Washington, D.C
Washington DC gets 'Trump Bump' in luxury home market
The Connor Group founder and managing partner discusses what needs to happen to unleash the housing market and the impact of regulations on rebuilding California following the wildfires.
The Washington, D.C.-area has been enjoying a “Trump Bump” in its luxury home market.
That so-called “Trump Bump” started around November, when the nation’s capital saw a major increase in demand for luxury homes worth at least $5 million, and has continued into the new year, according to The Agency DC managing partner Nurit Coombe.
“Usually, houses above $5 million in November, for example, a year ago, there were eight sales or so,” she told FOX Business in an interview this week. “Between November, December, we had 20 sales above $5 million, a huge jump, and a lot of cash buyers.”
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 19: The U.S. Capitol is shown at sunrise the day before President-elect Donald Trump’s 2nd term inauguration January 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) (Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)
“That’s a lot of sales,” Coombe noted, because the D.C. luxury market “doesn’t have that much inventory.”
BOZEMAN, MONTANA HOME TO A BOOMING REAL ESTATE MARKET
There are less than 30 single-family homes above $5 million – and even less in the ultra-luxury category – on the market in the D.C. area, according to The Agency DC managing partner. She said several luxury homes that had been up for sale for a long time quickly went under contract in November.
More than 60 luxury homes, generally considered those above the $5 million-mark, have sold in the D.C. market since the November election, according to The Agency DC.
“The market right now in DC is very, very strong, very hot, especially in the luxury market, for sure, because as you go up to the top of the price, you don’t have as many buyers, but we actually have more than usual, much more than usual,” Coombe told FOX Business.
Trump’s administration has been a big contributor to the D.C.-area luxury market’s recent surge.
“The administration is a very wealthy administration, and they’re all going to be moving to the area to work from here. You’ve seen in the prior administration, it was not as wealthy, much less wealthy administration people who moved in, and some did not move in really full-time … So here you see a complete shift where we move in the whole family, we’re going to be here full-time, and very wealthy people are moving into the area, so there’s a lot of demand,” she said.
However, they aren’t the only ones providing fuel.
“It’s also the big companies, the attorneys, they’re moving as well. There are people that are more aligned with the new administration, so a lot of that is happening,” Coombe added. “CEOs of companies, their support staff, the attorneys, a lot of consultants for big companies.”
The skyline of Washington, DC, including the US Capitol building, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and National Mall, is seen from the air, January 29, 2010. AFP PHOTO / Saul LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images) (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Kalorama, Foxhall, Georgetown and Kent are among some of the neighborhoods in the nation’s capital benefiting from the “Trump Bump.”
Some recent sales include a $25 million transaction in Foxhall and a $10.5 million deal in Georgetown, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Demand in the D.C. luxury market has gone up 18% year-over year, according to Coombe.
She also said parts of the broader D.C., Maryland and Virginia area, known as the DMV, have “definitely” seen more luxury demand in recent months as well, such as neighborhoods in Bethesda, North Bethesda and McLean.
Aside from luxury homes, townhouses and condos have been in high-demand.
THESE WERE THE MOST EXPENSIVE HOMES SOLD IN 2024, ACCORDING TO REDFIN
The “government employee situation” is also making the D.C.-area real estate market more dynamic, according to Coombe.
Trump issued an order to bring federal workers back into the office full-time in late January. His administration has offered buyouts to many federal workers to leave their jobs or start doing in-person work, Fox News Digital reported.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN – AUGUST 26: Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump during the National Guard Association of the United States’ 146th General Conference & Exhibition at Huntington Place Convention Center on Augu (Emily Elconin/Getty Images / Getty Images)
“This is an interesting shift to watch, because when you’re looking at government employees, it’s not necessarily the upper echelon, it’s not necessarily the high luxury, it’s the more mid,” Coombe said. “There’s a lot of people who took the incentive the government offered to leave the government and when you see that, a lot of them are not staying in the area.”
Meanwhile, others are moving back to the area because they have to work in the office full-time again, she said.
