Lowest days-on-market in 8 years; Active listings remain low, however new listings spike for the 1^st time in 2 years

OVERVIEW

Market indicators point to a healthy spring market in the Washington DC Metro Region.  Sales and median prices continue to rise, and new contract activity is up after several months of declines.  The low inventory of homes for sale coupled with strong demand on the buyer side is fueling much of the market growth. While active listings remain historically low, new listings spiked in April, possibly an early sign of a changing pattern.  The rise in new listings could indicate that sellers are starting to be drawn into the market by higher price points and faster sale times. 

There have been dozens of reports discussing the recovery in home prices in the national market, but the uptick in pricing shouldn't be news to anyone living in the Northern Virginia and DC Metro area.  Here's a chart comparing the year-over-year median sale price in Northern Virginia vs. the year-over-year gain in national pricing, according to RBI's new partner CoreLogic:

Aside from a slight blip in spring 2010 due to the first-time homebuyer tax credit program, national prices began recovering in earnest in March 2012, whereas NoVa pricing has seen consistent year-over-year gains since July 2009.