{"id":6501,"date":"2025-05-08T07:22:39","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T11:22:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=6501"},"modified":"2025-05-08T07:22:42","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T11:22:42","slug":"government-efficiency-doge-firings-prompt-a-wave-of-home-selling-in-d-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/government-efficiency-doge-firings-prompt-a-wave-of-home-selling-in-d-c\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cGovernment Efficiency\u201d: DOGE Firings Prompt a Wave of Home Selling in D.C."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The art of the deed transfer is going through some bizarre changes these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have the question marks over tariffs<\/a>. And we\u2019re watching all sorts of housing policies become targets of the Trump administration. In the midst of all the turmoil, are residents being pushed out of our key government city \u2014 by Elon Musk\u2019s DOGE?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cStarting to Look That Way\u201d <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The D.C. area is seeing loads more homes for sale than it saw during last year\u2019s spring season. It\u2019s something Realtor.com <\/em>(media of the National Association of REALTORS\u00ae) and RE\/MAX have been watching since  January. Could part of the cause be the DOGE effect?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By March, Hanna Jones at Realtor.com<\/em> told WTOP News<\/em> it\u2019s \u201cstarting to look that way.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That month, DOGE ended 200,000+ jobs in the federal sector. The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, is a team that\u2019s claiming to save money by (among other things) tearing up grants and agencies, and separating federal workers from their jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April, D.C. homes went on the market at the fastest pace in a decade. Listings were up a whopping 25% from last April. (Contrast that to a 14% rise in listings nationwide.) Redfin released these new stats in the first week of May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reasons to Get Up and Go<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The newly unemployed government workers may decide that the Capital area is too pricey for them to stick around. Some will seek remote work to have more time with their families. Compounding this is the administration\u2019s March decision to close childcare sites in federal buildings. There were more than 80 of these sites supporting federal workers nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, add all that to the impact of elevated inflation, including higher childcare costs, and it\u2019s not hard to imagine workers, particularly female workers, deciding to make major life changes. Many will have no real choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, the U.S. military is also cutting staff positions and closing their childcare operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, a whole lot of people are seeking not only jobs, but licensed childcare services too. And they must go where those offerings exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soaring D.C. Market Falls to Earth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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For years now, available homes have been scarce. But homes are beginning to linger on the market somewhat longer these days, says Realtor.com<\/em>. Bidding wars aren\u2019t flaring \u2014 although it\u2019s true that small, less expensive homes are hot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, more listings are cropping up in certain places. In and around Washington, D.C., the number of active listings have surged for weeks on end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Capital city and its suburbs would, no doubt, suffer the biggest shakeup from firings and buyouts of U.S. government workers. More than one in ten D.C. residents is a federal employee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, there are many reasons for spikes in selling activity. But a clear trend is forming with people leaving Washington, D.C. and its suburbs. The supply of homes is expanding. And that means price inflation should catch a breather. And indeed it is. By March, the price tag on a typical D.C. home was already down 1.6%, year-over-year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Housing supply is up in a number of cities federal workers have long called home. Where else, beside D.C., could we see prices coming down on account of government job cuts?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Markets to Feel the DOGE Effect  <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to a Realtor.com<\/em> rundown of the top 50 U.S. metro areas, which are most likely to have inventories boosted by the DOGE effect? Look to the cities with federal workers making up 2%+ of the employed population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n