The number of homes for sale in the D.C. metro continues to rise, which is good news for prospective buyers, but the biggest increase in listings is condominiums.
Listing service Bright MLS reports active overall home listings at the end of July were up 28% from a year earlier. Condo inventory was up 42%, and condo listings in the District and Arlington County and Alexandria, Virginia, are now nearly double the number of condos on the market in July 2019, before the pandemic.
The biggest year-over-year increase in condos on the market is in Fairfax County, up 88% from July 2023.
Condos are generally less expensive than single family homes, and attractive to first-time buyers, though not only first-time buyers. The increase in condo inventory means more options for buyers, but it also means more competition for condo owners who may want to sell.
“Sellers have to be prepared to have buyers come and negotiate on price and concessions,” said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS. “But, if you’re pricing your condo well, there are still a lot of first time homebuyers out there who are looking to get into the market, and condos are really a more affordable price point.”
For condo buyers, there is an added layer of due diligence, and it is vital that those who contract to buy a condo review all the documents the seller is required to provide before closing.
“Particularly around the condo board and whether the condominium itself has a good reserve fund,” Sturtevant said. “There is a little bit more you need to be aware of.”
Condos come with condo fees, which can vary widely based on type, age and size of condominium community, and those condo fees can be unappealing to potential buyers. It is incumbent on real estate agents to explain those fees, especially to buyers unfamiliar with the condominium model.
“The condominium and the condo fee is supposed to take care of repairs and maintenance that you as an owner in a fee-simple home, or more traditional home, would have to come up with,” Sturtevant said.
Condo fees may also cover utilities and, in higher-end buildings, costs of a front desk staff or other building employees. In a cooperative, fees often also include the owner’s share of the building’s property taxes, and can be lower than the property tax bill for individual condo owners.
“I think it will be interesting to watch the condo market, simply because affordability is the biggest constraint on the market right now,” Sturtevant said. “If you are a first-time buyer and you have not been looking at condominiums — not just in the District, but also in Fairfax, and Arlington and Montgomery County, there may be more options out there than you would expect there to be.”
In July, the median price of a single-family detached home in the D.C. metro was $800,000, and the median price for a condominium in the D.C. area was $388,500, according to Bright MLS.
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