The dearth of housing supply in Washington, D.C. continues to challenge the local housing markets, as sales dropped in February 2019 for the seventh month in a row.
Andrew Strauch, vice president of the Bright MLS, says, “The housing market has been very soft in the D.C. area for the last four or five months because inventory is so tight,” telling The Washington Post, “Interest rates have been a little higher, although as they drop back a little I expect sales to increase.” Annually, February's home sales fell 5.7 percent to 2,870. New pending sales under contract also fell, 1.6 percent year-over-year.
Prices are rising in most of the Washington area. The median home-sales price rose 4.1 percent to $427,000 last month compared with February 2018. In the District, the median sales price rose by 10.6 percent year over year in February to $589,000.