the District with contributions from over 100 developers, architects, contractors, and more. With 15 years of developments tracked, WDCEP was able to analyze how Washington, D.C.'s real estate has progressed over the years. Below, you'll find a top five list of some of the most important takeaways from WDCEP's data. The list is only focused on residential real estate as opposed to office, commercial, hospitality, and education. If interested in seeing what you should know about these other categories, you can find more information here.

1. In the second quarter of 2015, the highest effective rental rate was found in the Downtown-Logan Circle neighborhood ($2,466), while the lowest rate was found in the Brookland-Fort Totten neighborhood ($1,658).

2. In the past 15 years, one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments have declined in size from an average of 850-square-feet to around 725- to 750-square-feet.

3. Over the past year, the median sale price for a condo/co-op increased 9.5 percent to $520,000.

4. The number of Washington, D.C. residents aged 25- to 44-years old grew 30.6 percent from 2005 to 2014. With this growth, there has been a stronger demand for apartments due to Millennials focusing more on renting than buying.

5. The second quarter of 2015 experienced the third highest rate of net absorption (in the last five years (4,544 units). With this, vacancy decreased by 4.7 percent. According to Institutional Real Estate, Inc., "Net absorption is equal to the amount occupied at the end of a period minus the amount occupied at the beginning of a period and takes into consideration space vacated during the period."

To learn more about what you should expect from the future of Washington, D.C. real estate, check out the full D.C. Development Report on the WDCEP website here. You can also check out how UrbanTurf reported on the numbers here and how The Washington Post reported on the prevalence of developments near Metro stations here.

See some of the graphs and statistics found in the D.C. Development Report below:

· 22 Million Square Feet: The Most Interesting Statistics From DC's Development Report [UrbanTurf]
· Developers are building more around Metro stations than ever [The Washington Post]
· D.C. Development Report [Washington, D.C. Economic Partnership]