District of Columbia rental market data

IRS records show 32,848 inbound moves and 31,175 outbound moves, leaving a net inflow of 1,673, or 2.5 per 1,000 residents. The income flow points the other way: reported inbound aggregate AGI was $86,003 versus $117,157 outbound, a negative gap of $31,154.

Washington, DC employment also declined 2.3% year over year. Because the migration and employment series cover different periods, they should not be treated as one synchronized trend. Together, however, they show that positive mover counts alone do not establish strengthening tenant demand or income capacity.

Washington, DC's measured metro home value was $584,684, down 0.3% year over year, while the $2,448 asking rent was unchanged. That leaves rent growth 0.3 percentage points above price growth, a small separation rather than broad rent momentum.

The implied gross yield was 5.0%. This is a before-expense measure and does not account for vacancy, maintenance, management, financing, taxes or insurance. Flat asking rents also do not establish the rent achievable for a specific unit.

At a measured price of $584,684 and monthly rent of $2,448, Washington, DC produced a 5.0% gross yield. Median household income was $126,684, the price-to-income ratio was 4.62 and the market rent-to-income measure was 23.2%.

The asking rent was 1.09 times the $2,246 HUD two-bedroom Fair Market Rent. That comparison helps frame rent positioning, but HUD's standard and Zillow's market asking rent are different measures. Neither establishes tenant qualification, unit-level affordability or a property's collectible rent.

Renters occupied 58.5% of District of Columbia housing, while the ACS vacancy rate was 10.1%. Large multifamily buildings represented 42.0% of the stock and single-family homes 32.7%, indicating that rental screening spans materially different property formats.

Among renters, 46.6% spent at least 30% of income on rent, and the median year built was 1958. The burden measure limits how confidently higher rents can be assumed, while the stock age makes property condition an important unmeasured variable. ACS vacancy is a broad housing measure, not the stabilized vacancy rate of an investment property.

District of Columbia county-level Zillow measures show prices down 2.3% and rents down 1.1% year over year, with a 5.2% gross yield. FHFA provides a genuine counter-signal: its index rose 0.4% over one year and 12.6% over five years.

Realtor.com recorded 2,886 active listings, a 53-day median marketing period, price reductions on 17.6% of listings and a 30.3% pending ratio. These measures make acquisition pricing and exit liquidity relevant screening questions. The Zillow, FHFA and listing series use different methods and periods, so their divergence does not establish a single definitive price trajectory.

District of Columbia had a measured effective property-tax rate of 0.59% and a median tax bill of $4,312. Those figures can anchor an initial carrying-cost screen, but they do not establish the bill for a particular property.

The reported FEMA climate loss ratio was 0.05%, and inland flood was the mutually exclusive leading-hazard label for the one measured area. That label is an area-level classification, not evidence that every parcel has inland-flood exposure. Parcel elevation, building characteristics, insurance pricing and mitigation costs are absent.