Home Price Watch: Affordability in Hyattsville

• Aug 19th 2013

by Shilpi Paul

A few weeks ago, UrbanTurf restarted its semi-regular feature, Home Price Watch, where we analyze the housing markets in various zip codes around the DC area.

This week, we are examining the Maryland zip code of 20781. Roughly speaking, 20781 covers parts of Hyattsville and Edmonston. The irregularly-shaped area is bounded by a jagged line that includes 38th Avenue and 41st Avenue to the west, another jagged line that includes East-West Highway, Lafayette Avenue, and Jefferson Street to the north, 60th Street and 56th Place to the east, and the northwest branch of the Anacostia River to the south. The area doesn’t include the West Hyattsville Metro station and the immediately surrounding neighborhoods.

The things that stand out most in the chart above are the comparatively low price points for properties in 20781, regardless of type. Even in 2013, the median sale price for a condo is well under $100,000, and under $160,000 for a detached home. There are a couple reasons for the low prices.

The foreclosure/short sale effect is one. Many of the condo and detached home sales so far this year in 20781 have been distressed properties. If you take a look at the median price differential for detached houses in 2008 and 2013, you can see that prices have not come back from the housing crisis like they have in other parts of the region.

Also, particularly for detached homes in the zip code, prices can vary from the low $100,000s for a house in need of a good deal of work to the $300,000s and up for a completely renovated property.

As for this year’s townhouse sales figures, the majority come from the new developments going up in and around downtown Hyattsville. The numbers, however, represent a fraction of the sales so far, as developers tend to only record a handful of actual sales in the multiple listing service.

Similar Posts:

• Home Price Watch: Townhomes Break $1 Million in 20009
• Home Price Watch: Rising 15 Percent a Year in Bloomingdale and LeDroit
• Home Price Watch: Climbing on Capitol Hill and Hill East

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/home_price_watch_affordability_in_hyattsville/7471.