Across the Washington region, homeowners' dreams of a quick and easy payday are evaporating as the days tick down to President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony Jan. 20: The inaugural housing market has gone bust in record time.

Barbara Ioanes's alarm clock lives across the street. For the 33 years Ioanes has lived in her historic rowhouse on Cathedral Avenue NW, she's woken to the hoots, chirps and caws of the animals at the National Zoo, which forms the eastern boundary of Woodley Park. Ioanes said it provides a daily reminder of Woodley Park's cultural amenities and charm.