Washington DC Real Estate Market drops 14 spots in rankings by the Urban Land Institute

The DC metropolitan area is ranked as the 22nd strongest market in the US for 2014, based on interviews with respondents representing various segments of the real estate industry according to the report Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2014, published by the real estate practice of the PwC consulting firm and the Urban Land Institute:

Washington, D.C., was a favorite of survey respondents during the economic downturn and the early stages of the recovery. The consistency provided by the federal government sector supported the market while other markets dealt with falling employment. However, what was once viewed as an asset is now viewed as a liability. The Washington, D.C., market may well be suffering from “fed fatigue” as weariness over a government shutdown and uncertainty over the future of government spending, even when combined with a healthy supply pipeline, have made market participants cautious about the prospects for returns.

The top 10 markets are San Francisco, Houston, San Jose, New York City, Dallas/Fort Worth, Seattle, Austin, Miami, Boston, and Orange County, California.

Trends identified in the report include the availability of credit, the impact of the Millennial Generation on how space is organized, where they live (urban over suburban), and how they get around, changing demands for space (less space per worker in office settings, urban retail, reconfiguration of industrial space),