Trendlines' Step By Step Formula for Success

WASHINGTON, DC-The Washington DC area’s commercial real estate market has much going for it–it is still a top destination for foreign investment for instance; it still is home to a highly-educated workforce; the federal government plans to invest in $9.3 billion on its real estate portfolio under the new budget agreement. But the bottom line for 2014, according to Delta Associates and Transwestern’s Trendlines report, released last week, is this depressing projection: Investment sales volume in the metro area for 2014 will be “modestly” lower than in 2013.

Indeed, office market pricing plateaued in 2013 due to a combination of several performance challenges, to say nothing of the economic uncertainty caused by Congress. The Trendlines report notes that the average sales price per square foot for 2013 was $352 compared with $355 in 2012. On the other hand, pricing for apartments increased last year for both high-rises and garden apartment.