Angst is building in the Washington, D.C. area as the federal government shutdown enters its fourth week.
While the region has experienced government stoppages in the past, this time feels different, several locals have said. As the end of the month approaches and bills come due, many workers are preoccupied with finding ways to make ends meet, especially as the threat of permanently losing their jobs and not receiving pay looms.
“The market usually is pretty steady in the fall,” said Jane Fairweather, a real estate agent with the Bethesda, Maryland, office of Long and Foster Real Estate. “This year with the shutdown, there’s fear and loathing on a mass scale… This shutdown is a threat to jobs. People are paralyzed in their homes, hoping that Donald Trump doesn’t make good on his threat to not so much furlough but fire these people."
The longer the shutdown persists, the larger the ripple effects. Last week, the Maryland Association of Realtors reported that 450 residential contracts could be delayed or canceled if the shutdown continues through October. The uncompleted deal could cost the local economy up to $70 million.
At present, few sellers and buyers want to make any big move, Fairweather said. An exception might be retirees and seniors over 65 years old, many of whom are looking to sell and exit the region.
Landlord Jerry Walter says it's been more difficult in recent weeks to find a renter. A baseball fan, Walter bought his first residence in a six-story Washington, D.C., condominium at 355 I St. SW, near Nationals Park, in 2005, and then added another one in 2011. He's been renting out the original unit, a 561-square-foot studio with a parking space. His last tenant, who had been there for four years, moved out in September, and he’s now hunting for another one, asking $1,700 per month.
Three tenants came to visit in recent weeks — half the number of people the studio might have drawn a year ago, Walter said. He’s going on the second month of covering the mortgage for the unit, condo fees, and utilities.
“I just had to eat another mortgage for the month. It doesn’t taste good,” Walter said. “With the way the current administration is doing business, creating all sorts of challenges to the everyday work staff of the federal government, it is very challenging.”
A drawn-out shutdown could lead to further financial pain for many families, said Gena Norquist, a retired schoolteacher in Fairfax City, Virginia. Norquist lives in a house she bought with her husband decades ago. She said a handful of neighbors have either moved out of their rented accommodations or listed or sold their homes in recent weeks.
“In this area, two incomes are generally necessary,” she said. “Moving to a less expensive area is a serious necessity for some, and that directly impacts the housing market. Will this impact real estate values if there starts to be a glut in the market? Perhaps.”