The slowing decline rate of Washington D.C. housing market, is forcing some owners to drastically compromise to make a sell.

Some Washington D.C. real estate agents say the roles of buyer and seller are now merging. The closing fee is typically paid buy the buyer is now paid by the seller.

“Some of is some things like cash back are just advertisements to get the people to buy,” said Jay Seville, a Real Estate Agent, who resides in the District.

“It’s becoming very common for buyers to ask for sellers to pay for the closing cost; about four out of five contracts that I sign have that included”, Serville said. “It’s most taken not from the sale but the seller’s prospective financing closing cost.”

“Everything is a case by case basis,” he said.

He also said a major factor in price and financing is location. He said that when a buyer factors in the low inventory and low supply, declining interest rates and other factors, then they will realize that Virginia has lots of great opportunity especially since property values have dropped to 45-50 percent.

“If you’re looking for a longtime investment now is a great time to buy,” Seville said.

The DC Housing Monitor provides a quarterly look at current trends in DC is organized by the neighborhood info and urban center.

The available inventory has risen to about 35,300 homes, up from an average of about 23, 000 in the past three years, according to Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc., which runs the local multiple-listing service.

Steven Vasquez is a senior International Business major. Vasquez will be graduating from Howard in May and finds himself looking for housing after college.

“Right now, the housing market is pretty bad, therefore owners are offering things like rent to own and leases instead of just selling,” Vasquez said. “I’m trying to take advantage of that.”

Steve says when he’s looking for housing he doesn’t eliminate houses with sale only signs, because some houses have been in the market so long that most owners consider renting.

Semaje Thompson,24, is in his second year of college and took advantage of a foreclosure duplex in Northwest, D.C.

“The benefits are great,” Thompson said. “We have tax write-off, and gain interest in future assets. We hired a property manager to make sure the properties are clean and up to par for rent.”

“Even with the economy the way it is, it is one of the best investments I’ve done while being an undergraduate,” He said.