Washington, D.C., Faces Lowest Supply of Homes on Record - Redfin Real Estate News

Washington, D.C., Faces Lowest Supply of Homes on Record

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Updated on October 6th, 2020

Washington, D.C., home prices increased 3.2 percent in July from a year earlier to a median sale price of $558,000. After prices declined in June, the peak of the real estate season, homeowners in the District welcomed July’s price appreciation.

Sales fell 3.5 percent, but that decline may be deceiving because homes sales last July were particularly strong. Nearly 1,000 homes sold in the District last month, which is fewer than last July, but relatively strong based on historical sales trends. Overall, the District has had strong sales this year with year-over-year growth every month except July, despite the fact that the number of homes for sale remains low.

District Median Sale Price July 2016District Home Sales July 2016

The overall number of properties for sale declined 9.6 percent since last July, resulting in just 1.4 months of supply on the marketthe lowest level on record since 2009.

Redfin’s latest Demand Index indicates that buyer demand for homes in June, measured in terms of the number of people touring homes and writing offers, is on par with where we expect it to be at this time of year.

Solid buyer demand coupled with the shortage of inventory kept conditions competitive. The typical home found a buyer in 15 days and 37 percent of homes were bid up, selling for more than their initial asking price.

District Months of Supply July 2016

With prices up and buyer demand strong, what’s keeping sellers from listing their homes for sale? Redfin agent Steve Centrella says trade-up buyers are in a bind.

“Many residents want to stay in the city and upgrade to a larger or nicer home. They’re confident about being able to sell their home for a good price but worry about finding a suitable one to move to given rising prices and competition,” Centrella said. “The high demand across pretty much every price point limits flexibility and fluidity in the market, which further exacerbates the low inventory situation. Hopefully, we’ll see more homes hit the market after Labor Day, as we’ve seen in prior years.”

What’s Happening in the D.C. Metro Region?

Across the broader D.C., Maryland and Virginia region, the median sale price fell 3.8 percent in July from last year, to $375,000. July was the sixth month in a row that prices have fallen year over year. Home sales declined 6.3 percent compared to last year.

The number of homes listed in July fell 11.7 percent, pushing the total number of properties for sale down by 20.2 percent from last year. The region had a 2.4-month supply of homes for sale. The typical home found a buyer in 24 days.  

Washington, D.C., Neighborhood Trends

Buyer interest, prices and sales have been strong in several Northeast neighborhoods this year. The median sale price increased nearly 18 percent compared to last year in both Takoma and Woodridge/Fort Lincoln, while sales surged 50 percent and 20 percent respectively.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it’s worth noting that Mount Pleasant continued its reign as one of the hottest ‘hoods in the District. The typical home in Mount Pleasant sold in just six days – the fastest of all D.C. neighborhoods Redfin tracks – and for nearly 4 percent over asking price. Named by Redfin as one of the hottest neighborhoods of 2016, Mount Pleasant has been among the neighborhoods with the lowest median days on market and the highest sale-to-list price ratio.

See our city page for the most up-to-date data on Washington-area home prices.

Here’s what’s happening in your neighborhood:

