CHANTILLY, Va., Jan. 22, 2018 – In Washington, D.C., median home sale prices increased from $560,000 to $598,550 last month, resulting in growth of 7 percent compared to December 2017, according to the latest Long & Foster Real Estate Market Minute report.    

Several neighborhoods saw a spike in inventory with Foggy Bottom and West End experiencing an increase of 67 percent and Shepherd Park and Petworth showing an increase of 51 percent. Units sold increased in a number of areas as well, with Capitol Hill (SE) seeing a 66 percent surge and Chevy Chase DC experiencing a 33 percent increase.  

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

“The story remains relatively the same for many markets in the Mid-Atlantic – inventory is still contracting, price appreciation is moderate to flat – but D.C. is different from neighborhood to neighborhood,” said Larry “Boomer” Foster, president of Long & Foster Real Estate. “Each area of the city is its own market where there’s a melting pot of different things happening, which just goes to show us that all real estate is hyperlocal.”  

While there’s a consensus in the industry that mortgage interest rates will be climbing in 2019, for the last few weeks they have been down. Foster attributes that to volatility in the stock market and in the world economy.  

“Foreign and domestic investors are putting a ton of money into the 10-year treasury bonds causing the yield on the 10-year treasury bonds to go down, which in turn causes the 30-year fixed rates to go down,” Foster said. “If the government shutdown, Brexit talk and trade wars with China continue, we’ll see a lot of people fleeing to the security of bonds, which will keep interest rates artificially low.”  

Consumer sentiment about the economy remains high despite the volatility of the markets. One of the biggest indicators of a strong real estate market is high consumer sentiment, because when people are confident they buy and sell homes, Foster said.  

“The complexities of our market conditions are what make it crucial to work with a professional, knowledgeable real estate professional,” Foster said. “While the bigger trends help us understand the health of the market, home buyers and sellers can benefit most from an expert with knowledge of individual neighborhoods, like those at Long & Foster Real Estate.” 

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.