It’s not a surprise that COVID-19 has thrown a wrench into the economy—the pandemic has also turned every aspect of “normal” life upside down for the vast majority of the population. Everything from events to transitioning to working from home has been shifted over the past three months, including the area’s housing market.
According to reports and data from Bright MLS, throughout the month of May the DC metro area’s housing market faced off against COVID-19-related concerns and a weakening economy. However, the market persisted.
Indications from May show positive change, as pending home sales for the month rose 33.7% from April. Sellers benefited from homebuyer demand, and median sales prices hit their second-highest monthly level in a decade with a median sale price of $500,000.
Other positives reflected from the data include the fact that Alexandria City’s single-family home sale prices hit an all-time high at $964,500, up 12.1% year over year, and 10.2% from April. Arlington County’s data also shows a 24.6% increase in sales volume compared to April, and in the “Amazon HQ2 zip code” (22202), pending attached sales saw a 133.3% month-over-month growth.
And, although new pending sales volume in the DC metro area hit an all-time low for the month of May, they improved 33.7% from April. All of this points toward a rebound in the housing market.
“Despite the obvious challenges presented by COVID-19, the DC metro real estate market showed signs of recovery in May, with activity and inventory picking up from last month,” said Chris Finnegan, chief marketing and communications officer at Bright MLS, in a recent press release. “New pending homes sales in the area climbed 33% from April, while new listing volume improved 12% month over month. While not quite at 2019 levels, hopefully, this represents the beginning of a recovery.”
For more information, visit brightmlshomes.com. Data in this article was provided by MarketStats by ShowingTime based on listing activity from Bright MLS.
Stay up to date on NoVA’s housing market and real estate finds by subscribing to our Home newsletter.
