Good morning, Washington. Say you’re like some of us, and pretty much convinced at this point that you’ll never be able to buy a home in Washington, D.C. The combo of home prices still being relatively high despite the downturn in the real estate market, and a stubborn refusal to attend law school, just sure makes it seem like home ownership will always be a pipe dream for many of us. Well the Center for Housing Policy has put out its annual report, and it only confirms our suspicions: it shows that the median price of a home in D.C. in 2007 was $371,000, meaning a buyer would have to have an annual household income of $121,197 to qualify for the median home. Sure, it’s not as bad as some cities like San Francisco or Los Angeles, but it’s still pretty grim when you consider the median household income in D.C. is right around $45,000.

Dulles Rail Hullabaloo: Va. Gov. Tim Kaine was running all over town yesterday trying to convince everyone that the Dulles Rail plan wasn’t actually dead just because federal funding is now in question. But when a Gov. starts prepping people for the possibility of much higher tolls, even if he does say he doesn’t support that idea at this time, you can bet the outlook, as the magic eight ball says, is not so good.

District Announces Neighborhood Development Financing: Mayor Fenty announced a new project Tuesday designed to encourage neighborhood development that puts $95 million toward new building projects. The city has identified six corridors on which it would like to see new development that would qualify for the financing: Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE; South Capitol Street; H Street NE; 7th Street/Georgia Avenue NW; Minnesota Avenue-Benning Road and Pennsylvania Avenue SE. Think any crucial corridors were left out of that list?

Briefly Noted: Washington Academy charter school will close in a month due to financial problems … MPD detective accused of assaulting prisoner … Dozens of frozen ferrets found in Virginia Beach home … Woman escapes abduction attempt in Takoma Park.

This Day in DCist: In 2007 we wondered how there could be yet another fire at the Farragut North metro station, and in 2006 we took on those horrifying new neighborhood nicknames real estate developers seem intent on using.

Photo by m hoek