Washington, DC sees spike in homes for sale amid DOGE federal worker layoffs

By Samantha Delouya, CNN

(CNN) — The number of Washington, DC area homeowners who decided to list their homes for sale jumped last month amid steep cuts to the federal workforce.

In the four weeks ending April 27, the number of active home listings in the nation’s capital surged 25.1% year-over-year, the largest gain on record, according to a new report from real estate website Redfin.

The jump in DC homes for sale outpaced active listings nationwide, which grew 14.2% in that same period, Redfin said. Active listings in DC are now at their highest level since 2022, according to the report.

The uptick in new homes for sale in DC comes amid steep layoffs in the federal workforce, driven by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has slashed federal funding and jobs in an attempt to reduce government spending.

Redfin found that active listings are rising fastest in the suburbs of DC, where many federal workers live. Homes for sale in Alexandria, Virginia, jumped nearly 41% year-over-year during the four weeks ending April 27, the largest increase of the surrounding counties Redfin analyzed. Montgomery County, Maryland, saw new home listings surge 38.5%, and Loudoun County, Virginia, also saw a surge of 36.8%.

Real estate agents in the DC area told CNN the housing market is still relatively tight, though, despite the high number of recent home listings.

“While there are notable government layoffs contributing to some new listings, we’re not witnessing a mass exodus,” Candyce Astroth, a Realtor based in Fairfax, Virginia said. “The housing crisis persists, and we still need more listings to meet the demand in the market.”

However, Brian Coester, a Realtor based in Maryland, said that the DC area feels “different than it’s been in a long time in the sense of the uncertainty around some of the administration changes.”

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the federal government shed 9,000 jobs in April and has lost 26,000 workers since January.

However, the true number is likely much larger.

For example, workers who accepted DOGE’s offer of a “buyout” in January will not show up in federal unemployment data because they are technically still on the federal government’s payroll through September.

According to a CNN analysis of official statements and internal memos, at least 121,000 federal workers were laid off or targeted for layoffs in President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office.

Federal workers make up the highest proportion of the workforce in DC compared to any US state, with federal jobs constituting more than 13% of total employment, according to a March report from the Economic Policy Institute. Maryland and Virginia, states that surround DC, have the second- and third-highest shares, at 7.3% and 5.6%, respectively.

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