It has not been a typical spring for the housing market in the D.C. region. The headwinds buyers are facing have continued to multiply.
The state of this spring’s D.C. housing market can be summed up in two words, according to Erica Plemmons, a researcher at listing service Bright MLS.
“The first is ‘subdued’. We are seeing activity that maybe is not as blooming as we typically see in the spring housing market,” Plemmons said. “And the other word that comes to mind is ‘uncertain’, whether maybe now is the time to buy or they wait.”
Falling consumer confidence and growing concern about a weakening economy and personal finances are now layered on top of regional federal job and spending cuts, high borrowing costs an record high home prices. Plemmons said that is a lot for both buyers and sellers to be considering right now.
“When you think of people who are in the position to ether buy or sell, that is a really large financial decision,” she said. “So they are going to be less likely to pull the trigger if they are not sure what’s going to happen to their incomes in the near future.”
In April, throughout the D.C. region, pending sales were 2.5% lower than a year ago, showings by real estate agents were down 8.1% and the number of homes on the market was up 29.2% from April of last year.
Sluggish sales and rising inventory is not even across all types of homes. In fact, demand for traditional single-family homes is strong, even though those are the most expensive properties on the market, and they are harder to find.
“Compared to April of 2019 or pre-pandemic trends, our detached single-family home category is still at a deficit,” Plemmons said. “Attached homes and condos have more homes on the market now than they did back in April 2019. There are fewer single-family homes for sale compared to 2019.”
Despite all the headwinds and the slowdown in buyer activity, prices continue to rise.
“We did hit a record high for the median sold price in the Washington, D.C. area,” Plemmons said. “We still see that prices are continuing to rise, especially in that single-family category.”
While the median selling price in April in the D.C. region was a new high, price appreciation has slowed, up 3.7% from a year ago, the slowest pace of price growth since June 2023.
Below is a snapshot of sales activity throughout the D.C. region in April:
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