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ocial media posts claiming thousands of D.C.-area homes are being listed for sale amid federal employee firings are greatly exaggerated, say licensed real estate agents. Ayana Brickhouse of Compass Real Estate warns people not to believe the claims, citing a consistent housing market inventory typical for this time of year.

    The social media posts point to over 4,200 homes listed on Zillow in two weeks as evidence of people leaving the area. However, false maps shared online, supposedly from popular real estate websites like Zillow and Redfin, show home listings across D.C., Maryland, and Virginia with inconsistent descriptor tags and suspiciously low prices.

    Brickhouse notes that some listings don't add up, such as a $85,000 house in Arlington, which is highly unlikely. Christina Mai, another Compass Real Estate agent, says one Zillow map being shared is actually based on data from properties sold months or years ago, not recent listings.

    According to Bright MLS, the official database of property sales for the mid-Atlantic region, there were only 2,829 new listings in the two-week period between February 3 and February 16, which is virtually unchanged from last year. Mai believes the misinformation was likely done as clickbait.

    The real estate industry expects an "early spring market" to begin soon, driven by pent-up demand for homes and stable interest rates, not a mass exodus of federal employees. WTOP has reached out to Zillow for comment on the false maps.