It “depends on the policies” whether the D.C. market’s “Trump Bump” will continue, according to Coombe.
“Everybody’s watching what’s going to happen with the government employees, what’s going to happen with the international tax that we have, what’s going to happen in the stock market and obviously the mortgage,” she posited. “I think the lenders are sitting tight and watching.”
The nationwide 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.87% on average the week of Feb. 13, according to Freddie Mac. That marked a 0.02 percentage-point decline from the prior week.
BENTONVILLE, AR IS GROWING RAPIDLY, WHICH HAS FUELED A HOT REAL ESTATE MARKET
She said that homebuyers in the D.C. area have become accustomed to the current level of rates and that the rates have not really affected D.C.’s luxury market in particular, noting more than 60% of buyers in that category since November have paid “all cash” or “heavy cash.”
D.C. had 5 sales of ultra-luxury homes worth at least $10 million in 2024, according to a recent Compass report. Those sales amounted to $67.85 million combined.
In January, homes in the D.C. and Montgomery County real estate market sold for a median of $552,500, according to the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors.
Washington, D.C
‘Strong smell’ shuts down flights at major DC-area airports for the second time this month
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A reported “strong smell” at a key air traffic control center disrupted flights Friday evening at major airports across the Washington, D.C., region for the second time in two weeks.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily halted flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI), Charlottesville–Albemarle Airport (CHO) and Richmond International Airport (RIC), the agency told FOX Business in an email.
The FAA said the disruptions were due to a “strong smell” at the Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) center, which manages airspace in the region.
GROUND STOP LIFTED AT MAJOR DC-AREA AIRPORTS AFTER CHEMICAL ODOR DISRUPTS AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL
An FAA air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
It was not immediately clear what caused the smell.
Ground stops at Dulles, Reagan National and BWI remained in effect until around 8 p.m. ET before being lifted, according to the FAA’s website.
NEWARK AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS LOST RADAR, RADIO COMMUNICATIONS WITH PLANES FOR OVER A MINUTE, SPARKING CHAOS
The FAA said the disruption was due to a “strong smell” at the Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) center. (Flightradar24)
As of 8:30 p.m., Reagan National was experiencing ground delays, while BWI continued to see departure delays.
Earlier this month, a ground stop was similarly issued at several airports in the Washington, D.C., region after a chemical odor was detected at the TRACON center.
FATAL LAGUARDIA COLLISION RENEWS FOCUS ON RUNWAY INCURSION RISKS ACROSS US
Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy speaks at a news conference at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images / Getty Images)
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The temporary ground stop March 13 similarly affected DCA, IAD, BWI and RIC, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at the time.
Duffy said the smell came from an overheated circuit board, which has since been replaced.
Washington, D.C
50 years of DC Metro: A look back in photos
One family, four generations with DC Metro
As Metro celebrates 50 years of service, one D.C. family is marking the milestone with a legacy of their own — four generations who have all worked on the system, helping keep the region moving for decades.
WASHINGTON – D.C. residents got on their first Metro train 50 years ago on March 27, 1976. Here’s a look back at the beginning.
