Listings in the Washington, D.C. housing market are surging and prices are being slashed, as the efforts of Donald Trump and Elon Musk to shrink the size of the U.S. federal workforce leave employees uncertain about their future.
Newsweek contacted Zillow and John Burns Research and Consulting for comment by email on Monday morning.
Why It Matters
Trump's return to the White House is directly affecting the Washington, D.C, housing market. The president's executive order calling for federal workers to return to the office or lose their job spurred an increase in demand for homes in the city. At the same time, mass layoffs advised by the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have left federal workers uncertain about their future and whether they would be needing a home in the area at all.
What to Know
As of Monday early morning, there were a total of 2,400 homes listed for sale on Zillow in Washington, D.C, 253 of which had been put on the market in the last seven days and 461 in the last 14 days. More than half the homes currently listed for sale on the real estate platform, 1,489, have been added in the past 90 days.
Some homeowners in Washington, D.C, are not only apparently rushing to sell their properties in the city, but they are also willing to slash prices to attract reluctant buyers. Of the 2,400 homes currently listed for sale on Zillow, 426 have seen a price reduction.
On Zillow, a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom 1,138 square-foot condo in Southwest Washington was listed for $349,900, after a cut of $10,000, and a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom 1,574 square-foot home in Northwest Washington was listed for $1,390,00 after the seller slashed the price by $60,000.
In a recent report, Redfin reported that the Trump administration's mass layoffs of federal workers were upending the Washington, D.C., housing market and they were bound to do the same in cities with high concentrations of federal workers.
In an email to Newsweek, the real estate brokerage said that some of its agents in the D.C. area had experienced customers canceling contracts and/or ending their homebuying searches because of job uncertainty.
What People Are Saying
Finance social media profile Wall Street Mav wrote on X: "The Washington DC housing market is being affected by the layoffs in the federal govt. Now imagine what happens to the rental market and housing market in the USA when 10 to 20 million illegal aliens are deported. Rents and housing prices become affordable again."
Real estate analyst Lance Lambert wrote on X: "I've already received a few messages and DMs from local agents about the cooling effect that DOGE and federal spending cuts are having on D.C.'s housing market Anecdotal noise? or material impact? Will have to wait and see."
In a later post, he added: "At the end of January 2025, active housing inventory for sale was up 36 percent year-over-year in the Washington D.C. metro area. However, it's still 33 percent below pre-pandemic 2019 inventory levels. There, greatest softness in the Washington D.C. metro area is the urban core of the District of Columbia. In particular, condos in the heart of D.C."
Stuart Naranch, a Redfin Premier agent in Washington, D.C, said in a statement shared by the real estate brokerage: "I recently worked with a couple who bought their dream home with me a few years ago, but now they're considering listing because they want to be closer to public transportation. They both work for the government and want a more convenient commute because they'll need to return to in-person work soon."
John Burns Research and Consulting wrote in a recent report: "The DC housing market is already showing signs of hesitancy. Consumers and investors are adopting a wait-and-see approach before proceeding with purchases. New home closings declined by 16 percent in the year leading up to December 2024, according to JBREC's latest DC market analysis, and the resale market appears stagnant."
What's Next
As shrinking the size of the federal government remains one of the Trump administration's priorities, further layoffs within the U.S. federal workforce can be expected in the coming months. Chaos in the Washington, D.C, market might lead the way to a softening of home prices in the city and the wider metropolitan area in the long term, benefiting buyers.
Are you a federal employee living in Washington, D.C., or planning to buy a home there? Let us know how the mass layoffs of federal workers are affecting your plans. Contact g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.
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About the writer
Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek Reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. and European politics, global affairs ... Read more