Downtown D.C. Housing Market Continues Strong Performance in May

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

Downtown Washington, D.C., is one of the “brightest spots in the country for home sales and appreciation rates.” That’s how Donna Evers, president and broker at Evers & Co. Real Estate, describes the region. Her company is the largest independent, woman-owned real estate firm in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. It recently analyzed statistics from the Metropolitan Regional Information System and reported that the Downtown Washington, D.C., housing market enjoyed a merry month of May.

The region experienced gains, with a 13 percent increase in sales volume, compared to the same period last year and an increase in the average home sale price of 9.7 percent. All of this despite an uneventful spring season.

“We are experiencing strong and growing demand for homeownership in the increasingly popular District of Columbia, and that bears out in these latest figures,” Evers said in a statement. She advised sellers to list their homes now, to price them appropriately and to expect multiple offers. For buyers looking for a sound investment, Evers had only one piece of advice: shop carefully.

“There are still not enough homes up for sale around our area to meet demand, so if sellers price and present their homes well, they’re sure to solicit interest and even bidding wars among buyers,” she added.

The Washington, D.C., metro area did not perform as well as the city’s downtown. Real Estate Business Intelligence recently reported that closed sales and new pending contracts in the metro area decreased from last May by 10.6 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively. However, the median sales price continued to rise due to the tight inventory and the decline in bank-mediated sales. It increased by 1.2 percent, or $17,500, reaching $430,000. This is the 28th consecutive year-over-year increase and the highest May level on record, with data starting in 1997.

The number of active listings also increased by 30.6 percent since last year, reaching the highest level in two years. In spite of this, the number of homes for sale in the metro area still remains tight, as the increase only brought inventory to 40.3 percent of its 2007 peak. New listings in the metro area have increased by 9.8 percent.