Investing in Washington DC/Maryland Area

[Charlene Isoh]

HI Guys,

I finally made a decision to make the move to Washington DC in two months, I am really looking to buy a duplex or triplex that is "relatively" inexpensive ( my budget is around the 300k range I know that this could be a  tall order being that the market isn't only hot but the location is a bit more of the expensive markets. I would love to house hack for a year or two and rinse and repeat. Please keep in mind that i am open to surrounding areas if that 300k price point is unattainable, I also don't mind looking into c+ (up and coming) areas either.  I would love to connect with experienced real estate investors and investor friendly real estate agents that could give a me a few pointers breaking into this market! 

[Russell Brazil]

The DC area has an extremely low number of multifamily properties compared to other areas. Many people who move here from areas with a lot of multis have a hard time wrapping their mind around this.  So with low supply, also comes high demand, and thus higher prices on multis.  Also take into account that typically your highest and best use of  a multi is a condo conversion...so as the low number of multis we have get carved up into condos, that further pushes prices up as the supply becomes lower.

To give you an idea, I just brokered a deal for a 2 unit in a C area, in the neighborhood of Trinidad for $620k.  I am about to broker a very similar property in the same neighborhood for a similar price.  For under  $300k for a duplex, you would be looking at more like D areas, neighborhoods like Congress Heights, Naylor Gardens, Hillcrest, Washington Highlands.