Quarterly Trends In Housing Publication

First Quarter 2010 Trends in Housing publication
The Washington area housing market is in the early phases of the recovery cycle:

• Prices continue to show signs of a moderate recovery: 1st quarter prices in the metro are up from the same quarter in 2009, with the Outer jurisdictions (Loudoun, Prince William and Frederick Counties) outperforming the Core and Inner jurisdictions. Prices will likely gain traction throughout 2010, as buyer and seller expectations continue to move closer to a balance, facilitating an increase in transaction volume. This is the second consecutive quarter prices have risen on a trailing 12-month basis, representing the first increases seen since the 4th quarter of 2007.
• Days on market continue to decline compared to both last quarter and a year ago. Properties in the Outer jurisdictions have experienced the sharpest decline, but across the region, time on market is very close to or below the region’s long-term average.
• The ratio of inventory to sales continues to decline in most jurisdictions from one year ago. The metro-wide ratio of 5.7 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 demands is closing with the average sales price in the 1st quarter of 2010 at 93.8% of list price, the highest ratio in more than two years.

Fourth Quarter 2009 Trends in Housing publication

The Washington area housing market is in the early phases of the recovery cycle:

• Prices are showing signs of a moderate recovery: fourth quarter prices in the metro are up from the same quarter in 2008, with the Outer jurisdictions outperforming the Core and Inner jurisdictions. Prices will likely gain traction in 2010, as buyer and seller expectations continue to move closer to a balance, facilitating an increase in transaction volume. This is the first time prices have risen on a trailing 12-month basis since the fourth quarter of 2007.
• Days on market continue to decline compared to both last quarter and a year ago. Properties in the Outer jurisdictions (Loudoun, Prince William and Frederick Counties) have experienced the sharpest decline, but across the region, time on market is at or below the region’s long-term average.
• The ratio of inventory to sales continues to decline in most jurisdictions from one year ago. The metro-wide ratio of 5.3 months’ worth of listings is below the normal, healthy standard of six months, signaling that demand is beginning to outpace supply.
• The gap between buyer and seller demands is closing with the average sales price in the fourth quarter of 2009 at 93.7 percent of list price, the highest share in more than two years.
  

Third Quarter 2009 Trends in Housing publication

The Washington area housing market is in the early phases of the recovery cycle:

• Prices are showing signs of a moderate recovery: third quarter prices in most jurisdictions were up or flat from the second quarter. However, prices are still lower than one year ago. Prices are likely to experience slight year-over-year declines in the fourth quarter, but buyer and seller expectations are moving closer to a balance, facilitating an increase in transaction volume. 
• Days on market continue to decline compared to both last quarter and a year ago. Properties in the Core jurisdictions (the District, Arlington and Alexandria) continue to sell quickest, but across the region, time on market is moving ever closer to the region's long-term average.    
• The ratio of inventory to sales (months of sales) continues to decline in all jurisdictions from one year ago. The metro-wide ratio of 5.4 months' worth of listings is below the normal, healthy standard of six months, signaling that demand is beginning to outpace supply. 

Second Quarter 2009 Trends in Housing publication

• Prices are showing renewed signs of strength: second quarter prices in most jurisdictions were up from the first quarter, though still lower than one year ago. Prices may experience slight declines through the end of the year, but increased demand and a lower supply of listings are helping facilitate price traction.
• Days on market are down sharply compared to both last quarter and a year ago. Properties continue to sell quickest in the Core jurisdictions, but across the region, time on market is moving toward the region’s long-term average.
• The ratio of inventory to sales (months of sales) continues to decline in all jurisdictions from one year ago. The metro-wide ratio of 5.1 months’ worth of listings is below the normal, healthy standard of 6 months, signaling that demand is beginning to outpace supply. 

First Quarter 2009 Trends in Housing publication

• Prices continue to decline, making homes more affordable and encouraging an increase in unit sales volume in the first quarter of 2009 as compared to a year earlier – especially in the Outer jurisdictions. And we expect prices to continue to drop into next year – until supply and demand come into better balance.
• Days on market are down compared to a year ago, with properties moving the fastest in the Core jurisdictions. If interest rates remain at record lows through 2009, we expect days on market to continue to decline.
• The ratio of inventory to sales (months of sales) is down sharply from a year ago, particularly in Prince William County. The ratio stands at 7.7 months metro-wide; a ratio of six months is regarded as normal and healthy – a ratio we may see by next year.