DC Metro May Market Update

From 2019 to 2020 Q1 and April have looked different than normal in the DC Metro Area. 2020 started off with all year over year sales numbers being higher than 2019. The average days on market were down 17.5% in Q1, which means that houses are selling significantly faster than in 2019 making the first quarter of 2020 very strong.

April 2020 numbers showed a decline in the number of homes for sale (which most credit the covid-19 pandemic for this slide). Attached unit sales were down 22% and detached unit sales were down 15%. Low supply drives demand up and the days on market have decreased by 23%. Average list price for sales has increased 6% in the month of April.

April is usually a boom month for the Spring inventory. The active listing 5 year average has been 8620, April 2019 active listings were 7525 and April 2020 saw those numbers drop to 6244.

If you are looking to buy now my advice would be to be decisive when you see a home you really like. The days on market are low which means you will have competition in this market. Also, be prepared to purchase at list price as the average sold to original list price is 99.8%.