The number of homes sold increased across the Washington, D.C., area in April while inventory continued to fall, according to the latest Long & Foster Real Estate Market Minute report. 

Penn Quarter and Shaw saw the highest increase in home sales with a rise of 65%, followed by Brookland and Woodridge which had a 56% increase. Inventory decreased across most neighborhoods, with Southwest and Waterfront exhibiting the biggest fall with a 38% decline, followed by Anacostia and Hillcrest with a 27% fall. Median home prices had no year-over-year change, though Southwest and Waterfront showed the biggest neighborhood-level increase with a 34% rise and Georgetown had the largest decline with a 21% fall.  

The Long & Foster Real Estate Market Minute report provides data for 15 neighborhood areas within Washington, D.C.  

“Inventory is still contracting around Washington, D.C., at a fast clip, pretty much everywhere,” said Larry “Boomer” Foster, president of Long & Foster Real Estate. “We ought to feel good about where we are, other than the fact that there’s not a lot to sell.” This is a result of the Amazon effect that’s still taking place as the rush to buy homes close to National Landing continues.  

The days that homes are on the market are around 37 days in D.C., so homes are coming off the market pretty rapidly. “If you look at list price versus sale price, almost everywhere is 99% and up. What that means is there are a lot of places where people are paying well over the asking price,” Foster explained. “As long as homes are staged properly and updated there are no problems with homes staying on the market.”  

Foster referenced the tariffs that have been placed on Chinese products, stating that tariffs have already been “causing a squeeze on building margins. Due to many factors, including the rising costs of materials, higher wages for skilled workers and land appreciation, there’s downward pressure on builder’s margins.” 

This only exacerbates the inventory issue as builders are accounting for their margins by building bigger homes; a product most consumers are not looking for. Many consumers are looking for entry level homes and first buyer homes; however, Foster speculates that builders are skittish because ‘many of them overbuilt during the recession so they’re wary of putting nail to board unless they know they can sell it.” 

The current low interest rates are great for homebuyers though, since their buying power increases the lower the interest rates drop. With the current tariffs in China and Brexit, Foster anticipates the interest rates staying low as “domestic and foreign money gets parked in U.S. Treasury bonds, keeping the yields on those bonds down along with the 30-year fixed rate.” 

To learn more about your local market conditions, visit Long & Foster’s Market Insights. You can also learn more about Long & Foster and find an agent at LongandFoster.com.