Connecticut Avenue; NW; looking south. evening traffic-jams are aggravated by metro subway construction in Washington D.C. ca. 1973 (Photo by: HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
View of the Metro Center subway station (at 13th and G Streets NW) during its construction, Washington DC, November 16, 1973. (Photo by Warren K Leffler/PhotoQuest/Getty Images)
Standing in the cavernous tunnel, planners wearing hard hats discuss the construction progress of the Metro Center subway station at the intersection of 13th and G Streets in Washington, DC, November 16, 1973. (Photo by Leffler/Library of Congress/In
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 07: FILE, Metro construction miners and blasters on a jumbo drill outside the hole they are working on at Rock Creek Parkway and Cathedral Ave NW in Washington, DC on November 7, 1973. (Photo by James K.W Atherton/The Washin
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 4: FILE, View of the Post Office at North Capital and Mass Avenue NE, and 1st NE where subway tunnels were being constructed in Washington, DC on March 4, 1974. (Photo by Joe Heiberger/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 29: FILE, Workers rig a pipe at the entrance to the Rosslyn Metro Station in Washington DC on August 29, 1974 (Photo by Larry Morris/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 27: FILE, The crowd at Rhode Island Station on opening day of the Washington Metro on March 27, 1976. (Photo by James A. Parcell/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 28: FILE, Reverend Leslie E. Smith of the Episcopal Church, right, and George Docherty of New York Avenue Presbyterian church hold a joint service at the new Metro Center station in Washington, DC on March 28, 1976. (Photo by D
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 1: FILE, An aerial view of metro construction where it crosses the Washington Channel. The Potomac River, the Pentagon and Northern Virginia can be seen in the distance. (Photo by Ken Feil/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 27: FILE, A packed train of commuters on the Silver Spring metro on the Red Line on January 27, 1987. (Photo by Dudley M. Brooks/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 4: FILE, Thousands of people press their way into the Smithsonian Subway station after the Independence Day fireworks in Washington, DC on July 4, 1979. (Photo by Lucian Perkins/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Washington, D.C
Pop-up museum in DC features the scandal that changed American history – WTOP News
Among the liquor store, barber shop and dry cleaners at the Watergate Complex’s retail plaza, there is a new pop-up museum dedicated to the scene of the crime that toppled Richard Nixon’s presidency.
Among the liquor store, barber shop and dry cleaners at the Watergate Complex’s retail plaza, there is a new pop-up museum dedicated to the scene of the crime that toppled Richard Nixon’s presidency.
The temporary exhibit features the work of artist Laurie Munn — portraits of members of the Nixon administration and those connected to the Watergate break-in. The exhibit features members of Congress, the media and some who were on Nixon’s enemies list.
Keith Krom, chair of the Board of Directors of the Watergate Museum, told WTOP the exhibit was first featured in the gallery in 2012 for the 40th anniversary of the break-in at the Democratic National Committee.
“When she (Munn) learned about our museum effort, she offered to reassemble them as a way for us to expand awareness of the museum,” Krom said.
Krom, who lives in the Watergate, said his favorite portrait is of one of the special prosecutors, whose firing sparked the “Saturday Night Massacre” in 1973.
“I had the pleasure of being a student of Archibald Cox,” Krom said. “He served as my mentor for my third-year writing project.”
Krom said during this time, at the Boston University School of Law, he spent a great deal of time with him.
“I didn’t realize how much he must have gone through. Here he was, this one man, who was challenging the president of the United States over something pretty serious,” Krom said.
The pop-up opened in October and was recently extended to stay open until April 25. Krom said the hope is to find it a permanent location within the Watergate Complex, where they can “present the history of Watergate, but with two perspectives.”
The first would be on the building’s “architectural significance to D.C.,” he said.
“You may not like the design, you actually may hate it,” Krom said. “But you cannot deny that it changed D.C.’s skyline.”
The secondary focus would, of course, be on the mother of all presidential scandals that changed the course of American history.
“That’s where that suffix ‘-gate’ started and continues to be used for almost every scandal that comes out today,” Krom said.
The inspiration for the museum spawned from an interaction from a tourist outside the Watergate.
“He says, ‘This is the Watergate, right?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s one of the buildings,’” Krom recalled.
The tourist then asked Krom, “So where’s the museum?”
“I was like, ‘Oh, we don’t have a museum.’ And he literally just looked at me and said, ‘That’s so sad.’ And he got on his bike and rode away,” Krom said.
While the self-proclaimed political history nerd said he “still gets goose bumps” when he drives by the Capitol at night, Krom hopes that when people leave the museum, “they’ll walk away with a new appreciation for how our government works, the guardrails that are in place.”
“Maybe an understanding that those guardrails themselves are kind of frail, and they probably need our collective help in making sure they last — that’s what we hope to accomplish,” Krom said.
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