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Approximately one year from now (Q1 2013), a massive change will begin unfolding at the Southwest Waterfront of DC. PN Hoffman and Madison Marquette have obtained approval for phase 1 of The Warf: Southwest Waterfront project which will break ground early next year. If  you have not seen the plans for The Warf I certainly recommend doing so, it is going to be quite an undertaking that will truly transform DC, and reunite the city with the waters of the Anacostia.

So, with such a dramatic overhaul on the horizon I wanted to document where the Southwest Waterfront is now as a benchmark for better understanding the value added in the future. My apologies if the title of this post is misleading, but let’s have a look at things as they stand now, “Before”. And maybe a few years from now we can come back for the “After”. How’s that for a long-term blog series?

Currently a condo heavy market, this will remain true after the Southwest Waterfront renewal is complete. Most of the residential plans incorporate condos and apartments.

Look for the areas of development around National’s Park to both benefit from, and feed demand at The Warf. Listings in the Southwest Waterfront are already touting the future development as a benefit to buying in the surrounding areas now.

Though demand has been softer than in other areas of DC, it has been consistent, with days on market hovering just below the 100 day mark for condos, and Row-homes are being scooped up relatively quickly. Demand for row-homes is of little surprise since there is such a small selection compared to the condo market.

Summary
Predicting what will happen with existing inventory when a major development occurs is always a difficult proposition. Will the new community and new inventory hitting the market create a boon for existing developments, or overshadow it as buyers are only willing to consider the hot new thing, and reject mere proximity to the hot new thing? Only time will tell, but there is reason for hope in that the area around Nationals Park is just far enough away that existing neighborhoods will be there to bridge the gap between the two. For me the question is more “how much will existing values go up” rather than “if” they will.