D.C. Area Home Prices Reach Highest October Level in Nine Years

• November 10th 2014

by Lark Turner

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Home prices in the D.C. area in October were the highest they have been for that month in nine years, according to a report from RealEstate Business Intelligence (RBI) released on Monday.

The region’s median sales price rose to $400,000, an increase of 5.3 percent over 2013. Every jurisdiction in the area experienced price growth, with Fairfax City (14%) and Prince George’s County (13%) leading the annual gains. P.G. County has now seen price increases for 32 straight months. In D.C. proper, home sales prices rose almost 10 percent to $500,000.

Most of the indicators reported by RBI were positive for the region; inventory gains continued, too, though RBI was quick to remark that a “seller’s market remains.”

The number of closed sales in the D.C. metro decreased 2.8 percent from last year, but RBI noted that this was due entirely to a drop in distressed property sales in the region. On balance, closed sales were stronger than average in October. In line with reports from the last nine months, the average number of days homes are spending on the market increased over October 2013.

Here are some other takeaways from the report:

• Inventory grew for the 13th straight month, but it’s not enough to tip the scales in the direction of buyers.
• Though winter will slow sales down, “supply is sufficiently tight in the DC Metro area for listings to continue seeing contracts more quickly than other markets in the country.”
• Despite the increase in the days-on-market metric, homes are still selling faster than both their five- and ten-year averages.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/october_home_sales_reach_highest_level_in_nine_years/9204.