WASHINGTON, DC—Leasing, at least in the office space, may be on a slow track, but investment sales in the DC area are anything but. This year JLL predicts investment sales in the District could go as high as $22.3 billion, compared to last year's $18 billion.

Simply put, investors—especially foreign-based companies—like Washington's DC story and its status as a gateway market, Wes Boatwright, managing director of JLL's Capital Markets, tells GlobeSt.com. "We are still the capitol of the U.S. government and while there has been a slowdown in government spending and debate about such issues as the budget or debt ceiling, this is primarily where most government dollars are spent."

Another lure for investors is that increasingly many of the District's submarkets have moved to become 24-hour work-play-live destinations, encouraging investment from a range of sectors. The southwest waterfront is a prime example: just this week PN Hoffman announced it was developing a 105,000-square foot, 108-unit condominium building at The Wharf.

This is not to diminish the area's financial struggles, but investors do not see them as long-term trends, Boatwright says. "The DC area has been impacted by larger macroeconomic and political trends but its fundamental characteristic of being a safe haven remains intact," he says.

DC also comes out on top when investors weigh, as they always do, opportunities and risks in other markets, he continues. Secondary or tertiary locations are not necessarily a bargain when risks are factored in, he says. And while there is certainly evidence that investors are spreading into these markets they are not jettisoning DC in the process. "Many of these companies will blend their portfolios to get just the right balance of risk and return," Boatwright says.