A 20-Year Low: The Supply of Homes For Sale in DC Area Drops to Lowest Level on Record

• January 12th

by UrbanTurf Staff

If you are a homebuyer in the DC region and feel like your choices are limited, you are on to something. 

In December, the supply of homes for sale in the DC area fell to its lowest level on record. There was about a three-week inventory of homes for sale, according to Bright MLS, which UrbanTurf determined is the lowest level since records started being kept in the early 2000s.

The supply of homes for sale in the region is dropping faster than anywhere in the Mid-Atlantic, per the Bright report, with active listings down 38% compared to December 2020. 

"Limited inventory is the main reason there is slower housing market activity in the Washington, DC region, as prospective home buyers are becoming discouraged by a lack of options," the report stated. "Inventory levels ranged from just 0.8 months supply for mid-priced single-family homes to 2.3 months supply for higher-priced condos."

As UrbanTurf has noted over the years, the standard benchmark for a balanced housing market is a six-month supply of homes for sale, which means that if no new homes hit the market, the supply of homes would run out in six months. The last time the region had a six-month supply of homes for sale was 13 years ago and inventory hasn't been above three months since July 2012. 

Thumbnail photo of a home that sold in DC in December.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/a-20-year-low-the-supply-of-homes-for-sale-drops-to-lowest-level-on-/19135.