Washington, D.C., home sales in September jump despite higher prices, lower inventory

The Washington, D.C., metro area’s median home price set a record for September, up 2.6 percent annually to $431,000. That September increase marked the 36th straight month of price appreciation in the metro area.

That’s according to data by MarketStats by ShowingTime based on listing activity from Bright MLS.

The price increase, though, didn’t do much to dent sales. Buyers still turned out: The data showed regional sales volume in metro D.C. was up 15 percent year over year in September, to $2.1 billion. What’s more, the number of closed sales was up 9.2 percent annually, to 3,972, and the number of pending sales was up 10.5 percent, to 4,912.

The sales jumps themselves happened not only in spite of higher prices. They also came as the inventory of available metro-area homes languished at historically low levels.

The number of new listings in September was basically flat compared with the same month last year, and overall inventory levels were the lowest for a September this decade. Last month, in fact, represented the fourth month in a row of double-digit drops in annual inventory amounts, according to the MarketStats by ShowingTime data.

Finally, D.C.-area homes in general went for almost exactly what buyers and their brokers wanted. The average percentage of original list price received at closing was 98.4 percent in September, up from 97.7 percent last year and the highest September level over the past 10 years.

What’re you seeing in the sales market?