The traditional fall slowdown in home sales has come to the strong Washington, D.C., market -- but the region still registered a better-than-usual September.
Total deals signed for existing homes in the Nation's Capital region in September were off by 8.2% from August – 3,829 vs. 4,169, according to the RealEstate Business Intelligence Sales Index, a monthly analysis of local multiple listing service data. RBI is a subsidiary of the MLS.
Still, September's sales – not closings – beat both last year's September deals as well as the five-year September average by 12.4% and 11.7%, respectively. The monthly total was the highest number of signed contracts for a September in five years.
The median sales price in the area followed a similar pattern, according to the index, which is a two-year moving window on the D.C. housing market. The median dipped 5.6% from August, from $356,000 to $338,000. Nevertheless, it was a 2.4% year-over-year increase and is almost exactly in line with the 10-year average median sales price of $340,020.
Two other key indicators went in opposite directions in the month. The number of active listings was way down, but it took somewhat longer to sell a property.
There were 14,791 houses listed for sale at the end of September, which is 23.8% fewer than the 19,401 average for the month in the past five years. Yet, the average number of days on the market was up 10% from 70 days in August to 77 days in September. At the same time, it was still fewer than the 81 days average for every September since 2007.
The Washington real estate market includes the District of Columbia, Montgomery County and Prince George's County in Maryland, and Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Fairfax City and Falls Church City in Virginia.
