January 23, 2006

You Gotta Comment?!?

GOLD DOWN THOSE STREETS. True the wind has been taken out of the sails of the real estate market, but that does not mean there are no great investment opportunities left in DC real estate. Condo flippers please disregard this post because you must be patient.

How about H St. NE. As the Washington Examiner points out streetcars are coming to link the Union Station and Minnesota Ave. Metro Stations.

The already reviving area will pop not tomorrow but by the end of the decade or so. Remember property along the Greenline was doing very nicely even before everyone went mad and drove prices sky high across the country. In some areas of DC, real estate prices went up for reasons other than just speculative bidding. Wanna make you children wealthy look for property along H Street.

Streetcar details:


  • The 3.5 mile streetcar line is slated to open in 2007;
  • Construction bids will go out this summer;
  • The existing Metrobus lines (X2, X1) along H St. exceeds 20,000 riders daily;
  • Advisory Neighborhood Commissions on the hill already have been advised about
    design details.

Even closer to coming online is the Anacostia streetcar line running roughly North-South on the other side of the other river.

....................

Senate Square and 22 West Condos were added to the directory. ... DC Council does its part on Metro funding. ... It takes money and patience to build a memorial in DC. We have enough of those if you ask me. How about a memorial to the Victims of Communism" in the shape of a park bench, swings and basketball court.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I couldn't agree more. Your friends at Bubblemeter would disagree, but they are just hoping to get out of their renting cycle. I almost bought a house near H St, but it was a bit too far away (L St.). Instead, I bought in Capitol Hill East-another area that is changing rapidly. Yes, speculation and gentrification are interrelated, but they are not the same thing. DC is undergoing a long awaited urban renewal, and it will be more than the median price of housing around the country that determines DC's house prices in the future....there are only so many houses in that small city.

David said...

I strongly agree that the H street Corridor has a great deal of gentrification potential. However, that does not mean I would advice investing in RE there now. Prices will fall there in the next few years in real dollars. Perhaps in a few years it will be a solid investment.

Bubble Meter Blog

dcbubble.blogspot said...

Prices will come down or even hold. But suppose someone is trading up from say a 1 bdroom to a house. This person needs more space and have enough for a down payment. Should this person just wait?

David said...

That is a personal decision. They need to be aware though that prices will fall in real dollars over the next few years in the DC area and that renting is much cheaper for a similiar property then buying now.