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Despite Slowdown, DC Region Remains Tops for Investors

The strength of the mid-Atlantic area's economy and local apartment fundamentals are helping to keep investors active in the market.

By Sule Aygoren Carranza | Updated on July 18, 2008

[IMGCAP(1)]WASHINGTON, DC-A healthy economy and strong job growth are helping to fuel the multifamily market in the nation’s Capitol. Though the expansion in employment–by 28,400 jobs between April 2007 and April 2008, ranking sixth in the nation–is nearly half the levels recorded during the boom period of the past few years, it remains healthy enough to sustain the local real estate market, as long as developers keep their activity in check, maintain researchers at Delta Associates in a midyear report on the market.

The 1% job growth the DC area saw over the past 12 months was up from the 0.2% rate of national growth, placing the metro region sixth in terms of employment gains. While it’s no longer the leader in this category, the DC area is the only large metro region that gained more jobs this year than last. The local unemployment rate stood at 3.1% in April, compared to 5% nationally.

While the financial and construction sectors could cut more jobs due to the credit crunch, the firm anticipates the market to recovery slowly through 2010, with many positions added in the professional and business services sector. Metro DC payrolls should grow by about 23,900 new positions this year, 29,000 in 2009 and 42,500 in 2010. Further, the firm notes that the shift in the single-family housing sector has caused many would-be condo buyers into renters. And many other households in the region that are renting, researchers add, do so by choice.

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