Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/ChristopherSnow

This report is the second in a series of annual reports on housing in the District of Columbia and the surrounding region. It assembles and analyzes the most current data on housing supply and demand in the Washington metropolitan area, building on the 2002 report and presenting new information from the 2000 Census as well as more current data on emerging trends. The purpose of this series is to help inform the public, policymakers, industry representatives, community-based organizations, and advocates concerned about housing conditions and trends.

This monograph shows that sustained, targeted investments in local systems change can dramatically improve community ability to revitalize poor neighborhoods. Launched in 1991 by an unprecedented collaboration among private foundations and financial services corporations, the National Community Development Initiative pooled $254 million in financial support (including funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) to invest in the financial, organizational, and political strength of nonprofit community development corporations. Two national community development intermediaries--the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and The Enterprise Foundation--were critical to organizing the local support needed to make the national program effective.

In response to a need for more accessible, detailed, and complete housing information for the District of Columbia and its region, the Fannie Mae Foundation and the Urban Institute have produced the first edition of Housing in the Nation's Capital. The report provides the public, policy makers, and housing professionals with the most comprehensive data and analysis available on the dynamics of economic and demographic change in the Washington region.

After decades of population loss and disinvestment, the housing market in the District of Columbia is on the rebound. Reinvestment brings benefits to the city and its current residents, but it can also have negative consequences. For example, demand for housing can become so high that housing prices are out of reach for many residents, including moderate- and middle-income households. Such consequences, often known as gentrification, can be avoided if affordable housing is preserved in areas facing high demand for homeownership.

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