Looking Ahead to the Fall
August 3, 2026
August 3, 2026
Last week we hosted a conference call with agents from across the country and asked them for an update on where they expect their local markets are heading into the second half of 2026. The verdict? It depends entirely on your zip code.
Some markets are genuinely thriving; San Francisco is having a moment. Others are hurting, with Seattle and LA grappling with job losses and economic uncertainty that are showing up in the numbers. And then there's a large middle tier that I've dubbed the "meh" markets; not bad enough to panic, not good enough to brag about at a dinner party.
Washington probably lands somewhere in that middle category, though as always, the details matter more than the headline. Prime DC and close-in suburban communities continue to hold up well. The downtown condo market, on the other hand, is still searching for its footing.
Looking ahead to fall, there's one more factor worth keeping in mind: this is a midterm election year. The effect isn't as dramatic as a presidential cycle, but the DMV market historically goes a little quiet in the weeks leading up to Election Day. Think of it as the political version of the World Cup effect. It's hard to focus on making a major life decision when everyone's glued to the news. The silver lining is that the post-election rebound tends to be real. Buyers who sat on the sidelines usually come back, and fall can quietly turn into a strong window for both sides of a transaction.
Our team is here to help you make your best move, and we’ll ensure it is not “meh.”
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Wydler Brothers have been selling residential real estate for over 20 years in the DC metro area. Along the way, they’ve achieved numerous awards and recognitions, including being recognized as “The Most Innovative Real Estate Agent in America” (Inman, 2014), written several articles for The Washington Post, authored a book, “Inside the Sell”, co-founded a real estate tech company which sold to Move, Inc. in 2013, and built Wydler Brothers into a highly respected boutique brokerage with 70 agents and employees which they sold to Compass in 2019. Currently, Wydler Brothers is among the top 3 teams in the DMV and was the #1 Compass Team in 2022.