A Look at the DC Area's Paltry Housing Inventory That Might Last For Years

• March 24th 2022

by Nena Perry-Brown

Low housing supply continued to put pressure on the DC area housing market in February, but in some places, the shortage is much more acute than others.

Below, UrbanTurf takes a look at the inventory of homes for sale in various jurisdictions throughout the region in February.

The DC area had a half-month supply in February, per Bright MLS, meaning that at the current pace of home sales, all the available inventory (3,693 units) would be sold within just over two weeks if no homes hit the market during that period. In February 2021, there was a one-month supply available areawide, half as much compared to February 2017.

By this metric, DC proper had the most inventory areawide by far, with 1.5 months of supply in February (1,310 units). The District has had a comparable supply of homes for sale throughout the past nine Februaries, with a low of 1.4 months in 2018 and a high of 1.8 months in February 2021.

Loudoun County had the lowest supply of homes for sale in February (0.2 months, or 170 units) compared to 1.9 months in February 2017. Falls Church City is the only jurisdiction examined where there were fewer than 10 listings available in February (5), just under one-third of a month's supply compared to 0.9 months' five year ago.

While spring is usually the season when housing supply bounces back, a new survey suggests that we are in for a prolonged inventory shortage. The survey, conducted by Zillow, asked housing experts when they see supply levels returning to pre-pandemic levels. Thirty-eight percent of respondents don't see this happening until 2024. 

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/a-look-at-the-dc-areas-paltry-housing-inventory/19432.