DC Area Home Prices Rise 11.2 Percent

• May 10, 2012

by Shilpi Paul

Changes in DC Area Home Prices, By Region.

Home prices in the DC area rose in April. Significantly.

A report released today revealed that the median home price for the area in April was $371,500, 11.2 percent higher than one year ago. This is the largest gain for prices in over six years and marks the third consecutive month of annual increases. (Prices rose 7.8 percent in March.) In DC proper, prices rose 12.5 percent, from $399,000 to $449,000.

The report, from RealEstate Business Intelligence (RBI), outlined price increases for various property types in the region: Condo and co-op prices have risen 14.6 percent since April 2011 (the second month in a row that that property type value has risen by at least 14 percent), sales prices of detached properties rose 8.4 percent, and townhome prices increased by 9.4 percent. (Keep in mind that these statistics include the entire region noted below; for more granular statistics of specific zip codes or areas, click here.)

This morning’s RBI report also revealed just how low the inventory of active listings is in the area. The 3.2 month’s of active supply is one of the main forces putting upward pressure on prices. For only the second time in ten years, there were fewer new listings in April than in March. April’s 6,280 new listings marked a 14 percent decline when compared to April 2011.

While the number of newly listed foreclosures also remained relatively low, that may be changing. From the report:

The 348 newly listed foreclosures represented a 40.3 percent decrease compared to April 2011 and accounted for 5.5 percent of new listings, down from 8 percent in April 2011. This does represent a slight increase in the share of new listings in foreclosure compared to March (4.8 percent), worth keeping an eye on in the months ahead.

In related news, mortgage rates hit another record low of 3.83 percent this morning.

The area that RBI analyzes includes DC, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Fairfax City, and Falls Church City.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/dc_home_prices_rise_11.2_percent_in_april/5522