Redfin reports that active listings of homes for sale in Washington, D.C. jumped 25.1% year-over-year to the highest level since 2022 during the four weeks ending April 27—the largest gain on record. By comparison, active listings nationwide rose 14.2%—the smallest increase since March 2024.
The report found that new listings in D.C. rose 11.4% year-over-year to the highest level since 2022—nearly double the national gain of 5.8%.
“Quite a few people in D.C. are selling their homes because they’re losing their jobs,” said local Redfin Premier Real Estate Agent Mary Bazargan. “Many of those people are planning to leave the area because the cost of living is high, and they want a new job that allows them to work remotely and be closer to family. I recently worked with a buyer who bid on a home, offered more money than any other buyer and waived all contingencies. Still, the seller ended up going with an all-cash offer because all of the layoff news made them nervous about accepting offers from financed buyers.”
The Numbers Mount
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been reducing the government’s workforce in an attempt to reduce federal spending. According to APM Research Lab, federal jobs represent 11.1% of all jobs in Washington, D.C.—the highest share among major U.S. metros analyzed.
In mid-March, news outlet Government Executive reported that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) placed approximately 60 employees from its Research and Statistics Division on administrative leave. In addition, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) has been in the process of shuttering its Office of Field Policy and Management. According to reports, HUD has notified the American Federation of Government Employees Council that it plans to reduce its staff by nearly 150 employees.
In April, it was reported that the FHFA and Fannie Mae dismissed more than 100 employees from the GSE after they were caught engaging in unethical conduct, including acts of fraud. News of the dismissals came after reports Fannie Mae had laid off 700 employees in the U.S. the previous week, citing ethical violations stemming from allegations of misuse of the company’s Matching Grants Program.
Initial unemployment claims in Washington, D.C. peaked in February, according to state-level data from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Additional layoffs have recently been announced and some of the laid-off workers will become eligible to file for unemployment once their severance has dried up. Bazargan said she has recently received many calls from prospective sellers who expect to find out if they are getting laid off later this month or in June.
A recent Washington Post analysis found that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been among the hardest hit by D.C.-area layoffs, with many of the lost jobs in Montgomery, Frederick, and Prince George’s counties. More than 2,000 job cuts have been made by the HHS in Maryland alone, a staggering stat which will surely impact the D.C. housing market.
Redfin notes that in some ways, the D.C. housing market remains hotter than the U.S. market, with homes selling faster and prices posting larger increases. The median home sale price in D.C. rose 4.1% year-over-year (to $600,964) during the four weeks ending April 27, outpacing the nationwide increase of 1.9% (to $387,855).
“What’s happening with housing inventory in Washington, D.C. could be a sign of what’s to come in other U.S. housing markets,” said Redfin Senior Economist Asad Khan. “And while strong housing demand is buoying prices in D.C., the rest of the country isn’t so hot. Other markets may not be able to absorb further inventory growth without prices softening.”
A Nationwide Ripple Effect?
Some places are seeing even larger supply growth than D.C. For example, nine of the 47 major metros Redfin analyzed posted a bigger increase in active listings during the four weeks ending April 27, led by Denver. Four metros saw a larger increase in new listings, led by Phoenix.
Redfin looked through historical data to rule out the possibility that the surge in D.C. listings is just something that always happens when a new president takes office. It found that listings did jump after Trump’s first inauguration in 2017, but that the increase had dissipated by this time that year, indicating that government layoffs are a factor in today’s increase in listings.
The D.C. metro area is vast, so Redfin also analyzed county-level data to show what is happening with housing supply on a more granular level. Redfin found that active listings are rising fastest on the outskirts of the D.C. regions, where many federal workers and private-sector government contractors live.
In Alexandria, Virginia, for example, active listings jumped 40.9% year-over-year during the four weeks ending April 27—the largest increase among the eight counties Redfin analyzed. Next came Montgomery County, Maryland (38.5%) and Loudoun County, Virginia (36.8%), while D.C. itself posted the smallest increase at 14.9%.
Click here for more on Redfin’s analysis of the D.C. housing market.
