“For years, the D.C. rental market has been best known for fast-rising rents – but it looks like that might finally be changing.”

via apartments.com

From an email:

“For years, the D.C. rental market has been best known for fast-rising rents – but it looks like that might finally be changing.

According to the inaugural D.C. Rental Market Snapshot, released today by Apartments.com, the balance of power in D.C. is beginning to tip in renters’ favor. Here are a few of the reasons why:

Inventory is way up. A recent surge in supply – owed to the development of 15,500 new apartment units in Washington last year – has led to rents rising by just 1.4 percent from July 2014 to July 2015. That’s significantly less than the national average increase of 3.9 percent.

There’s a “flight to quality” happening in the market. Property owners are loading up on attractive amenities like rooftop pools, dog-washing stations and private theaters to make their units stand out in a crowded market. That means renters are finding themselves with more (and better) amenities than ever before.

Renters can score valuable incentives from buildings trying to lease-up. While move-in incentives are drying up in a lot of markets, D.C. renters can still find buildings that will offer as much as two months of free rent for new lessees.

Renters have a menu of neighborhoods to choose from, each with its own unique market dynamics. Up-and-coming neighborhoods like Shaw, the H Street Corridor and Navy Yard are filling up fast, with vacancy rates dropping 5 percent since last year.”