“Another man’s loss may be another man’s gain” – that is exactly what happened between the residential housing market and the apartment industry. Whereas property values are still declining and houses for sale remain in the market for a long time, the apartment industry is gaining more advocates as a shift from house buying to renting happens nationwide. If there’s another industry that’s being saved by this shift, it’s the development industry.

The national shift has been such a big lifesaver for the developers that some real estate businesses who have not considered developing in a long time suddenly find themselves doing just that – developing apartment sites. Take for example the property between New York Avenue and L Street near Mount Vernon Square in Northwest D.C., which has been undeveloped since brothers Guy and L.P. Steuart acquired it in the 1920s. Guy Steuart II is now converting the site into an apartment complex and has just recently partnered with Arlington housing developer Paradigm Development and applied for excavation permits to start work this month of October.

Steuart is not alone; many are getting the same idea as vacancy rates are pushed to an all-time low, especially for the Washington area. The area’s stronger-than-most economy is luring in tens of thousands of young professionals and college graduates to seek jobs. In a typical year in Washington, 5,200 more apartments are than emptied; because of the boom, though, 16,476 apartments units have already been filled in the past 12 months alone.

Washington is indeed considered one of the 57 largest apartment markets in the United States. This year, so far, it has remained the strongest with a record 2.5% vacancy rate for the third quarter. This is easily stronger than the national average of 6.6% vacancy rate.

Washington’s success in the apartment market has attracted a lot of developers elsewhere. Many have even given up on projects elsewhere that may have led to untenable situations.