User:Sipho Mavuso/sandbox

Although apartment rents across the country are showing an upward rising trend at a fast pace in the last two years, rents in Washington DC are showing a slower rising trend. This is probably due to the reason that rents in Washington DC area are already higher in comparison to other cities in the USA. Interestingly, the demand of rental accommodation is also the highest in Washington DC in comparison to other cities and experts give this as one of the reasons for high rent rates, (Baum & Baum, 2015). There are numerous other factors contributing to these high rental rates of apartments in this city. Occupancy in Washington DC is high and the city offers a variety of Apartments which are suitable to individual requirements in America. This is attributed to the large number of job opportunities in the City for the young population who are getting accustomed to the fast developing urbanized lifestyle of the city, (Baum & Baum, 2015).

In their book Rethinking Federal Housing Policy: How to Make Housing Plentiful and Affordable, published in 2008 by AEI Press, Edward L. Glaeser and Joseph Gyourko have tried to explain why housing becomes so expensive in some areas and have also outlined a plan for it more affordable. According to Glaeser & Gyourko the two probable reasons for the high rent rates in Washington DC are-;


 * 1) Good Security - It has been observed that availability of large number of Police Stations and High-Tech security systems in the city has made it preferred destination. The high level attracts young couples to the city and raises the rent rates in Washington DC.
 * 2) Good Infrastructure - Washington DC has well laid roads and efficient transportation system. Working youth prefer to live in areas which offer convenience of travel from home to their place of work.

Two factors have lasting effect on rental rates. High rents, the first factor, has often failed to raise rental charges. Under such circumstances, tenants leave the costly premises to find affordable premises, (Hinkel, 2010). The second factor is that weak rules and regulations of governments hold back investment opportunities in the market. Excessively high price of houses in cities such as Washington DC is forcing the entrepreneur to look for different areas for their investment, (Megarry et al, 2012). Although it is true that a strong and steady economic growth in a region can create high demand for housing, it is also a fact that it mitigates the challenge if rentals are high. Hence, the government must rethink about the zoning and planning process. It makes essential for the authors to create a masterplan which can ensure of development in the neighborhood areas and allow creation of higher density, mixed use transit infrastructure. There is need for the government to review policy and create a flexible approach so as to engage investors from diverse economic background, (Baum & Baum, 2015).

Reference List:

Baum, A. and Baum, Prof A. 2015. Real Estate Investment: A Strategic Approach. (3rd ed.) Oxon: Routledge.

Hinkel, Daniel F. 2010. Practical Real Estate Law. (6th ed.) Boca Raton, FL: Cengage Learning.

Megarry, Robert, Wade, Willian, Harpum, Charles, Bridge, Stuart and Dixon, Martin J. 2012. The Law of Real Property. (8th ed.) New York: Sweet & Maxwell.