The DC-Area Housing Market Just Had Its Hottest January in Years

• February 11th 2021

by Nena Perry-Brown

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The 2021 housing market started at a whiplash-inducing pace for the DC region, according to the latest monthly report from Bright MLS.

In January, the supply of homes for sale in the DC area fell below one month for the first time on record. This dearth of inventory came amid a flurry of activity, as 3,534 sales closed in the month, representing a 19% increase from the 2,964 sales closed in January 2020. New pending home sales also rose by 11.6% metrowide.

Homes in the region were not just selling, they were flying off the market. More than 1,700 homes sold within ten days of being listed, accounting for almost half of the units that closed in January. Single-family homes were selling within 8 days, nearly a month faster than last year. 

Condos and co-ops are also getting increased attention from buyers, as the number of closed sales for the property type increased 33% year-over-year, totaling 1,103 units in January 2021.

Similar trends were observed in DC proper, as the 622 sales in the city in January were a 9.5% year-over-year increase. More than half of those units were condos and co-ops, and those 333 closed sales were nearly 26% higher than in January 2020. DC also saw the highest number of condos/co-ops hit the market in a decade, accounting for 737 of the 1,162 new listings in January. 

“January kicked off 2021 with the same buyer enthusiasm we saw in the second half of 2020,” Brian Donnellan, Bright MLS president and CEO, said in a statement. ”Across the DC metro region, the time it took for homes to go under contract once listed declined faster than any time in nearly eight years.”

Thumbnail image of a home that recently sold in Takoma Park. Courtesy of RealTour. 

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• No Homes For Sale: The DC-Area's 9-Year Housing Inventory Drought
• In the DC Housing Market, Winter is the New Spring

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/the-dc-housing-market-just-had-its-hottest-january-in-years/17872.