Place Median Sale Price Year-Over-Year Homes Sold Year-Over-Year Inventory Year-Over-Year New Listings Median Days on Market Avg Sale-to-List
Adams Morgan / Kalorama Heights / Lanier Heights $493,500 -12.7% 124 -15.1% 54 -12.9% 122 15 99.9%
Alexandria $463,100 6.5% 574 -4.5% 1,156 -15.9% 560 26 98.7%
American University Park / Friendship Heights / Tenleytown $1,050,000 10.5% 71 20.3% 12 -47.8% 47 7 103.1%
Arlington $593,000 -2.8% 302 -22.4% 649 -15.1% 318 22 98.7%
Atlas District $681,950 -1.2% 82 36.7% 27 -3.6% 74 13 100.4%
Bellevue / Congress Heights / Washington Highlands $230,000 6.0% 49 22.5% 47 0.0% 69 44 97.9%
Benning Heights / Capitol View / Marshall Heights $237,500 8.0% 64 77.8% 32 -21.9% 58 16 103.1%
Bethesda $722,500 -16.2% 106 -27.9% 402 1.5% 95 27 97.9%
Bloomingdale $699,000 -6.2% 59 68.6% 12 -14.3% 52 12 100.5%
Capitol Hill $850,000 6.9% 145 -2.7% 36 -42.9% 113 9 101.2%
Chevy Chase-DC $975,000 0.0% 63 3.3% 29 3.6% 64 8 101.3%
Chinatown / Mount Vernon Square / Penn Quarter $514,439 2.9% 119 -10.5% 38 -44.1% 88 20 99.3%
Cleveland Park $466,000 -41.2% 39 8.3% 18 -33.3% 37 18 101.1%
College Park $300,000 -0.8% 21 75.0% 28 -44.0% 31 14 99.7%
Columbia Heights $578,500 -1.1% 148 35.8% 63 12.5% 130 18 100.2%
Congress Heights $249,500 -16.8% 26 116.7% 30 20.0% 40 47 99.4%
Deanwood $239,500 11.4% 18 -14.3% 14 -36.4% 32 21 97.1%
Dupont Circle $425,000 1.9% 145 15.1% 53 6.0% 139 11 99.7%
Eckington $617,500 3.1% 42 133.3% 16 -30.4% 28 14 99.1%
Edgewood $459,650 -24.0% 37 42.3% 19 58.3% 50 8 102.1%
Fairlawn / Twining / Randle Highlands / Penn Branch $321,500 14.6% 52 26.8% 34 -10.5% 59 31 99.5%
Foggy Bottom / George Washington University / West End $422,500 2.5% 76 -7.3% 49 -32.9% 86 14 98.7%
Fort Totten / Lamont Riggs / Pleasant Hill / Queens Chapel $468,500 11.3% 48 0.0% 16 -48.4% 37 14 100.3%
Foxhall / Palisades / Spring Valley / Wesley Heights $1,310,000 19.4% 81 -3.6% 70 6.1% 88 30 97.7%
Georgetown $957,500 -24.2% 82 -8.9% 69 9.5% 101 20 97.5%
Glover Park / Cathedral Heights / McLean Gardens $467,500 5.3% 148 -3.3% 85 21.4% 144 21 98.5%
Greenway / Benning / Dupont Park / River Terrace $242,100 8.8% 27 50.0% 14 -26.3% 33 22 96.1%
Hill East $709,800 5.7% 89 14.1% 19 -47.2% 70 11 101.1%
Historic Anacostia $310,500 29.4% 12 50.0% 12 71.4% 17 29 100.9%
Howard University / Le Droit Park $675,000 10.7% 69 -8.0% 32 -8.6% 85 11 100.9%
Kingman Park $495,000 8.8% 51 8.5% 13 -51.9% 46 17 100.0%
Logan Circle-Shaw $666,950 3.4% 106 1.9% 38 26.7% 125 8 101.8%
Logan Circle-Shaw $675,000 3.9% 129 12.2% 42 -12.5% 140 12 101.1%
Massachusetts Avenue Heights $456,000 23.3% 57 39.0% 25 8.7% 53 18 99.5%
Mount Pleasant $875,000 10.4% 49 69.0% 6 0.0% 45 6 103.7%
Navy Yard $476,500 -9.7% 14 -30.0% 8 166.7% 17 14 99.8%
NoMa $699,500 0.7% 36 20.0% 11 -38.9% 28 14 98.7%
Petworth $657,500 8.7% 86 -3.4% 47 67.9% 112 7 100.9%
Pleasant Plains $629,950 9.6% 32 -15.8% 13 44.4% 29 13 102.2%
Rockville $435,000 -19.4% 159 -27.7% 449 -18.7% 148 22 98.9%
Silver Spring $340,500 -9.2% 262 -13.8% 576 -26.9% 254 20 99.3%
Southwest / Waterfront $320,000 -1.2% 57 -12.3% 25 8.7% 59 13 99.5%
Stanton Park $686,000 -6.5% 135 18.4% 40 -11.1% 115 8 101.6%
Takoma $445,000 17.9% 15 50.0% 3 50.0% 10 10 100.9%
Trinidad / Arboretum / Ivy City $425,000 0.2% 59 -18.1% 35 0.0% 75 31 99.5%
Truxton Circle $680,000 -2.9% 23 109.1% 4 -77.8% 15 41 97.8%
Union Station / Kingman Park / Stanton Park $645,000 2.9% 191 15.1% 63 -13.7% 180 10 100.8%
Van Ness / Forest Hills / Wakefield $480,000 -1.0% 43 -18.9% 20 -20.0% 44 17 99.5%
Woodley Park $854,500 46.1% 26 30.0% 9 -30.8% 24 10 101.2%
Woodridge $525,000 NA 1 NA NA NA NA 278 100.0%
Woodridge-Fort Lincoln $499,500 17.5% 30 20.0% 15 -25.0% 24 29 99.0%
Washington, DC $557,500 3.2% 979 -3.5% 1,341 -9.6% 847 15 100.0%

NOTE: Not all neighborhoods are listed, but totals for Washington, D.C., encompass entire city. Data is based on listing information and might not reflect all real estate activity in the market. Neighborhood-specific data is measured over the three months ended July 31. Inventory measures listings active as of July 31.

For more information, contact Redfin journalist services:

Phone: 206-588-6863
Email: press@redfin.com

See Redfin’s data center to find out what’s happening in other cities.

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Alina Ptaszynski

Alina Ptaszynski

Alina is on the communications and PR team at Redfin. She helps consumers and the media understand what's going on in the housing market, the real estate industry and inside Redfin.

Email Alina

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