Home Prices in DC Area Reach Highest January Level Since 2007

• February 10, 2015

by Lark Turner

An Adams Morgan condo that sold in January.

DC-area home prices rose to their highest January level since 2007 last month, according to a report released Tuesday by RealEstate Business Intelligence. Median sales prices in the region increased to $385,000, a 4.1 percent jump over last year. Prices rose everywhere but Fairfax City (-9%) and Montgomery County (-1.2%). In DC proper, prices increased to $495,000 from $470,000, a year-over-year appreciation of 5.3 percent.

Home sales volume also rose 4.5 percent over last year, making January the second month in a row that sales increased year-over-year. (In contrast, December was the only month in 2014 that saw sales gains.) The property segment that saw the largest increased in sales were detached, single-family homes.

The rest of RBI’s report looks good for the metro, too. Contracts went up for the third month in a row, rising 6.2 percent over last year and reaching the highest January level the area has seen in four years. Inventory is 18 percent higher than it was last year, which is decent news for buyers in what has been a long-running seller’s market. RBI notes that “this is the first time inventory has increased for all housing types for more than a 12-month period since February 2007.”

Perhaps related to the increasing inventory, homes are taking longer to sell. The median amount of time homes spent on the market increased by 13 days to 45 days, a day higher than the five-year January average. January saw the highest days-on-market metric of any month since February 2012.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/dc_area_home_prices_reach_highest_level_since_2007/9512