New Parcl Labs map shows what percentage of active listings are losing money! DC Leading the country at 18.6%. Ouch.
It's hard to believe what this chart is saying. 18.6% of the homes listed for sale in Washington, DC are underwater. Meaning, the active list price is less than what the current seller paid when they acquired the property. I was curious, so I opened up Redfin and decided to hunt for a few to see if roughly 1 out of 5 is true. Here is what I found:
- 635 20th St NE - Listed $399,999 - Last Sold June 2019 for $475,000 [Kingman Park]
- 301 K St NE #1 - Listed $699,000 - Last Sold Sept 2020 for $755,000 [H St Corridor]
- 2016 4th St NE #2 - Listed for $549,900 - Last Sold Dec 2019 for $815,000 [Eckington]
- 1534 15th St NW - Listed $1,380,000 - Last Sold July 2020 for $1,495,000 [Logan Circle]
- 4016 Georgia Ave NW #2 - Listed $469,000 - Last Sold May 2019 for $479,900 [Petworth]
I have to say, it felt like 1 out of 5...but it's probably even higher than that if we were measuring what sellers would be walking away with. As an example, I found quite a few properties selling for $5k-$15k more than their original sale price...but if we assume selling fees are 6-7.5% of the sale price, the true underwater count is likely a good bit higher.
Many people in real estate say, "It always goes up"...which, stretched out far enough in time, is very true. But in many cases, it moves the same way a Yo-Yo tracks going up an escalator. The direction can be up, but there are many periods when it's actually lower than it was recently.
My personal feeling is that the commuting burbs of DC (NOVA & Montgomery County) benefited from DC's demise. Work-from-home freedoms, desire for more space, people beginning to have kids later in life, etc.- all that pushed people out during the lockdown phase of the pandemic. Moving forward, I wouldn't be shocked if we see the suburban markets plateau, or even drop in some areas...all while DC becomes more stable and resumes appreciation.
Does anyone have an opinion on DC from a real estate investment standpoint? I think over the next few years, it will outperform for a bunch of different reasons...but the easiest to point to is that it's been beaten up so bad, and the causes of the beatdown appear to be reversing and becoming tailwinds.
I'm curious to hear your thoughts!
Posted Sep 12, 2026, 9:29 PM UTC