Washington, DC has not been one of the fastest growing markets in the nation over the past decade, but two of its 36 submarkets have seen prolific growth. Overall, DC added roughly 122,000 units to inventory in the past 10 years, growing its existing unit count 22%, according to data from RealPage Market Analytics. That growth rate ranked #44 among the nation’s core 150 markets. But two submarkets saw much more impressive growth. Of the 996 submarkets comprising the nation’s core 150 markets, just 24 have doubled in size over the past 10 years, and two of those were in Washington, DC. Of those 24 high growth submarkets, only seven were in urban cores. Both DC submarkets that have doubled in size over the past decade were in the urban core. Navy Yard/Capitol South was the second fastest growing submarket in the nation, behind Dallas’ Frisco area. In fact, Navy Yard/Capitol South nearly tripled its unit count in the past 10 years, growing from 7,644 units in 2nd quarter 2013 to 22,806 units in 2nd quarter 2023, a growth rate of 198%. Meanwhile, the Northeast DC submarket ranked #17, growing 110% with the addition of 14,449 units over the past decade, taking existing stock to 27,568 units. Both those urban core submarkets are expected to continue expanding at accelerated rates. In the year-ending 2nd quarter 2024, Northeast DC’s existing inventory is scheduled to grow 8.4%, while Navy Yard/Capitol South is expected to expand 7%. Both growth rates are well above Washington, DC’s expected average pace of 2.9% in the coming year.
