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It's not the best of times, it's not the worst of times. That's how one might describe the Washington, D.C. housing market right now, with apologies to Charles Dickens for the spin on one of his most famous openings. Despite social media rumors about a spike in home sales in response to President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's DOGE team dramatically cutting the federal workforce, hard numbers show a relatively stable market in the area, at least for now.
"There is no panic shown in the MLS data," says Lawrence Yun, chief economist and senior vice president of research at the National Association of REALTORS®, in reference to multiple listing service databases. Yun adds that he's observed expected winter price reductions and that overall listings in February seem on par with last year.
We'll take a closer look at the data, talk to a REALTOR® with boots on the ground in the nation's capital city, and examine why this narrative has taken hold online.
Fortune asked Russell Brazil, an agent with RLAH @properties and president-elect of the Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS (GCAAR), whether he'd noticed any big changes in home sale activity—either post-inauguration or following the layoffs of federal employees.
"There has been no notable change in expected market conditions," Brazil says. "February 14th traditionally is the start of the spring selling season. Every year with the spring selling season we see an uptick in available inventory and a corresponding increase in buyer demand."
Brazil added that the housing market remains hot in most of the metro area, with low inventory and for-sale properties often receiving multiple offers. He also observed that nearly 90% of the workforce in D.C. is made up of workers who are not federal employees, so even with the political environment as it is, he does not anticipate a huge spike in home sales.
"Logically, it also would not make sense for panic now," says Yun of the National Association of REALTORS®. "It takes time to assess the next steps. People do not list immediately following the knowledge of a job loss."
In other words, the housing market is relatively normal, at least for now. However, it may be too soon to know with certainty how much Trump and Musk's activity targeting the federal workforce will shake up what it looks like to live in the nation's capital.