The 6% Effect Makes For a Cooler Spring Market in the DC Area

• May 10th 2023

by UrbanTurf Staff

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Spring is usually one of the busiest times of the year in the DC-area housing market, as both buyers and sellers seem to emerge from hibernation. This year, however, things are different. 

High mortgage rates and high home prices along with a lack of listings on the market have led to a cooler spring market in the region, according to a report out today from Bright MLS. 

Closed sales in the region in April were down nearly 33% compared to a year ago and new pending sales fell 26.4%. Pending sales ticked up just 3% between March and April, a much lower seasonal increase than is normally seen in the spring. 

While the market is slower than last year from a sales perspective, it might not seem slow to buyers as the low inventory of homes for sale still makes for competitive scenarios. 

“The housing market has not warmed up like it would have during a more typical spring,” said Bright MLS Chief Economist Dr. Lisa Sturtevant. “Still, despite the macro signals that the housing market is slow, buyers in the market who want or need to move might disagree. Homes are still selling very quickly, and there is a lot of competition for relatively few homes for sale.”   

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the_6_effect_makes_for_a_cooler_spring_market_in_the_dc_area/21003.