DC-Area Home Prices Hit Highest Level in a Decade As Supply Rises in DC

• June 12th 2018

by Nena Perry-Brown

The small increase in new listings in April is seemingly creating a modicum of slack in the DC home buying market.

The latest monthly report from ShowingTime reveals that the overall supply of homes on the market in DC proper increased 6.5 percent year over year, with new listings rising by 7.2 percent. Meanwhile, the median home price, while still at almost record-highs, dropped by a half-percent, from $599,000 to $596,000. This small dip occurred despite closed sales increasing by 2.6 percent.

In a dichotomy familiar to many who keep track of the regional housing market, the DC area experienced several market dynamics that run counter to the District's narrative. The metro-wide median home price hit a 10-year high in May, increasing (for the 20th consecutive month) by 1.1 percent year-over-year to hit $465,000. 

Sales volume in the region also hit a decade high with 5,720 sales in May, as inventory declined for the 25th consecutive month, dropping by nearly 5 percent. However, there is reason to hope that this trend may slow, as the number of new listings rose by 3 percent compared to last May.

Two signs seem to indicate that the competitiveness of the regional market is gradually catching up to that of DC. The average home in the area sold for 99 percent of listing price in May, a decade high for the month, and the median days on the market metric for listings has dropped to nine, matching the lowest days on market in the last ten years. 

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/dc-area-home-prices-hit-highest-level-in-a-decade-as-supply-rises-in-dc/14101.