Is the DC area a buyer’s market yet? Have sellers missed the peak?

The D.C. housing market continues to show signs of shifting. The number of sales in April was down 3% from a year ago. New listings to come on the market last month rose 16%, and the total number of active listings in the D.C. metropolitan area is up almost 53% from last spring.

All of that favors buyers, even with stubbornly high mortgage rates and prices that continue to rise.

Does that mean the D.C. housing market has now shifted to a “buyer’s market?”

“I think we’re transitioning into a buyer’s market. I would not call it a buyer’s market yet. It is not yet fully balanced, but there are a bunch of indicators that show we are going toward there,” said Sherry Rahnama, broker and owner of RE/MAX Executives in Fairfax, Virginia.

Buyers do clearly have more leverage. More homes for sale means less competition among buyers. And fewer buyers willing to commit now also means sellers are competing for a smaller pool of interested buyers.

For homeowners in the D.C. area who have been thinking about selling but have held off, now would be a good time to make that decision. While prices are still rising, the annual increase has slowed and sellers may be concerned that they have now missed the peak of the market.

“Maybe you’ve missed the peak, but if you are more realistic about your expectations, we are definitely not in a market where you are going to see a bidding war and less than 24 hours later you have multiple contracts. Just be realistic about your price and your expectations, and know that it is going to take a little bit longer to sell,” Rahnama said.

What is priced correctly sells. RE/MAX said homes in the D.C. area sold faster than anywhere else in the U.S. in April, in an average of 13 days on the market, compared to an average of 40 days nationally.

Rahnama said she expects prices to hold steady in the D.C. market.

“Prices are probably not going to go down, but we think they will remain stable, depending on interest rates. They’ve told us that interest rates are most likely going to remain the same,” she said.

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