DC Luxury Market Responds To Trump's Return With Buying Frenzy As Business Elite Aim To Infiltrate Inner Circle

Donald Trump left the White House in 2021, and he has returned. Why the comeback? Trump’s commerce-compatible agenda has heavy hitters throughout the business community and politicians lined up to curry favor with the president’s inner circle. It has resulted in a luxury real estate buying frenzy in DC.

According to The Wall Street Journal, high-end homes in DC and nearby McLean, Va., have been bought at the top of the market. These are some of the recent transactions:

Cantor Fitzgerald Chief Executive Howard Lutnick, the president’s pick for commerce secretary, paid $25 million for the Foxhall-area home of Fox News anchor Bret Baier — a new record for DC.
David McCormick, the new Republican senator from Pennsylvania, purchased a Georgetown house previously owned by the late attorney C. Boyden Gray for $10.5 million.
A Georgetown house owned by Connie Milstein, former ambassador to Malta, was listed for $15.5 million in 2020; it recently went into contract with an asking price of $13.5 million.

Other people in the hunt for luxury homes include Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent —who has a portfolio of historic homes — and money manager John Phelan, Trump’s pick for Navy secretary.

Business Titans Looked To Set Up Shop Early

Part of the reason for the flurry of activity is Trump’s decision to pick wealthy business executives and DC outsiders for pivotal roles in his administration. Michael Rankin of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty told The Journal that prospective buyers began house hunting in earnest, even before being confirmed.

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“There are a lot of folks who are coming to Washington that aren’t necessarily even politicians, but those that want to be close to the sun,” Daniel Heider of Sotheby’s, a seasoned DC agent who brokered the Baier-Lutnick deal. “They make 2016 look like amuse-bouche for the main entree, which is this moment in time right now.”

Big Tech’s Embrace Of Trump

Big Tech’s embrace of the Trump presidency has also influenced the buying bonanza. The Department of Justice's Biden-era policy of trying to break up the traditionally left-leaning tech industry for alleged monopolization changed their political stance. Trump’s deregulation, low taxation for the wealthy, and generally pro-business policies have seen an influx of tech and business buyers looking to set up shop in the DC area. However, the inventory shortage in the luxury market has only served to drive higher prices.

Recent tech buyers include:

PayPal Holdings PYPL co-founder Peter Thiel owns a $13 million home in Massachusetts Avenue Heights.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and his wife, Wendy Schmidt, also own a home in DC. In 2023, they paid $15.1 million for a trio of adjoining houses.
Billionaire Jeff Skoll, who served as eBay’s EBAY first president, spent $17 million in November to build a compound in McLean, Virginia.
Jeff Bezos owns side-by-side mansions in Kalorama, for which he paid $23 million in 2016.

According to Bright MLS data, in November and December, there were 20 sales above $5 million, up from 10 in those months in 2023 and one in 2016, as reported by The Journal. So far in January, seven deals have been above $5 million. Recent bidding wars have been reminiscent of the post-pandemic low-rate era buying frenzy. This is partly because prospective well-healed owners either pay all cash or view higher rates as the cost of doing business.

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