Photo by Jeff Manes / iStock.
Flashback to July 2020: Covid lockdowns had hampered the generally busy spring buying season, resulting in tons of pent-up demand. By the summer, Washingtonians finally felt ready to break out of quarantine and enter the housing market. The result was one of the craziest months in Washington real estate history, with prices breaking records across the region.
While the Washington market is still incredibly competitive and expensive, July 2021 was more normal. According to the latest statistics released by the Bright MLS multiple ad service, the median selling price for the DC metro area was down slightly (by 2.7%) from June. New listings have fallen by more than 17% and the number of homes under contract has fallen by almost 11%. Homes also spent seven days on the market, up from six days in June.
The downturn is typical of summer, when Washington tends to empty, and many potential buyers and sellers are putting their plans on hold until fall. Even so, the prices are increasing year by year. While the market pace is less frantic than last summer, the July 2021 median price of $ 550,000 for the entire DC metro is 6.6% higher than in July 2020. In the city of DC, the median price last month was $ 652,500, a 2% increase from the same time last year.
In other words, thanks to a slight summer lull, buyers might have a little more time to pitch their offers and not have to compete with so many opposing offers. But it’s still hard there.
