Inventory Remains Low in Washington, D.C., Real Estate Market

October 18, 2017

MarketMinuteLogo2017smallHomes sold at a rapid pace in the Washington, D.C., residential housing market in September, as buyers snapped up limited supply, according to the Long & Foster Market Minute report for 15 areas within Washington, D.C.

Washington DC Market Minute Chart Sept 2017

 

Days on the market remained low at 30 days on average in the District. Median sale prices fell 6 percent in September compared to a year earlier, while inventory was down 5 percent, with results varying widely by neighborhood.

Brookland and Woodridge saw a 62 percent increase in units sold, while Capitol Hill Northeast saw a 51 percent decrease. A number of neighborhoods also experienced modest increases in median sale price, including in Columbia Heights and Mt. Pleasant, where it rose by 10 percent. September traditionally slows as families settle down for the start of the academic year in most school districts.

There was a 2.7-month supply of homes in the district in September, up 14 percent from a year earlier. When there is less than a six-month supply of available homes, it’s generally considered a seller’s market.

“The whole market is remarkable, but pretty consistent with what we’ve seen most other months of this year,” said Larry “Boomer” Foster, president of Long & Foster Real Estate.

Inventory remains a challenge, but home shoppers are still looking for move-in ready, turnkey properties. Buyers today, of whom millennials make up the largest generational group, lack the appetite for home remodeling that previous generations showed. Even at a discount, a fixer upper will likely take longer to sell.

“Millennials have other things they would rather be doing,” Foster said. “They like traveling and philanthropic pursuits, not a two- or three-month project in the home they just bought.”

The Long & Foster Market Minute is an overview of market statistics based on residential real estate transactions for more than 500 local areas and neighborhoods and over 100 counties in eight states. The easy-to-read, easy-to-share reports include information about each area’s units sold, active inventory, median sale prices, list to sold price ratio, days on market and more.

Information included in this report is based on data supplied by Metropolitan Regional Information System 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 they do not reflect all activity in the marketplace. Information contained in this report is deemed reliable but not guaranteed, should be independently verified, and does not constitute an opinion of MRIS or Long & Foster Real Estate.