Home Sales Are Down on Capitol Hill: Buyer Fatigue or Short Supply?

• May 30th 2018

by Nena Perry-Brown

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The housing market on Capitol Hill started off with a bang last year, with high sales volume spurring a significant jump in how much buyers were willing to fork over to buy in the neighborhood. This year, however, sales on the Hill have slowed and prices are down, and this edition of Home Price Watch takes a look at why. 

During the first four months of 2018, sales volume on Capitol Hill dropped by 17 percent and home prices followed suit, falling by 12 percent from a median price of $1,087,457 to $930,000. Three-bedroom rowhouses in particular, one of the more popular property types in the neighborhood, have been selling for 12 percent less than they did over the same period last year. 

Despite the drop in prices and sales, homes for sale are spending a median of just seven days on the market this year and over half of the homes sold in 2018 did so within ten days of being listed. There also remains a high level of competition, as the contract ratio came in just below 2.0.

This year's drop in sales and prices is not so much a sign of a less competitive market than perhaps evidence of buyers growing increasingly frustrated with their lack of options. There was less than a month's supply of homes on the market starting last December up until April, when supply went back up to five weeks' worth.

Check out this year's other Home Price Watch features here:

• Home Price Watch: Competition Reigns in Chevy Chase DC
• Home Price Watch: Prices Shoot Up 33% in Trinidad

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/sales-are-down-in-capitol-hill-buyer-fatigue-or-short-supply/14045.