Category: Latest Updates

Trump Budget Could Undercut Metro Ridership Recovery

President Donald Trump’s initial budget proposal does not explicitly attack funding for the D.C. region’s transit agency, but if the plan’s aim of shrinking the federal workforce is realized, Metro could be damaged at a time when it needs every possible rider.

Metro’s average weekday ridership is at its lowest level since 2003. System leaders are anticipating that some commuters will return in the summer after the disruptive SafeTrack rebuilding program ends and reliability improves, but a ridership recovery could be undercut if the Republican-led Congress goes along with the president’s proposal to dismantle parts of the federal bureaucracy.

“If you were to look at some of the more dramatic elements of the Trump proposal, we’re talking in terms of what might be that 20,000 to 25,000 federal jobs that would disappear,” said economist Terry Clower, director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University. A loss of that magnitude would cost Metro several thousand trips per day.

February US Employment Growth Holds Steady

February National employment numbers were released this morning, providing the first picture of employment numbers under the Trump presidency. The US economy added 235,000 jobs and unemployment remained relatively unchanged at 4.7%, down from 4.8% in January. All sectors grew from February of last year except the information sector, which has seen consistent decline in the past year. Both labor force participation rate and the U-6 unemployment rate have remained steady at 63% and 9.2% respectively.

January employment numbers for the Washington Region MSA will be released in one week on Friday, March 17th. Expect an update from CRA on the region’s economy at that time.

Assessing Alexandria and Arlington’s Regional Labor Market

On March 6, 2017, Dr. Mark C. White of George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis presented an overview of his most recent report, “Assessing Alexandria/Arlington’s Regional Labor Market”. This report will help the Alexandria/Arlington Regional Workforce Council’s stakeholders to better understand trends shaping the region’s workforce and identify sources of current and future labor demand. A copy of Dr. White’s presentation and report can be found here:

Presentation

Full Report

Federal Workforce Concentration

Federal workers are vital to the DC region’s economy. Concerns are rising regarding the impending potential draw-down in the federal workforce. More to come regarding the characteristics of those employed by the federal government in our region.

Note: These numbers include both civilian and military federal employees. This, in combination with a smaller overall workforce likely explains higher concentrations in counties to the south.

Loudoun County Housing Needs Assessment

CRA announces the release of “Loudoun County Housing Needs Assessment, 2015-2040”, a report produced in partnership with Lisa Sturtevant & Associates, LLC and CRA associate Jeanette Chapman as co-author.

Loudoun County contracted with the George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis and Lisa Sturtevant & Associates LLC (GMU consulting team) to assess the County’s current and future housing needs. Section I of this report includes an analysis of current demographic, economic and housing market conditions and patterns of housing affordability in the County, and describes the current gaps between housing demand and supply. Section II includes an assessment of the economic and demographic forces that will drive future housing demand in Loudoun County, presents detailed forecasts of household growth and housing demand to 2040, and analyzes the potential implications of a gap between projected demand and anticipated supply in the County.

Read the Final Report Here

DC Metro Median Home Sales Price up 3.9% in January 2017

January 2017’s median sales price of $390,000 was up $14,500 or 3.9% compared to last year.
This is the highest January median sales price of the last decade, topping the prior high of
$385,000 seen in 2015.

All property types saw increases in price, with townhomes up 5.0% to $389,000, condos up 4.9%
to $300,000, and single-family detached up 3.3% to $465,000.

Falls Church City remains the most expensive location in the region, with a median sales price of
$610,000, which is down 18.3% from last year. Prince George’s County is still the most
affordable area in the region, with a January median sales price of $260,000, up 7.9% from last
January.

Communities Can Benefit from Autonomous Vehicles with Fast Action Planning

Kelley Coyner, affiliate with the GMU Center for Regional Analysis, and Lisa Nisenson led the capstone session of Eno’s Capital Convergence, Taking it to the Streets: Creating the Strategies to bring an AV Shuttle to the Region. They identified some common strategies in policy and law, funding and finance, safety, and planning that are needed to get driverless fleets and shuttles to the streets of the DMV and beyond.