How Long Are DC Homeowners Staying Put? A Long Time

• 10:44 AM EDT

by UrbanTurf Staff

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Homeowners in the DC area are holding onto their properties longer than ever.

According to new data from ATTOM, the average homeownership tenure in the DC metro hit a record high of 9.27 years in the first quarter of 2026 — a figure that reflects the broader national trend of homeowners staying put. Inside the District itself, the numbers tell an even more striking story, with several zip codes clocking average tenures well above 10 years.

Leading the pack are 20036 (Dupont Circle/Logan Circle) and 20019 (Deanwood/Capitol Heights), where homeowners are averaging 11.38 and 11.32 years respectively — nearly identical figures that nonetheless reveal something interesting about the city's housing landscape. The pairing of two zip codes on opposite sides of the city speaks to just how broadly the lock-in effect has taken hold across income levels and geographies. In both cases, homeowners who bought years ago are sitting on significant equity — and have little financial incentive to move.

The cluster of Northwest DC zip codes rounding out the top seven — 20008 (Cleveland Park/Woodley Park), 20005 (Shaw/Thomas Circle), 20037 (Foggy Bottom/West End), and 20016 (Tenleytown/AU Park) — reinforces a pattern UrbanTurf has been tracking for several years now: longtime owners in amenity-rich neighborhoods are holding tight. With home values in many of these corridors having appreciated substantially since the mid-2010s, the calculus for selling simply doesn't pencil out for most, particularly those locked into sub-3% mortgages from 2020 and 2021.

Rounding out the list is 20012, covering Takoma and Brightwood, where the average tenure of 9.97 years is essentially at the record-high regional mark — and still a full year above where DC as a whole stood just a few years ago. 

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/how_long_are_dc_homeowners_staying_put_a_long_time/24563.