The housing market in Maryland’s Montgomery County is showing signs of cooling, and sales in D.C. slowed in January as well.
In Montgomery County, the median price of a home that sold last month was $486,000, down 6.4% from December, and 2.8% lower than a year earlier.
The number of closed sales in Montgomery County fell 38.1%, and closed sales were 4.9% lower than January 2021, according to the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors.
The median price of a home that sold in D.C. last month was $645,000, down 3% from December, but still 7.5% higher than a year earlier.
The number of closed sales in the District last month was down 33.3% from December.
“Although the number of offers coming in the door for a single listing has cooled down significantly over the past few months, sellers are continuing to show optimism that the market is ripe for their homes to sell. As the pandemic becomes a more normalized part of our lives, the point at which this historic housing market cools down remains to be seen,” said GCAAR President Harrison Beacher.
Throughout the District and Montgomery County, there were 1,789 active listings, a 6.6% month-over-month decline.
“Housing prices are dipping again from last month in both D.C. and Montgomery County (and that is) a win for all buyers, especially for those trying to break into the market,” said GCAAR Chief Executive Edward Krauze.
Rising mortgage rates may be playing in to a slowdown in sales. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage this week was 3.92%, according to Freddie Mac, the highest 30-year average since May 2019.
Below is a snapshot of January sales activity for the District and Montgomery County combined, as reported by the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors:
