Happy Spring Everyone! There is a lot of excitement in the real estate market this year, but before we jump in, we’re thrilled to introduce you to the newest member of the Tim Pierson Home Sales Team, Kennedy! Here’s what’s going on in today’s market:

The DC area estate market remains hot. We saw another increase in average sales price across all home types last month with single family homes increasing nearly 10% compared to this time last year.

The primary reason is the low supply of homes available, causing a competitive environment for most home types. But don’t worry buyers, more homes will be coming on the market as we continue moving into the spring.

And we are beginning to see that now. Each spring we see the number of new listings added to the market increase each month from January through June–and this year will be no different. In fact, last month we saw the number of new single family listings increase nearly 10% compared to this time last year, and we’re hoping that this trend continues.

Lower interest rates are helping ease the pain for buyers. While they rose a little bit recently, they are still below their peaks from the fall.

And experts continue to predict that they will decrease through the remainder of 2024 into the low 6’s. It’s a mixed bag though. With low inventory and our competitive environment, if they do drop, that will only increase competition giving us more reason to believe that prices will trend higher.

Right now, we are seeing homes sell fast, with the median number of days on market at 10 before they go under contract!

The competitive environment caused the average sales to original list price ratio to climb back to 100%, meaning that on average, homes are selling for their asking price.

So let’s talk about the economy. For several years the majority of economists predicted a recession was coming. However, they now appear to have adjusted their expectations, and the majority now predict there won’t be a recession in the next 12 months.

So what does it all mean? Well, with low unemployment, the stock market at all-time highs, strong demand for housing, and low inventory of homes for sale, we expect the real estate markets to remain strong in the near future.

So if you are a buyer….

  • Inventory will rise in the coming months so keep an eye out for good homes. Make sure you have a search set up from a Realtor showing “Coming Soon” listings and be prepared to move quick. Call us if you need that.
  • Make sure you are fully approved by your lender and save as much money as you can. We are seeing winning offers often removing financing, appraisal and/or home inspection contingencies.
  • The market for condos has stalled a bit, but this could be good news for first time homebuyers since it’s a great affordable way to get into the market and start building that all-important equity.
  • If you’re interested in condo living, let us know and we can tell you what to look out for when purchasing a condo, and we may even have some condo listings on the market that could interest you.

If you are a seller….

  • Homes are selling exceptionally quickly, so if you’re thinking about a quick and painless sale, now may be the time to take advantage of the market.
  • If you are wondering how much your home could be worth, give us a call, and we’d be more than happy to provide you with a free home value estimate based on comparative sales in the market and the current state of your home.

Last, I just want to say that this is a general overview of the market showing averages but each submarket is different. Condos in different areas are different prices. Single families and townhouses are different, and so are luxury homes, so you may be thinking that what we are saying doesn’t seem to apply to your situation and you might be right. We would need to dig into the exact neighborhood, style of home, and price point of your market to truly advise you on what’s happening. We can see all of the homes that have sold in a neighborhood, what their condition was, and take a deep dive into the statistics for that neighborhood to ensure you know exactly what the market value of a home if you’re looking to sell or buy. So if you have any real estate questions. Give us a call and we’d be happy to serve you!