Is Housing Inventory Finally Increasing in the DC Region?

• April 11, 2016

by Nena Perry-Brown

The main story in the regional housing market over the last few years has been the shortage of homes for sale. However that trend may be turning.

While the growth in home inventory in the DC metropolitan area has been tepid for the past year and a half, there was a sharp increase in the number of new listings and in the total inventory of homes for sale last month, according to RealEstate Business Intelligence’s March report released today.

“The number of new listings in March rose to 8,352, a 20% gain compared to last year, with all property types showing growth of about 20%,” the report stated. “Compared to last month, new listings rose 61.5%, more than usual for this time of the year.” As for total inventory, the number of homes for sale in the DC area increased to 9,774 at the end of March, about an 8.5 percent increase compared to last year.

DC saw the highest year-over-year increase in both new listings (27.3 percent) and inventory (21.9 percent). Conversely, Fairfax City had the smallest year-over-year increase in new listings (10.4 percent) and saw inventory levels decrease by 13.95 percent.

Below are a few other highlights from the March report:

• Half the homes sold in March were on the market for 27 days or less.
• The median sales price in the region in March was $399,000, slightly lower than last year. This marks the fourth consecutive month of a year-over-year decrease in home sales prices, although DC (+1.1 percent), Prince George’s County (+4.5 percent) and Falls Church City (+37.8 percent) are bucking this regional trend.
• March sales volume in the area increased both monthly and year-over-year, representing the 16th consecutive month of this trend.

The unit in the thumbnail image is for sale at CityCenter.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/new_listings_in_march_have_increased_20_percent_since_last_year/11087