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. 

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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.

Increase in closed sales led by detached homes; New pending sales up six percent

OVERVIEW

In September, both buyer and seller activity in the Baltimore Metro Area increased relative to 2013.  The number of closed sales and new pending contracts increased from this time last year and both reached multi-year September highs.  Nearly every jurisdiction in the region had more closed sales than in September 2013, with only those in Anne Arundel County decreasing, falling by 5.2 percent.  Inventory continues to rise with active listings reaching the highest total in nearly three years.  New September listings contributed to rising inventory and had a double-digit increase from last year.  The median price was virtually unchanged from last year, dropping only 0.1%, but was higher than the September-levels of 2009 through 2012.  The year-to-date median sales price is $244,000, unchanged from the same period in 2013.