Washington, D.C., home values rose 5 percent in April from a year ago as limited inventory and continuing competition pushed more buyers to pay above asking price. Sales were up more than 10 percent.
The city’s median sale price was $524,450 in April, up from $500,000 in March and the third-straight month of gains. In April 2014, the median price was $499,450.
Activity picked up as the spring selling season got into full swing, with 717 homes trading hands, a 10 percent increase from April 2014. Listings jumped, with 1,195 properties coming on the market, a 10.3 percent increase from a year ago and up from 995 in March.
Still, the city’s inventory shortage isn’t really improving. With a total of 1,278 houses, condominiums and co-ops on the market in April, Washington had less than two months of supply of properties for sale, the lowest level since last summer and the third-straight month of tightening.
It’s no surprise, then, that the market is speeding up. Half of all homes sold in eight days or less and in neighborhoods like the U Street corridor, Navy Yard and Logan Circle, they’re going even faster. The last time we saw properties changing hands so quickly was last June. And 42.5 percent of properties sold above asking price, the biggest share of above-list sales in almost two years.
“It’s still competitive for buyers,” Redfin D.C. Market Manager Sam Khosh said. “They’re still going up against a lot of offers. Demand is still too high and buyers have to get really creative.” Sellers, he said, have all the leverage and the speed at which detached homes and rowhouses are selling is “insane.”
The Foxhall/Palisades/Spring Valley/Wesley Heights area was the city’s most-expensive neighborhood, with a median sale price of more than $1.38 million. Bellevue/Congress Heights/Washington Highlands saw the biggest jump in property values, with the median sale price rising 136 percent from a year ago to $236,000 as higher prices elsewhere in the city had buyers in search of affordability. The median sale price rose nearly 55 percent in nearby Anacostia and 54 percent in Deanwood compared to a year ago.
NOTE: Not all neighborhoods are listed, but totals for Washington, D.C., encompass entire city. Data is based on multiple-listing information and might not reflect all real estate activity in the market. Neighborhood data is measured over the three months ended April 31. Inventory measures listings active as of April 31.
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