Little Demand: Sales of DC’s Smaller Homes Increase 35%

• September 10, 2013

by UrbanTurf Staff

A unit for sale at 1930 18th Street NW.

New data reveals a sky-rocketing in demand for smaller homes in DC.

Sales for units smaller than 800 square feet rose 35.6 percent between August 2012 and August 2013, according to a report released Tuesday from RealEstate Business Intelligence. And prices for these homes rose at almost the same pace as demand. The median sales price for units between 800 and 1,000 square feet increased 21.7 percent year-over-year, almost triple the price appreciation of other property types (7.8 percent) during that time.

The report also revealed that the median home price for the area rose from $385,000 in August 2012 to $415,000 in August 2013. Prices increased in six of the eight jurisdictions covered, with Prince George’s County leading the way with 19.4 percent appreciation. In DC proper, prices rose 5 percent, from $439,000 to $461,000.

From the RBI report:

The overall high demand and low supply contributed to median sale price gains within the region and resulted in the highest August-level median sales price in eight years. Rising prices and strong demand may encourage new sellers to enter the market, increasing new listings and helping to meet pent up demand.

Here are a few other interesting statistics from the report:

• The median days-on-market for homes in the area hit 14 days last month, the lowest August-level since the peak of the housing boom in 2005.
• The average sales-to-original-list-price ratio dipped a bit to 98.2 percent from 98.5 percent in July, but remains well above the five-year average of 95.3 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.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/little_demand_sales_of_dcs_smaller_homes_increase_35/7534