More and more, Washington, D.C. has become a popular city that people want to live in as opposed to live by. In a new report, Zillow analyzed the widened gap between home values in Washington, D.C. and the nearby suburbs, both inside and outside the Beltway.
In January 2000, the median value for a home in Washington, D.C. was $136,200. This number was 14 percent less than a home in the suburbs inside the Capital Beltway and 17 percent less than homes outside the Beltway.
Now, homes in D.C. are 27 percent pricier than homes inside the Beltway and 44 percent more expensive than homes outside of the Beltway.
Zillow attributes this rapid change in part due to the federal government’s first-time home buyer tax credits in 2009 and 2010. Additionally, home value growth in Washington, D.C. averaged 9 percent year-over-year since December 2013, while the suburbs averaged 4 percent year-over-year.
When breaking down Washington, D.C.’s numbers quadrant by quadrant, Zillow reported that the gap between the Northwest and Northeast quadrants has gotten smaller.
In January 2000, the Northwest quadrant had a median home worth of $150 per square foot. This was 52 percent more than the median home in the Northeast quadrant. Since then, this gap has gotten smaller.
Today, the median home in the Northwest is $533 per square foot, only 18 percent higher than a median home in the Northeast quadrant, which is currently $450 per square foot.
In comparison to the Northeast and Southwest quadrants, the Southeast quadrant as a whole has not experienced the same degree of home value appreciation.