WASHINGTON DC HOUSING RECOVERY

Residential Briefs

Murray, Michael
Washington , D.C. Ahead in Housing Recovery
The Washington area housing market is in the recovery cycle, ahead of the rest of the nation, said Delta Associates, Alexandria , Va.

Mid-Year 2010 Trends in Housing, published by Delta Associates and MRIS, showed second quarter housing prices in the Washington metro were up from the first quarter and the same quarter 2009. The outer jurisdictions, including Loudon, Prince William and Frederick Counties outperformed the core and inner jurisdictions.

"Prices will likely gain traction through the remainder of 2010 facilitating further increases in transaction volume," Delta Associates said. "This is the third consecutive quarter prices have risen on a trailing 12-month basis."

Days-on-market continued declines compared to the first quarter and one year ago with properties in the outer jurisdictions showing the sharpest recovery. Across the Mid-Atlantic region, time-on-market is “very close to or below the region’s long-term average. Time on market is the lowest since 2006,” Delta Associates said.

The ratio of inventory to sales continued to decline in most jurisdictions from one year ago. The metro-wide ratio of 4.5 months’ worth of listings is below the normal, healthy standard of 6 months, signaling that demand is beginning to outpace supply.

The gap between buyer and seller pricing expectation is also closing, Delta Associates reported, with the average sales price in the second quarter at 95.2 percent of list price, the highest ratio in more than two years.