Here’s some totally shocking—and by “shocking,” we mean not at all surprising—housing news: the rent is quite damn high in the D.C. market, and continues to get damn higher. Renters in the Washington metropolitan area now pay the second-highest median rates per month, according to data released yesterday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
A typical one-bedroom apartment in the D.C. area cost $1,391 a month in 2011, putting the region behind only San Jose, Calif., where median rent was $1,460. Moreover, The Washington Examiner reports, out of the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the United States, only 11 experienced increases in median rents over 2009. And of those regions, D.C. experienced the greatest increase, jumping from $1,365 in 2009.
Not surprisingly, the Examiner continues, the continuous spike in rents has a lot to do with all those young professionals flocking to this growing city:
“That’s a reflection of a continued interest in the Washington metropolitan area,” said Peter Tatian, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute’s Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center. “Lots of younger [people] in particular are coming here for work, and they’re being attracted by the different amenities and opportunities in this region.”
Debbie Kaplan, chief operating officer of apartment search service Urban Igloo, said young professionals and those getting their first job out of college are frequent customers. For those coming in from out of town, she said, the high rents and scarce listings can be a shock.
“We’ve had people cry when they signed a lease in front of us because they were so relieved and so overwhelmed by the process,” Kaplan said. “We have people call and say they want to live in a one-bedroom, dog-friendly apartment in Dupont Circle with a washer/dryer for $1,400.”
Good luck finding a deal like that. A recent Craigslist ad for a dog-friendly one-bedroom in Dupont Circle asks for $2,100 per month, though without an in-unit washer and dryer. Meanwhile, even windowless apartments in trendy Adams Morgan are filing up. The units being built out of the old skating rink above the Harris Teeter supermarket on Kalorama Road NW will welcome their first tenants on May 4, for monthly rents ranging between $2,000 and $2,300 a month.
