March brought faster sales, higher prices to DC metro housing market

There were more homes for sale in the D.C. region at the end of March, but not necessarily because there were more owners willing to sell. Active listings were up 4% from a year ago, but the number of new listings coming on the market was 11.4% lower than the share of new listings in March of last year.

The slight increase in active listings did not mean more sales, with pending sales down 4.6% from a year ago, according to listing site Bright MLS. But what sold, sold faster and prices were significantly higher.

The median selling price of a home throughout the D.C. metro in March was $599,990, 10.1% more than the median price last March. That is the fastest pace of home price growth since February 2022.

What sold went under contract in an average of seven days, two days faster than the median days on market last March.

“The spring will be challenging for buyers as new listings have been slow to come to the D.C., metro area market and mortgage rates remain elevated. Buyers who wait for lower mortgage rates later this year could find more inventory, but they will also face even more competition as rate drops entice more buyers into the market,” Bright MLS said in its monthly market outlook report.

Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Virginia displaced Arlington County as the most expensive county for prices.

Below is the March market snapshot for the D.C. region from Bright MLS: