Happy Monday, DC!

Take a pause from your new year diet plan to indulge in Winter Restaurant Week specials. Also, there’s a ton of Lunar New Year celebrations happening around town, and a new LEGO exhibition all ages can enjoy.

Best Things to Do This Week and Weekend

January 27–February 2

1. 1. Metropolitan Washington Winter Restaurant Week. Here’s a good way to add some variety to this week’s meal plan: Winter Restaurant Week is back. Dine at more than 350 local eateries, restaurants, and bars for lunch, brunch, and dinner at a discount price. Some new participating restaurants to check out include Adams Morgan’s Tail Up Goat, American restaurant A. Kitchen + Bar, and Arrels inside the recently opened Arlo Washington DC hotel (Mon-Sun, prices vary, multiple DC-area locations).
   2. DC Chinese Lunar New Year Parade. The Year of the Snake festivities continue around town this week with one of DC’s biggest seasonal events. The Chinese Lunar New Year Parade will strut through Chinatown to spotlight cultural and community performers, treats from local eateries, and a finale firecracker show in the heart of H Street (Sun, free, Downtown).
   3. “The Art of the Brick” exhibit. View colorful and intricate LEGO sculptures at The Art of the Brick Washington DC. The traveling exhibition at the Rhode Island Center showcases 130 LEGO-crafted creations that reimagine masterpieces like Michelangelo’s “David,” Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” and Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa.” For families, there’s a creation zone where youngsters can build their own piece (opens January 30, $25, Brentwood).
   4. Job play. Signature Theatre presents the DC premiere of Max Wolf Friedlich’s psychological thriller Job. The shocking play follows a woman’s downward spiral with a therapist after her workplace meltdown goes viral (Tues through March 16, $40+, Arlington).
   5. Lunar New Year Family Celebration. The Smithsonian American Art Museum is throwing a Lunar New Year jamboree featuring six live performances and traditional Chinese and Korean art demonstrations. The entire family can see musical and dance productions from groups like Washington CYC Lion Dance Team, K-Pop dance clubs from American University and George Washington University, and a Simba Dojang martial arts demo (Sat, free, registration encouraged).
   6. Song of the North at Strathmore. Multimedia artist Hamid Rahmanian creates a moving stage adaptation of an 11th-century Persian epic poem. The ancient tale of a knight who falls in love with an enemy princess comes to life with a cast that includes nine performers and nearly 500 puppets (Fri, $28+, Bethesda).

Want More Things to Do?

Arts and culture:

• Cozy up with hot cocoa and marshmallows, and then join a guided paint session at Palette 22 (Mon, $65, Arlington).
• Model and actress Brooke Shields dives into her new memoir with Dr. Sharon Malone at Sixth & I (Mon, $12+ for virtual, $50 for ticket and book, Penn Quarter, virtual).
• Award-winning author Ruth Franklin discusses her new innovative biography about the The Many Lives of Anne Frank (Wed, free, Northwest DC).
• Filmmaker Kristen Lovell and photographer Samantha Box discuss the combination of photography and advocacy at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Wed, $25, Downtown).
• Browse new cars at The Washington, DC Auto Show (Fri through February 9, $15+, Walter E. Washington Convention Center).
• Coauthors Tre’vell Anderson and Jarrett Hill of the book Historically Black Phrases host a hilarious game show at MLK Memorial Library (Sat, free with registration, MLK Library).

Community and heritage:

• Feast on fortune cookies while watching a performance from Hung Ci Lion Dance Troupe (Tues, free, Rosslyn).
• There’s family fun, food, and dance at Eden Center’s Tet celebration (Wed, free, Falls Church).
• Watch a fashion and an array of traditional Asian dance performances at Tysons Corner Center (Sat, free, Tysons).
• Take a free yoga class, and then munch on Lunar New Year happy hour specials at Upside on Moore (Sat, free, Rosslyn).
• Walk in the footsteps of the father of Black history Carter G. Woodson through Logan Circle and Shaw with actor Darius Wallace (Sat, free, registration required, Logan Circle).

Theater and shows:

• National Ballet of China presents a two-act dance performance to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker score (Wed-Sun, $30+, Kennedy Center).
• Sit in on Shakespeare-themed staged readings, panel discussions, and workshops at The Reading Room Festival (Thurs-Sun, $150 for pass, Capitol Hill).
• Rising star comic Jack Tucker does standup at the Kennedy Center (Thurs, $20+, Kennedy Center).
• Opera conductor Gianandrea Noseda brings Samuel Barber’s passionate production Vanessa to life in concert (Thurs, Sat, $15+, Kennedy Center).
• Broadway Center Stage: Schmigadoon! musical follows the story of two doctors on a road trip to save their failing relationship (Fri through February 9, $59+, Kennedy Center).
• The Come From Away musical tells the true story of airplane passengers stranded on Newfoundland after the 9/11 attacks (Fri-Sun, $63+, Tysons).

Music and concerts:

• Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performs the world premiere of Elevators (Tues, $14+, Bethesda).
• The Anderson Brothers play a jazzy concert packed with Duke Ellington hits (Wed, free, tickets available onsite first-come first-serve, Kennedy Center).
• British musical trio Jamie xx plays live at the Anthem (Thurs, $50+, Wharf).
• Tickets are selling fast to see Iranian pop vocalist Marjan Farsad at Miracle Theatre (Thurs, $45, Eastern Market).
• Violinist Paul Huang performs symphonic tunes at Takoma Park SDA Church (Sat, $35+, Takoma Park).
• Commemorate Black History Month at the annual MLK tribute concert Living the Dream … Singing the Dream (Sun, $28+, Kennedy Center).

Bites and beverages:

• Dine on ceviche, chicken dumplings, raw oysters, and other Lunar New Year specials in between glimpses of a ceremonial lion dance at Tiger Fork (Sat, free entry, food extra, Shaw).

Things to do with kids:

• Go ice skating with the family at Water Park’s Winter Wonderland (through February 21, $35, Arlington).
• Kiddos can meet live animals, make Lunar New Year crafts, and hike at Long Branch Nature Center (Sat, $9, Arlington).
• Families can participate in a scavenger hunt, make lanterns, and color zodiac animals at the Smithsonian (Sat, free, registration required, Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art).
• There’s martial arts, crafts, music, and more Year of the Snake fun at Falls Church Communikids (Sat-Sun, free, but rsvp required, Falls Church).

If you enjoyed these events, please don’t forget to share this post with a friend on social media, and sign up for our newsletter for more things to do.

5 BOLD Predictions for the Washington DC

It was a tough year for real estate. The past year of 2024 saw higher mortgage interest rates and in many U.S. markets, less buyers. We experienced a shift here in DC metro as well. What’s going to happen now that the new year is here? Will there be more for sale? Here are Melissa’s 5 bold predictions for DC area real estate in 2025.

There’s no one doing videos like this in the DC Area. I’m out on the streets, showing you exactly what it’s like here, not putting in some stock footage. I know DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia inside out. We are AI-free here. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss the new videos.

The Buyers are Coming Back

I knew this was going to happen. I had been telling clients all last year – this is the time to buy. It’s hard to convince people of this though because I’ve learned some things during my two+ decades in real estate (and in life.) People generally operate with a “today” mindset. They hyperfocus on the present almost to the exclusion of the future.

Here’s why I knew it was time for buyers to return. First, there are always soft spots in the real estate market in the DC area. Those soft spots are August and December. The market resets after those two months. Since we didn’t see much of a recovery in September after everyone finished their summer vacations, I expected that it would come for us in “spring,” i.e. after the new year.

Second, every time there’s a giant thud that stops the velocity of the real estate market – think Sept 11th, 2008 housing crash, or covid, things stop. But they never stop for long. The sharp rise in interest rates has had time to set a “new normal,” and it was time for the buyers to get back out there.

When people ask what I think the spring market will be like, I tell them I’ll know on January 2nd. Why is January 2nd so magical? I know people. And like clockwork, people who want to buy homes all decide to reach out to an agent on January 2nd. I got several calls from potential new clients on January 2nd this year, and a   call or two each subsequent day into the first week of January. That’s my barometer. It’s going to be a busy season.

DC Real Estate Will Bounce Back

We all use the term “DC” when we mean the entire metro area. But in this case, DC actually means DC. The city. Inside the DC City limits.

What do I mean that it will bounce back? We saw a drastic reduction in buyer interest in DC properties in the past year.

The neighborhoods that were “up and coming” had slowed due to increased crime. As I heard from another agent recently who brought a buyer to one of my listings, “The third time her car got stolen she knew it was time to move.”

Well. There was that.

In 2023, homicides in the city hit a 20 year high, at 274. But in 2024, crime was down in all categories. Homicides were down over 30%, Robbery down 40% and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon down 27%.

How did the people of DC respond?

In late 2024, the Mayor’s office released data that DC had the biggest single-year population gain since 2013. The District added 15,000 residents from July 2023 to July 2024. That’s pretty good considering it put the city over the 700,000 mark for population.

Administration Changes Will Change Nothing in Real Estate

Everyone believes that there’s this huge exodus of people who leave DC when the administration changes. That’s not true. Here’s a chart to prove this. These are close sales, by month, going back a decade. Look at the election years – 2016, 2020 – do you see any outliers in those years? No. They look like all the other years. So why do people believe this? The short answer is “I don’t know.”

