While fewer homes were sold during the first half of the year, prices remained steady in the Capital Region, according to the Long & Foster | Christie’s International Real Estate 2020 Mid-Year Capital Region Market Report.

Housing inventory in the region tightened during the first half of 2020, falling 43% by the end of June, compared to the same period of 2019, with fewer homes going on the market. Buyers and sellers stayed home or delayed plans to move, as Covid-19 spread across the country. The number of home sales fell 13% overall, while luxury home sales were down only 7%. The region’s high-end market saw an 18% reduction in homes available to buyers.

“As we’ve moved out of the Covid-19 lockdown, we’ve seen more buyers out, wishing to take advantage of historically low interest rates. Those shoppers are competing for limited inventory in an already tight market,” said Jeffrey S. Detwiler, president and CEO of The Long & Foster Companies. “Covid-19 and the upcoming elections will likely affect the housing market toward the end of 2020, but we remain cautiously optimistic.”

Within Washington, D.C., sales of homes priced $1 million and up declined 25.3% compared to the prior year, while median sale prices increased 4.3%. Months of supply increased to 3.3 months at the end of the second quarter, compared to 2 months in Q2 of 2019. Typically, a market with less than a 6-month supply of homes for sale is considered one that favors sellers. Days on market was the same as a year earlier by the end of June, at 28 days, after rising to 39 days during the first quarter of 2020.

Luxury real estate sales decreased by double-digits in Northern Virginia in the first half of 2020, with 19.1% fewer units sold. The number of high-end homes for sale dropped by 17.8% from the same period of 2019, with 4.3 months of supply. Median sale prices increased slightly by 1.4%. The average time properties spent on the market was flat.

In Montgomery County, Maryland, the number of luxury properties sold in the first half of 2020 dipped by 22.4%. Average monthly inventory of luxury homes for sale declined by 31.2%, while the median sale price fell by 3.4%. The average marketing time in the second quarter was 45 days by the end of June, after rising to 67 days in the first quarter. In the second quarter of 2019, homes took 52 days to sell, on average.

In addition to highlighting major trends in the D.C. region, the Long & Foster | Christie’s Capital Region Market Report spotlights individual neighborhoods. It also summarizes the local luxury market by the types of homes (for example, single family and townhomes) sold in individual neighborhoods, providing an in-depth analysis of the residential market. View the report in its entirety here.

For more information about Long & Foster, visit LongandFoster.com.