Often people who live outside of the DC area ask about how the local real estate market changes after a Presidental election. The myth is that after an election there should be an influx of new folks and of course an equal number of people leaving.
Certainly if every Presidential appointee and every member of congress along with their staff changed hands it would be close to 27,000 jobs. Most members of congress are maintaining a residence in their home district and can't afford to buy a home in the DC or surrounding areas. Junior staffers don't make enough money to live on their own or are in shared rentals in the area and often senior staffers have been in the area for sometime.
You can look at the chart of sold listings in Northern Virginia for recent elections and see very little change after an election. In 2010 when there was the biggest change in Congress the total sales increase for the entire year was less than 1%. For the most part elections don't play into home sale changes in the area.
Though elections don't play a role the change of housing inventory in our area they can play a huge role in the housing market in general. This fall Congress needs to determine whether they will extend the tax break on short sales which is scheduled to end on December 31, 2012. If the tax break is not extended we could see more underwater mortgage holders deciding foreclosure is the better option. Time to get in touch with your elected officials to let them know your support for extending the tax credit.
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