The final month of year-over-year comparison to last year’s tax incentive market is upon us. It bears repeating that April 2010 enjoyed uniquely strong activity due to the approaching credit deadline. Let’s see how this pivotal month played out locally.
New Listings in the Washington D.C. region decreased 24.1 percent to 18,397. Pending Sales were down 17.6 percent to 11,838. Inventory level shrank to 9.4 percent to 56,536 units – a positive trend that should preerve market balance.
Prices were more or less stable. The Median Sales Price declined 2.9 percent to $252,200. Days on Market increased 24.8 percent to 99 days. The supply-demand balance improved as Months Supply of Inventory was down 2.1 percent to 6.4 months.
Nationally, the interest rate is 5.0 percent on a 30-year fixed conventional and the unemployment rate edged up to 9.0 percent in April, even as the economy added 244,000 jobs. Job seekers showed more confidence, a potential indicator of future housing demand. Moving forward, expect a different story to unfold in our market. We’ll soon be comparing current activity to a post-credit slump that occurred during the summer and fall of 2010.
