Posted on November 10, 2014 by Corey Hart
Nov

10

2014

New contracts miss last year's mark by two percent, increase for non-distressed property contracts

OVERVIEW

The housing market trends in October in the Washington DC Metro Area were little changed from prior months.  The number of closed sales in the region fell 2.8 percent from the October 2013 level, but the decline was driven entirely by a decrease in distressed property sales.  Sales of distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) have been decreasing since mid-2010 and declined 21.5 percent between October 2013 and October 2014.  Non-distressed sales in October were actually unchanged from last year.  New pending contracts also saw an overall decrease, but as with closed sales, the decline was largely the result of fewer contracts for distressed properties.  New contracts for distressed properties were 16.2 percent below the October 2013 level, while those for non-distressed homes increased by 1.4 percent. 

Click here to view PDF version of this report

The median sales price for the region increased 5.3 percent from October 2013 with gains in every jurisdiction.  Active listings continue to rise but are only 46.0 percent of their peak-level of 2007.  The median days-on-market increased, marking the ninth month of year-over-year increases.  But homes continue to sell more quickly than the five-year and 10-year October averages.

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Corey Hart
Dec

10

2013

October's shutdown resulted in a sluggish November

OVERVIEW

Closed sales in the Washington DC Metro Region housing market stalled in November, likely due to the uncertainty caused by the shutdown of the federal government in October.  Closed sales decreased 13.7 percent from this time last year.  This is the first decline since March of last year and the largest decline in over two years.  Sales decreased 21.2 percent from last month, which is nearly five times the 10-year average October to November change.  Even with the decline in closed sales, the median sales price increased 8.1 percent from last year and median prices increased in every jurisdiction except Arlington County.  New pending contracts increased 3.3 percent from last November, but new pending contracts decreased both in Fairfax County (-1.5 percent) and Prince George’s County (-5.8 percent). 

Click here to view PDF version of this report

Posted on December 03, 2013 by Corey Hart
Dec

03

2013

A DSNews.com post - Are Cash Sales Creating a Dangerous Mirage? - covering the latest RealtyTrac report has been making its way around the Twitterverse today, with an ominous opening paragraph:

"Home prices and home sales have been rising over the past few years, pointing to a recovery in the housing market, but RealtyTrac warns that what we are seeing may not be a true recovery but instead a mirage created by investors—a dangerous mirage that could lead to trouble in the years to come."

According to the report, cash purchases made up nearly half of home sales across the nation in September. So we took a look at our local data to see how we compare to the national rate reported by RealtyTrac.  Fortunately the investor boogeymen artificially propping up prices doesn't appear to be "creating an unsustainable housing bubble" locally.  

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Corey Hart
Nov

12

2013

Inventory remains tight...but the roller coaster ride might be over

Flashback. It is March 2006. New listings are up for the 13th consecutive month and contract activity is down for the 11th month in a row. Inventory has nearly quadrupled in the course of one year (from 4,152 listings in March 2005 to 15,640 in March 2006).

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Corey Hart
Nov

11

2013

Median price increases for all jurisdictions in the region

Overview

Demand in the Washington DC Metro Region housing market continues to grow, with sales and pending contracts increasing 19.1 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively, from last October.  Total inventory increased from the prior year for the first time in over two years, driven by townhomes and condo properties.  Despite the uptick in active listings, total inventory is still at historic lows and is only 35.7 percent of its 2007 peak level.  New listings increased 19.2 percent from this time last year and contributed to the increase in total inventory.  The median sales price increased in all jurisdictions as compared to last October.  The regional median sales price also increased 4.8 percent from last year, which is a slower pace than earlier this year primarily as a result of a slower increase in the median sale price of single-family detached homes. 

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