As we touched on in the November DC market analysis, there has been a significant drop-off in market activity for foreclosed properties. The top four graphics highlight this decline, but you'll also notice an uptick in short sales during the same time period. The last two graphs illustrate how these shifts can impact median sales price trends.  Note that the median sales price for "standard" sales (those not involving a short sale or foreclosure) is up 3.4% compared to November 2009 while the median sales price for bank-mediated inventory is down significantly over the same period: 23% decline for foreclosures, 20% decline for short sales.

Pending Sales Up from Last Year, but Median Sales Price Dips

Rockville, MD –(November 10, 2011) – The following analysis of the Washington, D.C. Metro Area housing market has been prepared by RealEstate Business Intelligence (RBI), and is based on the October 2011 RBI Pending Home Sales Index™ released today.

View PDF version of this press release

OVERVIEW

October 2011 contract activity in the Washington, D.C. metro area outpaced seasonal patterns, attaining a level that was 18.6% higher than the 5-year October average. There were 4,125 new contracts written in October 2011, 10.4% ahead of the September 2011 total of 3,829. For the past 10 years, new contract activity has averaged a 4.3% increase from September to October.

The median sale price of $320,025 was 5.9% lower than October 2010. This, combined with the marked 23.3% month-over-month decrease in new listings, can partially be attributed to the lower jumbo mortgage limits which took effect October 1. There is evidence that the lowered jumbo mortgage limits may have kept potential high-end sellers out of the market and decreased the number of buyers willing or able to go after the higher priced home segment. New listings were down over 13.2% compared to October 2010 and down 20.3% from the 5-year October average. The attached home segment (townhouses, condos and coops) saw only a slight dip of 1.7% in median sales price year-over-year, with a $285,000 level in October 2011. This is consistent with the fact that the majority of jumbo mortgages are associated with detached properties.