As Washington prepares for Donald Trump’s return to the White House next month, one sector is already counting its blessings: the District’s high-end real estate market.
With billionaires and power players expected to flood the nation’s capital, brokers are gearing up for a slew of multimillion-dollar deals in elite neighborhoods like Kalorama and Massachusetts Heights.
“I think we’re going to see some big transaction numbers again starting around January,” Michael Rankin, principal at Sotheby’s International Realty in DC, told Curbed. These big spenders, he added, have been waiting for clarity before splashing out on properties.
“People don’t want to spend $5, $10, $15 million if they don’t know if they’re going to be confirmed or not. But what we know about the people who are coming is that it’s the class of multimillionaires and multibillionaires.”
Trump’s first term saw a buying spree from his inner circle. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross dropped $12 million on a Beaux-Arts mansion, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin shelled out $12.58 million for a 16,000-square-foot estate, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson snagged a $5.5 million house in Kalorama.
This time, brokers are already fielding questions from high-profile officials, though NDAs keep the details under wraps. Kalorama, known for its palatial homes and diplomatic residents, is likely to see most of the activity.
“It’s a more palatial atmosphere in Kalorama compared to Georgetown,” Washington lady Sally Quinn once told Esquire during Trump’s first term as president. “Bigger, newer homes.”
That said, Georgetown, with its liberal reputation, is unlikely to host many members of Trump’s team.
“I haven’t heard of any of Trump’s people living in Georgetown,” Quinn added.
But not all the noise is positive.
Trump’s plans to cut the federal workforce could send shockwaves through the middle- and middle-class housing market, with agencies like HHS and the EPA bracing for layoffs.
“My team has had a number of calls from people at the agency … saying, ‘We don’t know what’s going on, but we might have to sell,'” Eva Davis, an executive vice president at Compass, told Curbed.
There is also concern that Trump’s team may not be as invested in D.C. as past administrations, given his penchant for Florida and New York.
“I think this administration doesn’t spend as much time in the District as other administrations,” added one broker.
Even Elon Musk, one of Trump’s wealthiest allies, seems unlikely to make a splash in the domestic market. “He’s not a big homebody,” Rankin said.
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