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“First-time home buyers are probably in a sweet spot right now,” said Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vice president of research at the National Association of Realtors®. “There’s slightly less competition [now] than if rates really plummeted, so they may stand a chance to have their offer accepted, and may be in a better scenario than really [what] they’ve been looking at over the course of last year, with less inventory and higher rates.” While more D.C.-area and federal workers are receiving return-to-office notices in the pandemic’s unwinding effect, high housing costs may continue to expand the commuting radius. Lautz said she was keeping an eye on Richmond, 100 miles outside D.C., where the median sales price, while still well below the D.C. average, had climbed 17.3 percent year-over-year to $425,000 in the first quarter of 2024, according to NAR data. “I think that's what we're picking up, is that Richmond has become a very attractive place for people who have to commute less, not on a daily basis,” Lautz said.