The median sale price in Washington, D.C., jumped 9 percent last month to just below $600,000, according to the latest Long & Foster Real Estate Market Minute report. While the number of homes for sale didn’t change month-over-month, the city’s home sales declined 11 percent compared to October 2017.

Many neighborhoods within the Nation’s Capital outperformed the city as a whole last month. The median sale price in Spring Valley and Wesley Heights jumped 64 percent, and in the Southwest and Waterfront neighborhood it spiked by 34 percent, for example. Likewise, home sales were up by 46 percent in Logan Circle and Dupont and by 32 percent in Columbia Heights and Mt. Pleasant.

With Amazon’s recent announcement to open its HQ2 to Arlington County, Virginia, industry analysts and housing experts are gauging how the move will affect the real estate market through the D.C. metro, including D.C. itself. Larry “Boomer” Foster, president of Long & Foster Real Estate, predicts modest home price appreciation, significant investments and economic growth throughout the area. Foster and Jeff Detwiler, CEO of The Long & Foster Companies, parent company of Long & Foster Real Estate, shared more of their expectations on the HQ2 announcement in a recent post on the company blog.

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

“While the number of homes for sale in D.C. remained the same last month, inventory challenges have defined much of the real estate market in 2018, both in Washington and the country as a whole,” said Foster. “There’s a low supply of homes for sale, especially in the first-time and move-up buyer price range, and that’s driving higher prices.”

Foster recommended that consumers who are thinking about making a move in the coming year should start their planning today. “In real estate, spring begins in January, and it pays for would-be buyers and sellers to meet their Long & Foster Real Estate agent now and prepare for the year ahead,” Foster noted.

Working with a Long & Foster agent, home buyers gain access to the company’s expansive network of 10,000+ agents, who are not limited to what’s currently on the market for sale today. The company itself offers a Coming Soon Portal that allows its associates to share properties that are soon to be listed for sale, and a luxury-focused private exclusive feature that showcases high-end homes being sold privately by Long & Foster associates.

Likewise, Prosperity Home Mortgage consultants are located in almost every Long & Foster office and can help buyers with all their financing needs. While mortgage interest rates remain at historic lows, they’ve risen above the all-time lows of a few years ago. As rates increase, the cost of homeownership grows, so it’s critical that would-be buyers connect with a mortgage consultant like those at Prosperity to get pre-approved and lock in their rates today, Foster said.

For home sellers, Foster advised that “now’s a prime time to go on the market because buyers who are shopping are serious about their home purchase.”

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.

Disclaimer: Information included in this report is based on data supplied by Bright MLS and its member associations of Realtors, which are not responsible for its accuracy. The reports include residential real estate transactions within specific geographic regions, not just Long & Foster sales, and do not reflect all activity in the market. Information contained in this report is deemed reliable but not guaranteed, should be independently verified, and does not constitute an opinion of Bright or Long & Foster.