Everyone knows that NoVA’s housing market is crazy. But until you see it broken down in black-and-white, it can be hard to wrap your head around. Here’s our data-driven breakdown of the current real estate insanity.
A post-pandemic housing snapshot:
- Home values will grow as the economy recovers, but at a slower pace as higher mortgage rates temper demand.
- More people will list their homes for sale.
- The condo market will heat up.
- Suburbs will start to feel more like cities.
- Rents will rise quickly, especially for short-term rentals.
A look at DC metro housing data.
1. Median home sale prices are up 17 percent over last year, to $517,000.
2. 61 percent of homes are selling within two weeks of listing.
3. Median days a house for sale is on the market is 7.5 days, which is down 13.5 days from last year. Active listings are down 14 percent.
4. New listings are up 50 percent over last year. (Pandemic lockdowns significantly slowed homebuying and selling this period last year, so the year-over-year trends for new listings are somewhat exaggerated.)
5. Pending sales are up 55.5 percent.
Source: Redfin
At least NoVA isn’t alone.
6. Nearly every metro area tracked by the National Association of Realtors—99 percent—recorded year-over-year price increases in the first quarter of 2021.
7. The 11 metro areas with the highest price increases saw median sales prices ranging from the $100,000s to $600,000s. Those cities include: Kingston, New York (35.5 percent; $303,100); Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut (34.3 percent; $580,400); and Atlantic City-Hammonton, New Jersey (34 percent; $277,200).
8. The overwhelming majority of metros experienced strong price increases, with 89 percent (163 metro areas out of 183) registering double-digit price growth.
9. Nationally, the median existing-home sales price rose 16.2 percent on a year-over-year basis to $319,200, a record high since 1989. All regions recorded double-digit year-over-year price growth, with the Northeast seeing a 22.1 percent increase, followed by the West (18 percent), the South (15 percent), and the Midwest (14.4 percent).
10. As a result of soaring home prices, the average national monthly mortgage payment rose to $1,067, up from $995 one year ago.
Source: National Association of Realtors
This story originally ran in our August issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to our monthly magazine.