Inventory has finally caught up with last year. August condo/coop active listings (452) came in at 1.6% above last August; it is now higher than all months back to August 2012. Furthermore, August new listings (293) bounced 18% above last year’s monthly figure. At the August contracts pace, there was only a 1.8-months supply of properties. This ratio is higher than earlier in the spring; but, the tight inventory of previous months continues to help with price appreciation in this seller’s market.
AUGUST SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES The Washington, DC single-family sales market has significantly improved compared to last year. Year-to-date settlements (2,749) jumped 9% and new settlements in August (350) were up 5.7% from the same period in 2012. Similarly, year-to-date contracts (2,963) rose 6%; and, August single-family contracts (370) bumped 12.5% above a year before.
The summer marked a big turnaround in housing prices. Both average and median prices rose substantially. For all of 2012, the average and median sales prices were $250,738 and $208,225, respectively. Thus far, through August, the average price of $269,981 was up 7.7% from 2012; and, the median price of $220,000 was almost 5.7% above the 2012 median. Again, the pent-up demand and tight inventory have been a boon to sellers.
The District’s single-family inventory continues to be below the levels of last year, but the gap is diminishing. August total active listings totaled 598 properties. This was just 5% below those in August 2012, an improvement over the spring and early summer months. However, new single-family listings for the month (377) were up only about 6% from a year before. The seller’s market is drawing out listings in the twilight months of the summer, but at a relatively slow rate.
WASHINGTON, DC SALES MARKET
The tight inventory has finally worked to push up price appreciation rates. In 2012, single-family average prices ($655,645) had jumped 11% compared to the average for 2011. And 2012 median prices ($530,000) had bounced up 18%. This year, through August, the average single-family home cost $719,279 with the median at $600,000. Through August, these prices yield appreciation rates of 9.7% and 13.2%, respectively. While they are below the 2012 rates, they are still very solid numbers.
The District’s unit sales pace moved up substantially by mid-summer. In July, it totaled 779 properties, rising 23% from a year ago. And, the sold dollar volume was $492,029,773 – leaping almost 37% from the previous year. The average sale price was $631,617-- up 11%; and the median price was $520,000 – almost a 14% jump from last July. Furthermore, the average sales price to average original listing price ratio came in at 98% -- up almost 2 percentage points from a year before. However, July inventory included only 1,212 total actives and that figure had dropped almost 19% from a year ago.
Capital Area REALTOR®
79129-CAR sept oct.indd 11
Serving the Business Needs of OUR Professionals
continued on page 12
2013 September - October
11
10/10/13 3:16 PM