New contracts miss last year's mark by two percent, increase for non-distressed property contracts
OVERVIEW
The housing market trends in October in the Washington DC Metro Area were little changed from prior months. The number of closed sales in the region fell 2.8 percent from the October 2013 level, but the decline was driven entirely by a decrease in distressed property sales. Sales of distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) have been decreasing since mid-2010 and declined 21.5 percent between October 2013 and October 2014. Non-distressed sales in October were actually unchanged from last year. New pending contracts also saw an overall decrease, but as with closed sales, the decline was largely the result of fewer contracts for distressed properties. New contracts for distressed properties were 16.2 percent below the October 2013 level, while those for non-distressed homes increased by 1.4 percent.
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The median sales price for the region increased 5.3 percent from October 2013 with gains in every jurisdiction. Active listings continue to rise but are only 46.0 percent of their peak-level of 2007. The median days-on-market increased, marking the ninth month of year-over-year increases. But homes continue to sell more quickly than the five-year and 10-year October averages.