DC Area Home Sales Slow in February as Prices Rise

• March 10, 2014

by UrbanTurf Staff

A recently sold bungalow in Del Ray.

DC’s cold and snowy weather slowed home buyer activity in the region in February, according to a report released Monday morning.

There were 3,792 new contracts signed last month in the region, 11.3 percent fewer than this time last year, according to a February report from RealEstate Business Intelligence. New contracts for detached homes had the sharpest drop, falling 14 percent, while contracts for townhomes decreased 9.1 percent. Meanwhile, contracts for condos fell 7.4 percent. Closed sales for all property types were also about 3.5 percent lower than February 2013.

DC area prices, though, rose on a year-over-year basis for the 25th month in a row to $375,000, an increase of 5.6 percent over the median sales price in February 2013. Prince George’s County boasted the highest increase, with a 25.2 percent growth over February 2013.

Though active listings increased year-over-year for the fifth consecutive month, new inventory took a hit in February, with 3.3 percent fewer new listings across all home types versus last year. And though the number of days homes spent on the market increased to an average of 28 days last month (from 24 days a year ago), the report notes that “the [days on market metric] remains lower than its 10-year average February-level of 49.”

RBI said it expects robust figures will even up the market in March.

“As the region finally thaws out, we anticipate a very active March market,” RBI’s president, Jonathan Hill, said. “Typical seasonal patterns suggest around a 35 percent increase in listing activity compared to February and a 25 percent month-over-month jump in new contracts as the spring market kicks into gear.”

Data provided by RealEstate Business Intelligence, a subsidiary of MRIS.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/dc_area_home_sales_slow_in_snowy_february_as_prices_rise/8215