WASH After Dark : Page 58
THE RADAR | REALTY HOME STYLE Clockwise from left:Barack’s brigade is likely to settle into DC’s urban core. Eckington, Columbia Heights and LeDroit Park are three hip ’hoods poised to see property values go boom. Homing In The incoming Obamaniacs are staking their territory and—true to style—it’s about change | By Katie Knorovsky | Photography by John Healey | That notorious fi st bump (er, jab?) from the endless campaign season has finally faded to just another relic of pop-pol culture. But a brand- new bump by Obama is generating fresh buzz around town. Th is time, all the breathless chatter speculates on what sort of local real estate shake- up the administration change—and the wave of staff ers it brings along—might rouse. Of course, seasoned brokers sigh that DC’s so-called “changing of the guard” has become a Washington cliché. “It’s not like in the ’60s or ’70s, when you had people that, when their guy left, they packed up and went back home,” says David DeSantis, vice president of Tutt Taylor & Rankin Sotheby’s (ttrsir.com). “These days, we have a permanent political class in DC. People are really just changing hats.” In other words, swapping administration posts for ones at consulting and lobbying fi rms—or vice versa. Even so, experts hint that this time around, business-as-usual might be in for a jolt. Within just a week or so after Nov. 4, brokers welcomed an election-inspired infl ux of inquiries and heightened levels of activity during what tends to be a slow patch. “I don’t expect it’ll be a tidal wave, but I think there will be a change,” says Andrea Evers of Evers & Co. (eversco.com). Where she might be guarded, others are unabashedly optimistic. During the early blitz of Obamania, Peter Smirniotopoulos, member of faculty Johns Hopkins University’s Real Estateprogram,predictedonNewgeography. com 56 | | Jan/Feb 2009 that the election results could generate some 40,000 new real estate transactions in themetro area by Inauguration Day. While it’s still early for number crunching, one trend is clear: “Th e administration change is going to be a shot in the arm for Washington, if nothing else in psychology,” says BrandonGreen, principal broker of Brandon Green & Associates (brandongreenandassociates.com). Which neighborhoods will receive the biggest booster? Th ose in the know point to DC’s ever-eastward-pushing urban core, with ColumbiaHeights,Eckington and LeDroit Park leading the pack of potential magnets. “There are some really spectacular historic homes that for a long time have been overlooked. Prices are still reasonable,” DeSantis says. After all, much like the Clinton crowd formed an unoffi cial enclave in Adams Morgan, “Generation O” wants a ’hood that still feels cutting edge. “Th e demographics of the people moving into town this time are younger, more affl uent, and tendto be citydwellers. Th ere’s a big contingency coming in from Chicago,” Green says. He speaks from recent experience, having fi elded many fi shing calls from folks crossing their fi ngers and toes in hopes of plum Obama appointments. “Th e buyers we’re hearing from are really excited about new and different, and about change,” he says. “Th at translates into where they want to live. City development has gone east. I’m really hot on Eckington.” Green surmises that folks who crave a bit more stability could land in Logan Circle, where residents can walk downtown (not to mention to the all-important Whole Foods). Young families would do well by Brookland, suggests George Durazzo, a longtime Democratic consultant close to the incoming administration. And to Evers, prime real estate is all about public transportation. “If we try to espouse things that Obama says and become more energy effi cient, all of that speaks to strengthening the core of the city,” she says. Which isn’t to say trad-but-true spots such as Georgetown and Dupont Circle will see declines, but whether the nexus skews west or east, everyone agrees thatDCproper is the place to be. “Far and away, most people want to be in the city,” Durazzo says. “Th e Bush folks made the suburbs thrive. Th is will be much more like the early Clinton years, but with more folks and more fun.” We’ll fi st bump to that.
Realty
Katie Knorovsky
Homing In The incoming Obamaniacs are staking their territory and—true to style—it’s about change
Th at notorious fi st bump (er, jab?) From the endless campaign season has fi nally faded to just another relic of pop-pol culture. But a brandnew bump by Obama is generating fresh buzz around town. Th is time, all the breathless chatter speculates on what sort of local real estate shakeup the administration change—and the wave of staff ers it brings along—might rouse.
Of course, seasoned brokers sigh that DC’s so-called “changing of the guard” has become a Washington cliché. “It’s not like in the ’60s or ’70s, when you had people that, when their guy left, they packed up and went back home,” says David DeSantis, vice president of Tutt Taylor & Rankin Sotheby’s (ttrsir.com). “Th ese days, we have a permanent political class in DC.
People are really just changing hats.” In other words, swapping administration posts for ones at consulting and lobbying fi rms—or vice versa.
Even so, experts hint that this time around, business-as-usual might be in for a jolt. Within just a week or so after Nov. 4, brokers welcomed an election-inspired infl ux of inquiries and heightened levels of activity during what tends to be a slow patch. “I don’t expect it’ll be a tidal wave, but I think there will be a change,” says Andrea Evers of Evers & Co. (eversco.com). Where she might be guarded, others are unabashedly optimistic. During the early blitz of Obamania, Peter Smirniotopoulos, faculty member of Johns Hopkins University’s Real Estate program, predicted on Newgeography. Com that the election results could generate some 40,000 new real estate transactions in the metro area by Inauguration Day.
While it’s still early for number crunching, one trend is clear: “Th e administration change is going to be a shot in the arm for Washington, if nothing else in psychology,” says Brandon Green, principal broker of Brandon Green & Associates (brandongreenandassociates.com). Which neighborhoods will receive the biggest booster? Th ose in the know point to DC’s ever-eastward-pushing urban core, with Columbia Heights, Eckington and LeDroit Park leading the pack of potential magnets. “Th ere are some really spectacular historic homes that for a long time have been overlooked. Prices are still reasonable,” DeSantis says.
After all, much like the Clinton crowd formed an unoffi cial enclave in Adams Morgan, “Generation O” wants a ’hood that still feels cutting edge. “Th e demographics of the people moving into town this time are younger, more affl uent, and tend to be city dwellers. Th ere’s a big contingency coming in from Chicago,” Green says. He speaks from recent experience, having fi elded many fi shing calls from folks crossing their fi ngers and toes in hopes of plum Obama appointments. “Th e buyers we’re hearing from are really excited about new and diff erent, and about change,” he says. “Th at translates into where they want to live. City development has gone east. I’m really hot on Eckington.” Green surmises that folks who crave a bit more stability could land in Logan Circle, where residents can walk downtown (not to mention to the all-important Whole Foods). Young families would do well by Brookland, suggests George Durazzo, a longtime Democratic consultant close to the incoming administration. And to Evers, prime real estate is all about public transportation.
“If we try to espouse things that Obama says and become more energy effi cient, all of that speaks to strengthening the core of the city,” she says.
Which isn’t to say trad-but-true spots such as Georgetown and Dupont Circle will see declines, but whether the nexus skews west or east, everyone agrees that DC proper is the place to be. “Far and away, most people want to be in the city,” Durazzo says. “Th e Bush folks made the suburbs thrive. Th is will be much more like the early Clinton years, but with more folks and more fun.” We’ll fi st bump to that.
Publication List
