Blizzard disrupts real estate market in Washington D.C.

The blizzard that occurred last month majorly disrupted many lives. It not only disrupted businesses, schools, and government offices, but also changed the Washington-area housing market. Real estate was badly affected. The snow blocked roads, and hence, house-hunters could not visit potential homes. This eventually decreased the number of contracts that were signed on for-sale homes. Prospective sellers anticipated the tense situation and dropped down the idea of selling their properties.

Real estate market sees cumulative growth but post blizzard scenario different

However, the region’s housing market continued to show steady improvement. A monthly report was issued by data firm Real Estate Business Intelligence (RBI), a subsidiary of Rockville-based multiple-listing service MRIS, on Wednesday. As per the reports, the sales were up in January, and the time taken to sell a property decreased compared to the last year. But it was first time in 15 months that the number of contracts signed by buyers declined. The real estate market numbers felt by eight percent and were brought down to 3,423. New listings also experienced a major decline and were brought down by 5.3 percent to 4,025.

Morgan Null, an associate broker with Re/Max Gateway based in Arlington said, “That weekend there were no open houses — people were blocked in. I went out with a buyer the Tuesday after the storm, and we had to bring shovels. We could tell from the lack of footprints in the snow that we were the only ones who had been to the property in days.”

Sales did rise 5.8 percent from January to January. Also, in terms of money, sellers were able to get more of their asking price. The ratio of average sales price to original list rose to 96 percent. The median sales price declined by 2.5 percent to $375,000. “For the most part, it was another positive month. It’s not unusual to see a blip month to month. Year-to-year trends have been flattening as we’re reaching peak pricing in some of the areas,” said Corey Hart, senior product manager at RBI.

D.C. leads the housing market

There is, however, a major change in inventory records. The availability of for-sale homes, which was on a steep rise in the past few years, has begun to saturate and stabilize. The scenario is changing, and the growth in inventory is declining. It is also expected that it might see a negative number this year. Though there is a decrease in the area-wide figure, sales prices rose in most jurisdictions. Real estate is going through a change that might benefit potential users in the future.

The highest sales prices were seen in the city boundaries of Falls Church, soaring 31.2 percent to $747,000 from $570,000. But such high sales price may have discouraged some buyers. Falls Church’s days on the market soared to 92 from 40. The lowest prices were seen in Prince George’s County, rising from $217,000 to $241,000. The strongest housing market was in the District again, as the sales price in D.C. increased to $504,000 from $495,000. The real estate market shone in the District, as it had the highest average sales to original list price ratio at a whopping 97.4 percent. It also had the fewest days on the market — 26 days.