In a schizophrenic appearance perhaps characteristic of the nation as a whole, Washington, D.C., the Capital of the United States of America, has been a city of lofty ideals and basest crime. Putting aside for the time being the popular notion of criminality that conflates politicians with thieves, this article will quickly survey the nexus between the District of Columbia’s criminal statistics and those of its property markets.

No sooner had the violent crime crime wave of the early 1990s begin to subside with tougher laws and policing than the housing bubble and resultant foreclosure crisis leash upon the capital city a new onslaught of social turmoil. And it continues to be brutal for the D.C. housing market as those gains posted during boom-times just keep disappearing.

For the past two to three years, the District of Columbia has suffered along with the rest of the country the mother of all market corrections where real estate, particularly housing, is concerned. Credit has totally dried up for all practical intents and purposes while short sales and foreclosures have dramatically skyrocketed, with District of Columbia suburbs even posting price drops of as much as one hundred thousand dollars. And the trend is not that much more better in the region, with shortfalls of around eight to ten percent as compared against previous years.

To be sure it isn’t all bad, and there are those who still manage to benefit. The glut of foreclosed properties has resulted in a buying spree in some locations, especially among the many first-time buyers of Prince William County that were able to afford homes of their own at last.

Of course, you can bet that there are economists and other market observers who believe that the situation is still extremely grave, given the record numbers of homeowners in financial distress that are still out there. However, scattered data here and there may indicate that something of a mild market turnaround is just around the corner. For example, it’s interesting to note how so-called vulture investors have swooped in to snap up properties. This is generally taken to be a positive sign, in a “bigger-picture” sort of way, as it reflects a certain sense of confidence in market fundamentals in just those individuals who matter the most in any economy – the ones with money! So, all things considered, under the circumstances, our nation’s capital has fared fairly well, and is best of all in the region, with median prices rising some eight percent.

Crime and real estate values have a definite linear inverse relationship, but gentrification is changing this old calculus – somewhat. Really bad neighborhoods (and by extension, cities) are still avoided entirely, but the level of tolerance for urban blight has risen such that those neighborhoods on the borderline (and, often, literally on the border proper) can now be considered for development, whereas two decades ago sentiments would have been diametrically different.

Author Bio: Barbra I. Miller writes frequently on real estate topics for various online publications. Please visit GoToRealEstateSolutions.com for more great articles from industry insiders such as Isaac Toussie and others!

Category: Real Estate
Keywords: real estate, dc, d.c., washington, news, property, property markets, realty, advice