2012 Home Prices at Historic Highs in DC, Arlington and Alexandria

Today's Washington Post front page included an article about a listing in Washington, D.C. that received 168 bids and accurately described the market there as "red-hot". The Post went on to note that the median home sale price in the District is up 14 percent from last year. Definitely a good sign...and there is another fact about DC that might be even more surprising: At $435,000, the YTD median sale price for 2012 is the highest on record!  The District is not alone, neighboring Arlington ($510,000) and Alexandria ($455,000) are also at peak pricing levels this year. While a recent Wall Street Journal article correctly explained that national housing prices finally hit bottom in 2012, prices in several DC Metro counties actually bottomed out back in 2009 and have been gaining ever since.

To further the conversation, here is a chart of the Top 10 counties in the MRIS area,  ranked by how close they are to their Peak Price.  It is based on the aggregate median sale price from January thru November. The right-most column displays the appreciation from post-bubble "bottom", Fairfax homeowners that bought in 2009 should be smiling. 

Let's hope that the Fiscal Cliff is avoided so that the local economy continues to improve in 2013!