WASHINGTON — Houses and condos for sale in the District sold quickly in September, but the number of sales fell sharply, and prices also retreated from levels from a year ago.
Monthly data from Long & Foster Real Estate Inc. shows overall closed sales in the District were down 16 percent from September 2016.
The median price of what sold was $504,000, down 6 percent from a year ago.
The average number of days a listed property stayed on the market before selling was just 30 days, with some D.C. neighborhoods seeing properties selling in less than half that time on average.
There also remains little for potential D.C. buyers to look at since inventory, or the number of properties on the market, is down 5 percent from one year ago.
There was a 2.7 month supply of homes for sale in the District in September. Anything less than a six-month supply is generally considered a seller’s market.
Despite a lack of listings, D.C. is still a “move in ready” market for buyers.
“Buyers today, of whom millennials make up the largest generational group, lack the appetite for home remodeling that previous generations showed,” Long & Foster said. “Even at a discount, a fixer upper will likely take longer to sell.”
Although there were just 14 closed sales in the Southwest Waterfront in September, the average time it took for a Southwest Waterfront property to sell was just 12 days, the fastest pace of selling in the District in September.
