Trump return sparks real estate gold rush in DC as rich and powerful race to buy up remaining luxury homes
Donald Trump’s return to the White House has sparked a rush to buy luxury homes in and around Washington DC, as tech titans, cabinet picks and their entourages try to bag properties and become the US president’s neighbors.
With the change in administration, the capital has seen an influx of wealthy political appointees, new members of Congress and business chiefs in recent months — and they all need some place to live.
They’ve been scooping up multimillion-dollar homes in Washington DC and across the Potomac River in McLean, Virginia, a favored haunt for politicos, CEOs, diplomats and retired grandees.
In December, Howard Lutnick, the boss of stockbrokerage Cantor Fitzgerald and Trump’s pick for commerce secretary, paid $25 million for the Foxhall-area home of Fox News anchor Bret Baier — a new record for the city.
David McCormick, a former hedge fund boss and new Republican senator for Pennsylvania, spent $10.5 million on a Georgetown house that was owned by the late attorney C. Boyden Gray, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
Meanwhile, Scott Bessent, Trump’s Treasury Secretary pick, is reportedly on the hunt for his own lavish property. The same goes for well-heeled money manager John Phelan, the nominee for Navy secretary.
Daniel Heider, of Sotheby’s International Realty, says the ‘Trump bump,’ as it’s known, is ‘not just anecdotal, it’s measurable.’
‘The ultra-luxury segment, in particular, has emerged as the clearest beneficiary,’ he told Axios, adding that the public never even hears about the biggest sales, which are hidden via LLCs, trusts or estate lawyers.
The second Trump administration has brought a whole lot of new money to Washington DC, from tech titans to new cabinet picks
The newcomers are rushing to snap up luxury homes, such as this eight-bedroom property in Alexandria, Virginia, valued at $60 million
Lutnick and Bessent are among several billionaires who are surrounding Trump, in a second administration that’s a concentration of wealth, even as the president promises to improve the lives of blue collar Americans.
His other billionaire nods include Tesla CEO Elon Musk, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and investment banker Warren Stephens.
Washington DC realtors say opulent properties are changing hands much faster than in the administration swap overs of previous cycles.
After the 2016 election, Trump was caught off guard by his victory and was scrambling to fill his cabinet over the coming months.
This time around, his transition team has hit the ground running, tapping rich business leaders and political outsiders to fill key posts.
Some of them began house-hunting early, even before they were confirmed, said Michael Rankin of Sotheby’s International Realty, who’s watched properties change hands amid nine presidential election cycles.
In another shift, corporate executives and tech entrepreneurs are embracing Trump’s policies, and are scouring for properties in Washington to be closer to the president and his inner circle.
‘There are a lot of folks who are coming to Washington that aren’t necessarily even politicians, but those that want to be close to the sun,’ Heider told the Journal.
Heider has been selling real estate in Washington DC for a dozen years and brokered the Baier-Lutnick deal.
‘They make 2016 look like amuse-bouche for the main entrée, which is this moment in time right now,’ he said.
This mansion in Kent, a neighborhood in Washington DC, is expected to hit the market soon with a $23.5 million price tag
Howard Lutnick, the boss of stockbrokerage Cantor Fitzgerald and Trump’s pick for commerce secretary, paid $25 million for a Foxhall-area home
A recently-completed property in McLean, Virginia, has a ‘transitional château design,’ according to the listings blurb
A modern, newly-built mansion in McLean, Virginia, just hit the market for $15.9 million
The realtors were loath to talk more about their well-heeled clients — many agents have signed nondisclosure agreements to protect their privacy.
The real estate frenzy has sent the market into overdrive.
There were 87 home sales above $5 million in the Washington DC metropolitan area last year, compared to 53 in 2023 and 16 in 2016, according to data from Bright MLS.
But in November and December alone, there were 20 sales above $5 million, double the number over the same period in 2023.
Half of the region’s top 10 priciest sales of 2024 closed in the tail end of December.
So far in January, there have been seven deals worth more than $5 million.
The so-called ‘Trump bump’ comes after luxury property values in the capital jumped during Covid.
The median luxury sale price was $2.15 million at the end of last year — 42 percent higher than in 2019.
The area’s record-busting sale was set in 2021, when Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder paid $48 million for a 16.5-acre property in Alexandria, Virginia.
That property, once part of President George Washington’s original Mount Vernon estate, now lists for $60 million on Zillow.
The market has become so competitive that some high-end shoppers are refusing to tie themselves down and sign with a single agent.
Instead, they give their business to the dealer who lands them that dream home.
More deals are also taking place behind closed doors, thanks to recent changes in property dealing rules.
David McCormick, a former hedge fund chief and new Republican senator for Pennsylvania, dropped $10.5 million on a Georgetown pad
The kitchen of River View Estate, on what was once part of President George Washington’s original Mount Vernon estate
There’s plenty of cupboard space in this 16,000 sqft six-bedroom property in McLean, Virginia
The contemporary property is on the market for $15.9 million, and incoming administration officials are welcome to make an offer
According to Heider, the election poured fuel on an already ballooning property market.
‘People are figuring out that there is no inventory,’ he said.
‘If you like something, there isn’t another one.’
Homes that previously struggled to find a buyer now have multiple offers.
One of Trump’s picks reportedly bid on a luxury home in Georgetown that went on the market for $13.95 million in 2023, but then dropped to $9.99 million.
It ultimately sold to another buyer for $10.3 million, records show.
Two other extravagant homes that recently sold in excess of $10 million were on the market for more than a year before getting snapped up in recent months.
Baier’s French Chateau-style house, for example, originally listed for $31.9 million in October 2023 before Lutnick stepped in.
A Georgetown house, owned by Connie Milstein, former ambassador to Malta, was listed for $15.5 million in 2020.
It recently went into contract, with a last asking price of $13.5 million.
Tech titans, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and PayPal Holdings co-founder Peter Thiel, and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt have in recent years bought up multimillion dollar homes in the capital.
More recently, billionaire Jeff Skoll, former eBay president, spent $17 million in November to assemble a compound in McLean.
The McLean property has a ‘spa-inspired bath with dual vanities and a Kallista soaking tub,’ the listing says
Newcomers are snapping up luxury properties, such as this elegant mansion in the popular, leafy area of Georgetown, which sold for $10.3 million in December
For some Washington DC veterans, the influx of new money is pricing them out of the booming market.
Robert Hryniewicki, an agent with HRL Partners of Washington Fine Properties, says some long-timers have moved further out before the rush.
‘People got out ahead and decided, ‘Hey listen, interest rates are not going to come down anymore. The stock market is high. I’m going to jump on a property now before everything is more competitive’,’ said Hryniewicki.
