by THO
Several social media users have claimed that there are fears of an impending real estate market crash in Washington DC. Sharing images of houses listed in the area, they pointed out that residents are packing up their belongings and leaving the city en masse.
One X user claimed that more than 4,271 houses were put up for sale in just the last 14 days in Washington, DC. “The rats are running away,” the user said.
Another user blamed Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for the exodus and shared a picture showing 14,825 houses that have been reportedly listed for sale in and around the city. “It’s less of a market shift and more of a mass evacuation, like rats fleeing a sinking ship,” the user said.
Over 500 houses are reportedly on sale in the city for over $1 million, while some are even in the eight-figure range, claimed a senior analyst working for Centre for Security Policy, a think tank that works on policies to keep Americans safe.
A fourth X user shared a timeline of house listings increasing on Zillow, an online real estate marketplace. “Seven days: 201 new homes; 14 days: 378 new homes; 30 days: 706 new homes; 90 days: 1,198 new homes. Is this volume typical for this season?” the user asked.
Hindustan Times checked on Zillow to confirm the speculations and found about 2,400 homes listed only in the Washington, DC area, excluding cities neighbouring it.
Grok on the potential real estate crisis
We also asked Grok, an AI chatbot by Elon Musk’s xAI, about what it thinks of the apparent sudden spike in real estate listings. While listing different aspects related to the rise in listings, Grok said, “The actions of DOGE, including scrutiny of federal contracts and the potential for job cuts, might be contributing to this exodus.”
It went on to add, “The uncertainty around federal employment and the end of work-from-home policies could be pushing federal workers to relocate, thereby increasing the number of listings.””This phenomenon seems to be influenced by both typical market behavior and unique circumstances related to federal employment changes and government policies,” the chatbot concluded.