When a new administration comes in with all new people, yes, some of them buy homes. But often, the homes you hear about them buying are the high dollar homes. It makes a great headline, right? But, for every $2M+ home that is purchased by some high-ranking official in the new administration, there are probably 25 homes that aren’t purchased that you won’t hear about.

Incoming people often leave a family behind in another state and commute back and forth. They may purchase a small pied a terre or they may rent. Those in the administration that is leaving office find jobs elsewhere. They don’t just pick up and leave DC because the administration changed. There are plenty of jobs here and they have plenty of connections to secure one of those jobs. Leaving DC would accomplish nothing for them really. They would have fewer job prospects in most other cities. Thus, administration changes really don’t change anything.

Back to the Office

All those empty office buildings eventually had to come back to life. Some have been turned into residential buildings, but other companies have said, “It’s time to come back.”

Trump has made no secret of the fact that he’s going to get people back to the office. Every day. He’s also enlisted Elon Musk to head up Government Efficiency so that should be interesting. I love that name; it’s the world’s best oxymoron. Initial reports stated that they were going to eliminate 100,000 jobs. Will this actually happen? No one knows. Election promises, as we all know, operate in a vacuum. These two can’t unilaterally cut 100,000 jobs, but yes, there will probably be shakeups.

What happens if 100,000 jobs are actually cut? Many of those people will go on to find employment elsewhere. I don’t worry about things until they happen and if they do, the metro area has enough opportunity to absorb those employees into other agencies or the private sector.

Different Price Points, Different Realities

I’ve had this conversation with probably a dozen different buyers over the past six months. When interest rates were low, every price point was affected. Buyers for the $200,000 homes and buyers for the $2M homes were all rushing to snap something up to get the low interest rate locked in for 30 years. When the mortgage rates went up above 7% this past year, most people thought that buying activity would soften across the board. But, surprisingly, it didn’t.

Those in the luxury price points were unaffected. Luxury in the DC Area used to mean $1M or more, but now $1M for a house can be a starting price for many first-time buyers. The buyers in that $1M – $1.4/$1.5M price point were also mostly unaffected. There was slightly less competition. Instead of 5 buyers per home, maybe it was 2-3 buyers.

The biggest changes happened in the sub $600,000 price point. When rates were 3%, there were 10 or 15 buyers for the $500,000 and $600,000 homes. That’s a first-time buyer price point for many buyers. When the rates went up, the number of buyers at those price points, and lower, went from maybe 10 buyers per home down to no buyers or just one buyer. Interesting, right? Why though?

If you think about it, these are entry level price points in this area. You can find homes in some areas for $300,000 and it’s the same story there as it is in the $500,000 to $600,000 price point. The buyer for these homes has a tighter budget, less in savings usually and something like a point or two in an interest rate increase can take them right out of the market.

The good news though is that for those who are left, this is a sweet spot right now! Will it remain this way? I expect the luxury market to continue full steam ahead, business as usual in 2025. I expect more buyers in the sub $600,000 price point to start returning back into the market, but I don’t know that we’ll see them back in full force until 2026 when mortgage rates are expected to come down once again.

Two people were killed in separate apartment fires over the course of 24 hours in the nation’s capital this weekend.

D.C. Fire and EMS responded to 13th Street NW near Park Road NW just before 10 p.m. on Friday night following reports of a blaze on the second floor of a three-story apartment. First responders found a man with life-threatening injuries and rushed him to the hospital, but he died Saturday morning.

Firefighters then responded to another blaze at a separate three-story apartment on Newton Street near 18th Street NW. Responders found a woman with lifethreatening injuries on the first floor, and she too died of her injuries in the hospital later Saturday.

Authorities have not released any information about the identities of the two victims. Authorities say the blaze at the woman’s apartment has rendered the whole building unlivable, displacing five people, according to WTOP.

ORLANDO DRONE SHOW CRASH CAUSED BY ‘COMBINED ERRORS’ THAT LED TO MISALIGNED FLIGHT PATH: NTSB REPORT

Investigators have yet to determine the cause of either fire, the outlet reported.

The blazes came after a week of heavy police presence in Washington, D.C., thanks to the inauguration ceremony for President Donald Trump.

DOGE REPS LAUNCH MEETINGS WITH FEDERAL STAFFERS IN EFFORT TO CUT GOVERNMENT WASTE: REPORT

Thousands of officers and agents from the Department of Homeland Security, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department, U.S. Capitol Police, the FBI, U.S. Secret Service and the National Guard swarmed Capitol Hill and elsewhere in the city throughout the week.

D.C. Fire and EMS Dept officers respond to a blaze in Washington, D.C. (DC Fire and EMS Dept)

The National Guard said it deployed some 7,800 troops to the inauguration.

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Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said city police officers were joined by nearly 4,000 officers from across the country who volunteered to provide support on Inauguration Day.