Homes are becoming easier to buy in the nation’s capital, a leading economist says, especially when compared to 20 years ago.
“The change that stands out the most to me is that D.C. is a market where housing has gotten more affordable,” Zillow’s chief economist, Mischa Fisher, said.
“Right now, if you look in the D.C. metro, we have home values having come down ever so slightly year-over-year, about 0.4%. And that combination of slightly lower home values, plus slightly higher incomes, is really helping the affordability situation,” he said.
Fisher said the D.C. market is also benefiting from some major factors.
“D.C. has a very educated workforce, and it’s home to several of the top income ZIP codes in the country,” Fisher said. “That combination of high education and high-paying jobs has helped make housing more affordable.”
He said the greater Washington region has also managed to accommodate the demand for new homes.
“I think most people who drive around or take the train see those pockets where we built new housing supply, whether that’s new single-family homes, new townhomes or new higher rise multifamily homes — and all of those things have also helped keep a lid on some of the growth in costs,” Fisher said.
Fisher said Richmond, Buffalo and Hartford are hot markets right now, but he called Washington “balanced.”
“I would not characterize it as a market that’s going to be completely back to normal,” he said. “And it’s not on our list of hot markets where we expect major supply demand imbalances.”
“I would characterize it as 65 and sunny,” he added.
Fun fact, the typical home value in the D.C. metro back in February 2006 was $423,872. In January 2026, the typical home value was $567,377.
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