Median sale prices continue to climb through most of the Washington Metro Area. Price gains, decreasing days-on-market, and a tightening sale-to-list price ratio are some of the positive effects the lower inventory of homes for sale is having in the region.
The condo market is showing signs of strength, outpacing detached homes and townhomes in June on year-over-year growth in sales, median price gains, and new contracts.
Sales
Sales in the Washington, DC Metro Area rose 5.7% from June 2011, the third consecutive month with year-over-year gain in sales. Sales of detached homes grew 3.6% compared to last year, and townhome sales increased 2.7%. The largest growth occurred in the condo segment. In June condo sales increased 13.9% from last year, and the second consecutive month of double digit year-over-year growth.
Prices
The median sale price for the metro area has reached $400,000 for the first time since June of 2008. Metro-wide, the median sales price grew by 5.3% compared to last year, the fifth consecutive month of year-over-year gains.
In the District alone the median sales price reached $455,000 last month, topping a peak of $438,500 not seen since 2006. June prices in DC rose 4.6% from June 2011. The condo market experienced the sharpest growth with the median sales price rising 12.0% from this time last year, a $30,000 increase in value.
Contracts
The volume of new contracts declined between May and June, in line with seasonal patterns. Historically speaking, new contract volumes have declined between May and June nine out of the past ten years in the metro area.
In June pending sales decreased 9.1% from the 5,593 contracts last month, and slightly below the June 2011 level of 5,124. This is the first year-over-year decline in new contracts in 14 months.
Inventory
Active listings in the Washington DC Metro Area continue to shrink, June's volume of new listings was a historic low. At the end of June housing inventory dropped 33.2% below June 2011, and 32.2% below the 10-year June average of 15,291. This is the 16th consecutive month of year-over-year declines in active inventory.
The diminishing volume will continue to put upward pressure on prices, and if buyer demand continues to pick up, average days-on-market and sale-to-list ratios will likely tighten.
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As you review these statistics it is important to keep in mind that RBI’s methodology defines the DC Metro housing market as encompassing a vast area including:
- Washington, DC
- Montgomery County and Prince George’s County in Maryland
- Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Fairfax City, and Falls Church City in Virginia
More detail on a specific area can be found by searching RBI housing statistics by zip code.
Real Estate Business Intelligence (RBI) is the research component of local multiple listing service MRIS. RBI provides the most recent and accurate housing market statistics to the public based on actual sales recorded in MRIS. At RBI you can search sales statistics by your local zip code, county, or region.
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