Recent existing home sales data for Washington, D.C. and Baltimore suggest it’s a seller’s market in the district and a time for buyers in the Charm City.
In February, the District witnessed a number of market conditions that benefit sellers: a favorable listing-to-sales price ratio, rising sales prices, an increase in pending new sales and low days on the market.
The city of Baltimore was the opposite, as the market’s listing-to-sales price ratio declined and sales price remained unchanged on a year-over-year basis.
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Washington DC
Last month, homes in the district sold at 99 percent of their original listing price, with a number of them selling in less than 20 days, according to a report from MRIS.
The demand for housing pushed existing sales activity up 4 percent on a year-over-year basis and drove the median sales price to $538,000.
Another good sign for sellers, among the regions that comprise the DC metro witnessed the largest year-over-year rise in new pending sales last month, up 15.9 percent.
With buying activity apparently on the rise, it appears some sellers are responding. Last month the volume of new listings rose by nearly 11 percent year-over-year.
Baltimore
Buyers appear to have the power in Baltimore, as homes sold at 87.45 percent of their original listing price last month. This percentage equates to a year-over-year decline, as last year homes traded at 90.4 percent of their initial list price.
One reason buyers have more power, the median time on the market for a listed home rose by 14 days year-over-year to 72 days.
A decline in its listing to sales price ratio is one reason the city’s median sales price remained unchanged year-over-year at $83,000.
Promises of affordability and bargaining power appear to be bringing more buying activity back to Baltimore.
Last month, sales activity rose by nearly 20 percent year-over-year, with new pending sales volume rising by nearly 14 percent.
However, despite these increases the city’s inventory only declined by 0.9 percent, partially because new listings activity rose by nearly 13 percent.
