It was a friend and editor at Washingtonian magazine who first suggested (just a day after the election) that I could easily rent some space in my large group house during Barack Obama's inauguration in January. Sure enough, sublease ads popped up overnight after the election on Craigslist like little mushrooms of hope. One ad was posted before the next U.S. president was even declared.

Exactly how much change Barack Obama is bringing to D.C. homeowners and renters in January? This is a matter of debate. The first ad posted (the first that remains on Craigslist, anyway) matches entrepreneurial spirit with prudence: $85 per night for a studio in Rosslyn. A two-bedroom condo at Vermont Ave and V Street NW is subletting a room for $500 a night (with three-night minimum), more than likely making up the cost for the rest of the condo for a month. Some clearly seek to profit: One two-bed/two-bath apartment in Pentagon City is going for $6K. Not a few ads offer week-long stays for five figures—while cheaper offers are still to be found, so long as you're willing to trek in from Baltimore. And would-be hoteliers have begun talking up services like breakfast and inauguration agendas.

Pace the Washington Post, by every indication every D.C. hotel room that can be rented, has been rented. At what price are people in D.C. willing to give up their rooms and homes? What do you have to offer, and what do you expect in return? What's going to be your neighborhood's selling point?

Photo by erin m.