housing statistics MONTGOMERY COUNTY & DC Montgomery County Sales Market in 2014 The combined (single-family and condo/coop) sales market showed a weaker performance than in 2013. The total unit sales volume came in at 10,976 properties, down 4.2% from 2013. The average sold price came in at $503,956 -- up about 1% from last year; and, the $400,000 median just equaled that of 2013. In 2014, properties turned over only slightly more slowly than a year before. Average days on the market totaled 50 – only 3 more than in 2013. By the end of the year, active listings totaled 2,276 homes, which was 34% above the end of year level of 2013.
Single-Family Homes
Montgomery County 2014 year-to-date (YTD) settlements and contracts were down about 3% from 2013. Single-family settlements (8,377) came in 3.3% below the same period in 2013; and, contracts (8,624) were down 2.9% from the total for 2013. Contracts started the year with 523 homes and ended at 518 in December; the peak months were April (1,059), May (1,029), and June (921). Settlements started out with 418 units in January. The peak months were May (867), June (980), and July (843). The December finish of 748 units was up 20% from December 2013.
Active listing inventory in 2014 ended up almost 34% from the end of 2013. By the end of 2013, single-family actives totaled only 1,330 homes. However, by April 2014 there were 2,127 total actives; it moved above 2,500 in June and maxed out at 2,859 in September. Listings in 2014 ran from 675 homes in January, ending with 511 in December – that month was up 29% from December 2013. Monthly listings peaked in May with 1,637 properties; April (1,476) and June (1,373) were next in order of volume. At the end of 2014, at the December contracts pace, there was about
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CAPITAL AREAREALTOR REALTOR® •® •May/Jun Jan/Feb 2015 CAPITAL AREA 2014
a 3.4-months supply, and that rate had been relatively constant over the year. While the 2014 single-family sales pace was down 3%, price performance was virtually unchanged. By December 2014, the year-end average sales price was $576,205, and the median was $460,000. The average was up about 0.5% and the median price was unchanged from 2013. Single-family YTD average prices started at just over $555,000 in January, hit $583,864 in August, and then trended down ending at $576,205. Higher priced sales in the summer months pushed them up, with lower priced properties selling in the fall. The median price for January was $439,592 and that moved up to a YTD peak of $475,000 through July.
Condominiums and Cooperatives
The condominium and cooperative unit sales market in 2014 was down significantly compared to a year before. Through the end of December, there were 2,568 settled sales – down 6% from a year ago. Over the year, settlements started at 160 units in January, ending at 200 in December. The peak month was June (276), with May (247) in second place. December yearto-date contracts (2,652) dropped 5% from a year before; however, the 182 new monthly contracts jumped 14.5% from