Washington DC gets ‘Trump Bump’ in luxury home market

The Washington, D.C.-area has been enjoying a “Trump Bump” in its luxury home market. 

That so-called “Trump Bump” started around November, when the nation’s capital saw a major increase in demand for luxury homes worth at least $5 million, and has continued into the new year, according to The Agency DC managing partner Nurit Coombe.  

“Usually, houses above $5 million in November, for example, a year ago, there were eight sales or so,” she told FOX Business in an interview this week. “Between November, December, we had 20 sales above $5 million, a huge jump, and a lot of cash buyers.”  

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 19: The U.S. Capitol is shown at sunrise the day before President-elect Donald Trump’s 2nd term inauguration January 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) (Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)

“That’s a lot of sales,” Coombe noted, because the D.C. luxury market “doesn’t have that much inventory.”

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There are less than 30 single-family homes above $5 million – and even less in the ultra-luxury category – on the market in the D.C. area, according to The Agency DC managing partner. She said several luxury homes that had been up for sale for a long time quickly went under contract in November. 

More than 60 luxury homes, generally considered those above the $5 million-mark, have sold in the D.C. market since the November election, according to The Agency DC.   

“The market right now in DC is very, very strong, very hot, especially in the luxury market, for sure, because as you go up to the top of the price, you don’t have as many buyers, but we actually have more than usual, much more than usual,” Coombe told FOX Business. 

Trump’s administration has been a big contributor to the D.C.-area luxury market’s recent surge.

“The administration is a very wealthy administration, and they’re all going to be moving to the area to work from here. You’ve seen in the prior administration, it was not as wealthy, much less wealthy administration people who moved in, and some did not move in really full-time … So here you see a complete shift where we move in the whole family, we’re going to be here full-time, and very wealthy people are moving into the area, so there’s a lot of demand,” she said. 

However, they aren’t the only ones providing fuel.

“It’s also the big companies, the attorneys, they’re moving as well. There are people that are more aligned with the new administration, so a lot of that is happening,” Coombe added. “CEOs of companies, their support staff, the attorneys, a lot of consultants for big companies.” 

The skyline of Washington, DC, including the US Capitol building, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and National Mall, is seen from the air, January 29, 2010. AFP PHOTO / Saul LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images) (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Kalorama, Foxhall, Georgetown and Kent are among some of the neighborhoods in the nation’s capital benefiting from the “Trump Bump.” 

Some recent sales include a $25 million transaction in Foxhall and a $10.5 million deal in Georgetown, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Demand in the D.C. luxury market has gone up 18% year-over year, according to Coombe. 

She also said parts of the broader D.C., Maryland and Virginia area, known as the DMV, have “definitely” seen more luxury demand in recent months as well, such as neighborhoods in Bethesda, North Bethesda and McLean.

Aside from luxury homes, townhouses and condos have been in high-demand.

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The “government employee situation” is also making the D.C.-area real estate market more dynamic, according to Coombe. 

Trump issued an order to bring federal workers back into the office full-time in late January. His administration has offered buyouts to many federal workers to leave their jobs or start doing in-person work, Fox News Digital reported. 

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – AUGUST 26: Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump during the National Guard Association of the United States’ 146th General Conference & Exhibition at Huntington Place Convention Center on Augu (Emily Elconin/Getty Images / Getty Images)

“This is an interesting shift to watch, because when you’re looking at government employees, it’s not necessarily the upper echelon, it’s not necessarily the high luxury, it’s the more mid,” Coombe said. “There’s a lot of people who took the incentive the government offered to leave the government and when you see that, a lot of them are not staying in the area.”

Meanwhile, others are moving back to the area because they have to work in the office full-time again, she said. 

It “depends on the policies” whether the D.C. market’s “Trump Bump” will continue, according to Coombe. 

“Everybody’s watching what’s going to happen with the government employees, what’s going to happen with the international tax that we have, what’s going to happen in the stock market and obviously the mortgage,” she posited. “I think the lenders are sitting tight and watching.” 

The nationwide 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.87% on average the week of Feb. 13, according to Freddie Mac. That marked a 0.02 percentage-point decline from the prior week. 

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She said that homebuyers in the D.C. area have become accustomed to the current level of rates and that the rates have not really affected D.C.’s luxury market in particular, noting more than 60% of buyers in that category since November have paid “all cash” or “heavy cash.” 

D.C. had 5 sales of ultra-luxury homes worth at least $10 million in 2024, according to a recent Compass report. Those sales amounted to $67.85 million combined.

In January, homes in the D.C. and Montgomery County real estate market sold for a median of $552,500, according to the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors.