WASHINGTON – Rising rent prices seem to be the norm in the D.C. metro region, but the cost of an apartment has actually gone down.
The price of a unit in a large apartment complex in the D.C. region fell by about 2 percent last year, according to the research firm Delta Associates. The firm has only seen a year-to-year drop happen in the region two other times in the past 20 years.
Those instances, in 2001 and 2009, were the result of low demand. This time, the price drop was caused by an oversupply of apartments. The issue could hold down the rise of apartment prices until 2017.
While the region as a whole saw prices drop, rent prices did go up slightly in the District as more millennials moved into the city.
Other sub-markets saw more extreme price swings. Older rental properties in some areas — such as Gaithersburg, Md., and Falls Church, Va. — saw major price spikes. Similar properties in Reston, Va., dropped significantly.
Despite the overall drop, the average monthly rent for an apartment at a larger complex in the D.C. region still comes in at a hefty $1,713.
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