Real Estate Report: A look at the housing market in 2025

All right. The real estate market in our region is undergoing significant changes from new rent stabilization laws to redevelopment projects like RFK Stadium. Now joining us, we have Brian Coaster, CEO of Real Estate Connection. Back in the new year to break down what these developments mean for homeowners, renters and investors here in the DMV. Thank you for being here again. Thank you for having me. Yeah. Happy New Year. Happy New Year. All right. So let's head on into Montgomery and Prince George's County. I know that there's some rent control. So how will the new rent stabilization impact renters and landlords? So just like you mentioned earlier in the broadcast, housing and housing affordability are big issues, especially in Montgomery County and PG County. So rents have been increasing substantially over the last couple of years. So they passed the bill. It's one of the most restrictive bills actually in the nation regarding rent increases, which caps the rent at 3 percent or 6 percent, depending on the type of property in the county. Also limits the amount of security deposit to one month. So landlords can't, which aligns with the D.C. area. And the goal is to provide stability to the area. Right. You have a huge influx of people coming in with administration changes. You have a huge influx of people coming with the different companies and it's just pricing people out of the corner. So it's something that I think was needed for the area. And it addresses it at a local level, which is should have been in place. OK. All right. And and then Maryland, Montgomery County still. So the property assessments for twenty twenty five this year. What do rising property assessments mean for homeowners in Montgomery County and how can they appeal that? Yeah. So the property assessments are a big deal for homeownership. Right. So Montgomery County and specifically the state of Maryland just set out new property assessments. So you should be getting something in the in the mail from the state of Maryland. They use mass appraisal techniques to do that. So they're not specific as much to your property as you think. So there's always a case for an appeal, especially when you talk about 15, 20, 25 percent increase in your taxes. So as a consumer, what you want to do is you want to contact a real estate appraiser or you want to contact a real estate broker and get an appraisal, comparable market analysis so you can appeal that and hopefully lower your tax bill. There's inefficiencies with the way they do these. Not that they're inaccurate, but there's just inefficiencies and there's always a little bit of wiggle room. And that's always good. There's always a little bit of wiggle room for folks. And let's talk about this incoming administration, the Trump administration policies. You know, they're going to be different policies. So how would that affect the housing affordability? So the Trump bump, right, which is something they've talked about, which is essentially the idea that there'll be government cooperation and deregulation. Right. So there's around ninety thousand dollars in administrative costs for every house built. Right. So you think about federal regulations, state building codes. You think about the development of RFK Stadium and some of those elements. So the Trump administration has been keen on deregulating. And you should start seeing some of that affordability if you start seeing some of the land use mix. And it's something that in combination, I think, is going to be good for the area. Yeah. And I'm glad that you mentioned RFK Stadium and, you know, the redevelopment. I know that that's going to bring a positive for the D.C. market. Yeah. So that Benning Road area has been just, you know, crime ridden and problematic for the last 10 or 15, 20 years. RFK being put in place in there with some rent stability, with some deregulation in combination with some of the things that are happening. It's going to revitalize that area that really needs it. So I'm looking forward to that, as well as the job opportunities that are going to come with it. And, you know, D.C. for the next five to 10 years should be in a really good spot. All right. That sounds really good. Looking forward to 2025. Brian Coaster, CEO of Real Estate Connection. Thank you so much for being here with us. Thank you for having me. Absolutely.