News

State Legislators Hold Public Hearing — Arlington’s delegation to the Virginia General Assembly listened to nearly 50 speakers make the case for various legislative and funding priorities at a public hearing Friday night. Among the issues discussed were gun laws, mental health and disability funding, and Medicaid. [Twitter, Sun Gazette]

Rent Rises in Arlington — The average rent in Arlington in the third quarter of 2012 was $2,500.06, a 2.5 percent increase from a year prior. The average rent for single-family homes had the steepest increase — 4.4 percent — compared to apartments and townhouses. [Sun Gazette]


News

District Taco Announces Taco Eating Contest — This sounds like a recipe for some fun, or vomit, or both. District Taco (5723 Lee Highway) will be holding a taco eating contest at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 10. Ten contestants will compete to see who can eat the most tacos (without throwing up — seriously, it’s a rule) in 15 minutes. If you think you’ve got what it takes, fill out an entry form and submit it by Thursday. See more information on the District Taco web site.

Blame Technology for Rising Rents — Has your rent gone up recently? If so, a software program may be to blame. A number of large landlords are now using “sophisticated computerized models” to figure out how to price rentals. Arlington-based AvalonBay Communities, which owns rental communities in Ballston and near Shirlington, recently started widespread use of a software package called “Rainmaker” to squeeze every last dollar out of its properties. More from the Wall Street Journal.


Opinion

According to a Delta Associates study cited by the Post, local apartment rents have increased 8.2 percent this year, to an average of $1,643. Rents in the Washington area are at 20-year highs, as people flee the housing market for rentals. Only New York City has a lower vacancy rate.

Earlier this year, we reported on the red-hot rental market in Pentagon City, where the average rent at the beginning of the year was $1,902 and rising. And Pentagon City certainly wasn’t alone in terms of rent hikes in the county.


News

The rise in residential rent comes at a time when a number of Pentagon City apartment complexes have sold at sky-high valuations. The Hampton Apartments at 1425 South Eads Street recently sold for $33.5 million, and the Metropolitan at Pentagon City luxury high-rise at 901 South 15th Street just sold for $125 million, according to the GlobeSt.com article.

RED’s report states that between the first quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2010, Pentagon City posted the fastest rate of multifamily rent growth of any Northern Virginia submarket. The 4.9 percent year-over-year growth in Pentagon City compares to 2.4 percent growth along Columbia Pike and -1.4 percent rent growth along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor.


News

“Arlington is still a highly attractive market,” Terry Holzheimer, the head of the county’s Arlington Economic Development (AED) office, told a gathering of developers, real estate brokers and business leaders this morning.

Citing a new AED study, Holzheimer said he expects job growth to continue (Arlington was the only local community with significant job growth from 2007 to 2009), residential and commercial rents to rise, and development to soldier on, eventually.