Those in the market to purchase single-family homes across the Washington region are finding both availability and affordability challenges, while on the flip side, the inventory of condominiums across the market has returned to pre-pandemic levels.
And despite the prospect of lower mortgage-interest rates toward the end of the year, sellers are likely to retain the upper hand in the single-family market through 2024, according to analysis by Bright MLS, the region’s multiple-listing network.
A total of 4,811 properties went to closing across the Washington region in July, according to figures reported Aug. 12, up 10.3 percent from the 4,360 transactions a year before. (Year-to-date sales remain down slightly from 2023). The median sale price of $625,000 for properties that found a buyer in July was up 5.9 percent from a year before.
Though good for sellers, “high prices are keeping some buyers sidelined,” noted Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist for Bright MLS. She predicts it will be “a little easier” for buyers in the fall, particularly if interest rates dip.
Bright MLS counts the following localities in its metro-wide designation: the District of Columbia; Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun counties and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church in Virginia; and Montgomery, Prince George’s and Frederick counties in Maryland. July sales were unchanged or up in all jurisdictions except the District of Columbia (down 9.3%) and median sales prices rose in all 10.
Though up from a year before, July’s median sales price was down slightly from June, typical of seasonal trends across the region.
Half of all homes that went to closing in July spent fewer than nine days between listing and ratified sales contract, up ever so slightly from a year before.
For buyers, there was more plentiful supply, with the 7,341 active listings on the market at the end of the month up a whopping 28 percent from a year earlier. But many prospective purchasers were at the beach, or elsewhere, as the number of home-showings during the month (84,577) was down more than 17 percent from a year before.
Figures represent most, but not all, homes on the market. All July 2024 figures are preliminary and subject to revision.
Year-to-Date Regional Home Sales Down Slightly from 2023: January-through-July home sales across the Washington region were helped by strong mid-summer activity but remained below the same period in 2023, according to new data.
A total of 29,377 properties changed hands during the first seven months of 2024, according to figures reported Aug. 12 by Bright MLS, the region’s multiple-listing service. That’s down 1.4 percent from 29,804 sales during the same period in 2023.
The totals account for transactions in the District of Columbia; Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun counties and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church in Virginia; and Montgomery, Prince George’s and Frederick counties in Maryland.
For the first seven months of the year, the median sales price of $610,000 was up 6.1 percent from $575,000 for the January-through-July-2023 period.
