Washington Area Housing Market Remains Top Performer

Several recent measures of the U.S. housing market and economy show the Washington area doing relatively well compared to the rest of the nation. Although each analysis employs differing methodologies the results are the same: the local metropolitan area is a consistently strong performer.

• An analysis of the most recent U.S. Census data reveals Washington, DC is the fourth most affluent city in the country.  The District is one of only three cities with more than 10% of households earning income in excess of $200,000 per year.

• A report from TheStreet.com using the most recent U.S. Census data from 2010 shows that 10 of the 15 richest counties in the nation are located in the Washington region; five are in Maryland and five are in Virginia. Loundon and Fairfax Counties in  Virginia rank as the first and second richest counties in the country with the highest median household income.  Howard County, MD comes in third.

• The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index for December 2011, released today, shows a 1.6% decline in Washington area home prices from December 2010 -- compared to a drop of 4% nationwide.

• The S&P/Case-Shiller November Index, released January 31, 2012, showed that while home prices nationwide dropped 3.7% the Washington area remained the "healthiest housing market in the nation" with prices up 0.5% from November 2010.  In addition, November's S&P Index  reports DC area home prices have risen 3.1% from 2 years ago, and 2.5% from 3 years ago -- the only housing market in the nation to post increases in those time periods.

• The Clear Capital Market Report released February 9, 2012 reveals home prices nationwide showed a quarterly drop of 1.6% and a yearly decline of 2.6%.  However, the company ranked the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area as the third "Highest Performing Major Market" in the nation.  By Clear Capital's methodology Washington area home prices rose 2.1% over the previous quarter and 1.9% over last year.

• CoreLogic's December Home Price Index released February 2, 2012 reports that, according to their research methodology, DC-Arlington-Alexandria home prices rose 2.4%.  Nationwide home prices dropped 4.7%.

• RealEstate Business Intelligence (RBI), the research arm of local multiple listing service MRIS, shows the Washington area housing market improving over last year. According to RBI's methodology local prices rose an average of 1.4% from January 2010 - led by a 17.2% jump in Arlington alone; inventory is down 25.3% - lowest in 7 years; contracts are up 4.6%; and foreclosures are down 67.2%.

• In a report released January 5, 2012 real estate analytics firm Veros ranked the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria housing market third in the nation's "Projected Five Strongest Markets" with an expected growth rate of 2.9%.

• The latest report from The Federal Housing Finance Agency for fourth quarter 2011 also shows the local Washington housing market doing better than most. FHFA methodology reveals DC home prices rose 2.23% both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter.