WASHINGTON — Sellers jumped into the D.C. area housing market in February.
The area’s extremely lean number of houses for sale got a boost in February, with new listings jumping 25.4 percent, boosting total active listings by 5.5 percent.
Even so, total active listings were down more than 13 percent from a year ago, the 22nd consecutive month of declines in year-over-year inventory, according to listing service Bright MLS.
The persistent lack of properties on the market continues to drive prices higher and the number of sales lower.
Closed sales in February were down 1.8 percent from a year ago. Pending sales, or contracts signed to buy houses in February, were down 4.4 percent from a year ago.
The median price of what sold in the Washington metro area last month was $410,000, up 2.6 percent from a year ago.
Virginia’s Falls Church City remained the most expensive market by jurisdiction, with a median price of $700,575 in February, followed by Alexandria, with a median price of $560,500, and the district, with a median price of $532,500.
Also in Virginia, the median selling price in Arlington was $532,353. The median selling price in Fairfax County was $490,000.
In Maryland, the median selling price in Montgomery County was $410,500, and the median selling price in Prince George’s County was $278,000.
All jurisdictions posted year-over-year gains in median selling prices.
Real estate agents continue to report sales contracts that are signed within days of listing and bidding wars driving selling prices above list price. However, the overall average number of days on the market in February was 28 days with sellers getting an average of 97.7 percent of their listing price, according to Bright MLS.
