The 5 Most Competitive Neighborhoods for DC Homebuyers in 2018

• April 20, 2018

by UrbanTurf Staff

As the spring housing market gets rolling, UrbanTurf is taking a look at the neighborhoods around DC where homebuyers are likely to face the most competition.

UrbanTurf used a variety of metrics to determine the competition level in neighborhoods around the city. First, we used the year-to-date ratios of average sales price to original list price for legal and advertised subdivisions in DC. The baseline ratio is 100 percent, so any average above 100 is an indication that homes are selling for above listing price. The second metric we examined was housing inventory. And the last metric we analyzed was contract ratio, which compares the total number of homes under contract in a given period to the overall number of active listings. A higher ratio signifies an increase in contracts compared to supply. For example, a ratio of 2.0 means there are two listings under contract for every listing that is active.

The most competitive neighborhoods for buyers in DC are scattered throughout the city. In Randle Heights, a neighborhood just east of the Anacostia River, and Shaw there were three listings under contract for every active listing in March. Chevy Chase DC remains a competitive housing market in upper NW with a contract ratio of 2.0 in March and about a three-week supply of homes on the market. Takoma and 16th Street Heights might not be garnering the offers of other neighborhoods, but both neighborhoods are seeing homes selling for above list price in 2018 and have just about a month's supply of homes on the market. 

Given the drop in home sales for the beginning of the spring season, this year might not be as hot for the DC housing market as 2017, but the neighborhoods above are not the only areas where buyers will experience bidding wars. Mount Pleasant, AU Park, Glover Park and Burleith are among other areas where homebuyer competition is likely to remain moderate to high for the remainder of the year. 

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the-5-most-competitive-neighborhoods-for-dc-homebuyers/13869