DC’s housing market is now ‘becoming a little bit easier for buyers.’ Here’s why
Nationwide, the typical home that sold over a four week period ending in June went for 0.3% less than its asking price. But the D.C. metro area isn’t following that trend.
Nationwide, the typical home that sold during the four weeks ending on June 23 sold for 0.3% less than its asking price. It’s the first time in four years that’s happened.
During that same period, 32.3% of homes under contract sold for more than list price, also the smallest share of over-list sales in four years.
“Price growth is still high, but we are seeing signs that the price growth is weakening, and you can see it in how many homes are selling for under their asking price. For the first time since 2020, the majority of homes are selling for less than their asking price,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin.
In the D.C. metro, the average sale-to-list-price ratio held steady at 101% of asking price.
The D.C. market is showing signs of cooling nonetheless.
While the median selling price is up 7% from a year ago, pending sales are down 1.6% and 5.6% of sellers lowered their original asking price.
“It seems like the housing market is loosening up just a bit. It is becoming a bit easier for buyers. It may become easier if mortgage rates were to drop further. It is still a difficult market, but I think at the moment it is becoming a little bit easier for buyers,” Fairweather said.
Homes in the D.C. metro are still selling quickly, if priced right, but that too is slowing a bit. In the four weeks ending June 23, 42.1% of homes that went under contract had been on the market two weeks or less, down 1.7% from a year ago.
The number of active listings in the D.C. metro is up 11.3% from a year ago, and new listings are up 17.4%, according to Redfin.
The likelihood of homes selling below asking price is rising because there’s more supply than demand, at least for certain types of homes. Most inventory is growing stale with over 60% of homes listed for at least a month without going under contract nationwide, Redfin said.
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