DistrictDeacon
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- Mar 18, 2011
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The crackdown on low downpayment home buying in DC has been brutal for the mid-range rental market. I'd guess half my friends were thinking about buying a few years ago, but now you need $100k in cash to get a good loan on a $500k place. If you consider tax incentives, $1875 renting is probably around $2500 mortgage wise - right on the $500k sweet spot.
There's just a massive glut of people in DC who make enough to own a pretty decent house but don't have $100k in cash on hand to buy it - and they're all competing for modern rentals on the orange line or in the district.
True - Short of an inheritance or a loan from the family, scraping together $100k while paying off student loans and saving for retirement is near impossible. That's why we will never be buying in DC.