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Washington D.C. was the most popular places to move in 2012, according to a migration study conducted by United Van Lines LLC, a St. Louis-based moving company.

It’s the fifth year in a row that Washington D.C. has been the most popular place to move in the annual study. This year, following D.C., Oregon, Nevada, North Carolina and South Carolina were the most popular places to move in that order. The study is based on all the moves going into and out of states and the District. Those with 55% or more moves in, like the District, are dubbed “high inbound.”

D.C. may be the nation’s most popular place to move because of its strong economy and healthier employment rate, United Van Lines suggests.  The District’s unemployment rate ticked up recently, but…

Condos near U Street Metro Station are attracting more and more younger professionals as the Northwest District area undergoes a revitalization with new development.

Former home to Duke Ellington, the U Street Corridor is a community rich in African American history, although now the area is becoming more diverse. Condos near U Street Metro include the 2020 Lofts, an eight-story building built in 2005 with at least one 2BR, 2BA condo on the market for $849,900. That 1,257-square-foot condo boasts a private wrap-around balcony and hot tub among other amenities. 2020 Lofts condos are just one block from the U Street Metro Station.

Other condos listed near U Street Metro Station include another 2BR condo at 1830 11th Street NW, which is priced at…

Relocating to Capitol Hill is easy for professionals new to the District because the area is ripe with rental options and properties in a range of price brackets.

Capitol Hill, the community just east of the Capitol building, attracts many new residents relocating from other parts of the country who may be moving to the District permanently or temporarily, say for legislative sessions.

Those who’re relocating to Capitol Hill should know that living in the District is not cheap.  Rents and housing prices are some of the highest in the country. But Capitol Hill is among the more “affordable” communities here. People relocating to Capitol Hill can find properties like a $312,000, 1BR, 525-square-foot home at 337 Maryland Avenue NE or a $225,000,…

A Petworth home was auctioned off today for $461,000.  If you add in the 6% charged by the auction company the grand total becomes $488,650.  The home at 514 Quincy St NW has 4 bedroom and 2.5 baths.  The total square feet on this Petworth home is 2,562 including the basement square footage.  The property is 2 blocks from the Petworth metro station on the green line.  An agent in our office that attended the auction estimated that over 200 buyers viewed the home on this rainy and dark Wednesday afternoon.  The home needs a full renovation and the sales price would only make sense for an end user. Considering the cost of renovations, the sales price was well beyond what would make sense for a flip.  The auction left many real estate investors who were…

Luxury homes in Arlington, many of which are perched along the banks of the Potomac River, are among the more breathtaking properties in the Washington D.C. area.

Arlington, a northern Virginia community just over the Potomac from Georgetown, boasts luxury homes of all types on the market: from massive 12,000-square-foot mansions to smaller upscale condos. Arlington County borders Alexandria, Virg., and Fairfax County.

Unlike the District, which is widespread with high density housing, Arlington’s high density housing is centered around its Metro stops. Meaning luxury homes in Arlington further from the Metro stops often have more land space than the District’s luxury homes.

In 2010, Arlington had about 91,000 residences, according to U.S. Census…

Are there armed guards in DC schools? Yes and no. DC public schools do not have armed guards, but some private schools do.

Sidwell Friends School, a selective Quaker private school with a campus in the Tenleytown neighborhood and another campus in Bethesda, employs several armed guards. These guards do not include Secret Service protection for President Obama’s daughters. Rather, the guards exist for the protection of all students who attend the school since many of them have high profile parents.

Since the Sandy Hook shootings, there has been a great deal of discussion about armed teachers, administrators, and/or guards in public schools. However, DC Public School (DCPS) Chancellor Kaya Henderson is opposed to guns in her schools. She believes that…

A new Education Committee was recently established by the DC Council. For the first time in six years, the DC Council has created a stand-alone Education Committee chaired by David Catania, an Independent who holds an at-large seat. In his first couple weeks as chairman of the Council’s Education Committee, Catania has already had meetings on organizational development, budgets, truancy, free lunch, and more.

Catania wants to bring transparency to the school budgets.  He bemoans the “total absence of transparency in our budgets. These numbers don’t add up, and you can’t track them.”  Chancellor of DC Public Schools, Kaya Henderson, says she is excited to work with Catania and wants “to be as transparent as possible. I want people to know where our money…

DC school boundaries are a hot topic of debate. In fact, the chancellor of DC public schools, Kaya Henderson, says that the boundary issue is “the thing that, I think, I fear most.”

The boundaries define which children go to which public school. So children who live within the boundary for a particular school have the right to attend that school. If there are any openings after all the in-boundary children select a school, then others have the opportunity to apply. 

The existing DC public school boundaries and feeder patterns have been in existence since the 1970s. But the city of today is quite different than it was even 10 years ago, let alone 40!

As a whole, DC public schools have not been known for stellar academics, prompting many parents to…

Real estate near the U.S. State Department on C Street in NW Washington D.C. likely houses many of the young professionals who have spent their undergraduate years dreaming of a job in the Harry S. Truman Building. The U.S. State Department was voted the fourth-most desirable place to work by undergraduates in 2009, BusinessWeek reports.

Real estate near the U.S. State Department, including areas in Foggy Bottom and downtown, is ideal for these younger employees because it includes a wide variety of condos and apartments. Real estate near the U.S. State Department is on par with District property prices as still among the more highly priced in the nation. But savvy real estate hunters can find likely properties a bit lower priced than in Georgetown or…

Luxury homes in Capitol Hill are attracting more and more young professionals and young families for the neighborhood walkability without the late-night party scene. Unlike the mansions in Georgetown and Bethesda, luxury homes in Capitol Hill usually list in the form of smaller scale condos or townhomes.

Take the Residences at St. Monica’s at 1340 Massachusetts Avenue SE. These nine uber modern condos, many of which have original stain glass and wood beams, are located in a redeveloped and unconsecrated sanctuary established in the 1909. Senate Square Towers apartments, which start at $2,330 for a 1BR, offer luxury homes for renters in Capitol Hill. Luxury amenities include a rooftop pool, an indoor entertainment and business center and first-rate…