What's Hot: DC Has the Most Cranes in the Sky of Any U.S. City | The 7 DC Neighborhoods Where You Aren't The Only Person Bidding on a Home
Housing Inventory in DC Area Hits Lowest Level in Almost a Decade

The DC area’s declining inventory.
The DC area finished 2012 with the lowest level of for-sale housing inventory in almost a decade, and the lowest number of new listings on record.
RealEstate Business Intelligence (RBI) reported this morning that there were 6,466 active listings in the region at the end of last year, a drop of over 4,200 listings from the end of 2011. As for new listings, 2,465 came on the market in December, the lowest number for any month with data dating back to 1997.
In general, a drop in inventory usually results in prices heading northward, but at least in the short term, RBI hypothesizes that is not what is happening:
Unseasonable declines in sales and median price from November could be an early sign of weakening demand. While intuitively low supply would put upward pressure on prices, it could be that many buyers are deciding to delay their home purchase until more options become available on the market, which is loosening the pressure on pricing as evidenced by the $11,000 drop in the median sale price from November.

Courtesy of RealEstate Business Intelligence
Still, there is evidence that the drop in inventory over the last 12 months has driven prices upward. In DC proper, the median sales price has risen almost 10 percent (from $414,000 to $455,000), and across the Metro area, prices rose 10.5 percent. During that period, active inventory fell by over 40 percent.
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.
See other articles related to: realestate business intelligence, housing inventory, dclofts, dc housing inventory, dc home prices, dc home and condo prices
This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/housing_inventory_in_dc_area_hits_lowest_level_in_almost_a_decade/6501
Most Popular... This Week • Last 30 Days • Ever

UrbanTurf has compiled virtual looks at large new developments around the DC region.... read »

The 1.5 million additional square feet of development along the Washington Channel is... read »

The Q1 2021 crane count shows DC in the lead.... read »

The two-bedroom, two-bath unit hit the market on Monday for just under $2 million.... read »

A zoning hearing is scheduled for later this month.... read »
DC Real Estate Guides
Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market
We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Visit guides.urbanturf.com or start browsing below!
First-Timer Primers
Intro guides for first-time home buyers
Unique Spaces
Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro
5 Comments