Washington, D.C., home prices rebounded in January, rising 3.2 percent from a year earlier to a median $489,000, following a two percent slump in December. Sales fell four percent despite a 6.2 percent increase in homes on the market.
The drop in sales and substantial boost in inventory pushed the number of homes for sale to a 2.6-month supply, the biggest since September 2014 but still far below the six months that signals a balanced market.
Only 485 properties went under contract in January, the slowest month for sales in three years. The typical home also took longer to sell — 22 days — than in any month since January 2013.
“Weather played a part. It literally dampened buyers’ ability to get out and tour homes,” Redfin agent Leslie White said. Sellers, too, might have pulled back when snow shut down the city on the last weekend of the month. “It’s harder for sellers to want you in their house when you’re wet and snowy.”
More important, White said, buyers seem to be less willing to pay the top prices that some sellers are demanding.
“I’ve seen what seem to be quite a few price decreases. Sellers are overconfident about what they can get and buyers aren’t taking the bait. They have better data than ever before and often make decisions based on reality, not seller pricing.”
That overconfidence is portrayed in the data too. The median list price increased 4.6 percent year over year to $499,000.
“If everybody looks at your home and nobody makes an offer, that’s the market speaking,” White said. “Sellers need to listen to the market.”
Across the broader D.C, Maryland and Virginia region, the median sale price increased 2.1 percent from a year earlier to $345,000. Sales increased 7.1 percent year over year.
Hot Neighborhoods
Home prices soared in Cleveland Park, up 55.4 percent compared to a year earlier. Sales surged 40 percent over the same period. The Benning Heights/Capitol View neighborhood had the city’s second-biggest gain, 47.8 percent, to a median sale price of $266,000.
Other neighborhoods with significant price gains include Fairlawn/Twining/Randle Highlands (33.3%), Greenway/Benning/Dupont Park (27.2%), Southwest/Waterfront (25.8%) and Howard University/Le Droit Park (24.7%).
Homes moved the fastest in American University Park/Friendship Heights area, with the typical home going under contract within six days of hitting the market. The median sale price rose four percent and the number of homes sold rose 56.7 percent compared to a year earlier.
Other fast-moving neighborhoods included Stanton Park, Chevy Chase, Southwest/Waterfront, and Navy Yard, where homes stayed on the market for a median of eight days.
See our city page for the most up-to-date data on Washington-area home prices.
Here’s what’s happening in your neighborhood:
| Neighborhood | Median Sale Price | Year-Over-Year | Homes Sold | Year-Over-Year | Inventory | Year-Over-Year | New Listings | Median Days on Market | Avg Sale-to-List |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams Morgan / Kalorama Heights / Lanier Heights | $517,000 | 2.5% | 83 | 0.0% | 52 | 40.5% | 87 | 12 | 98.2% |
| American University Park / Friendship Heights / Tenleytown | $965,000 | 4.0% | 47 | 56.7% | 10 | 100.0% | 20 | 6 | 100.6% |
| Atlas District | $676,000 | 4.0% | 41 | -31.7% | 27 | 12.5% | 54 | 9 | 100.4% |
| Bellevue / Congress Heights / Highlands | $216,000 | 13.7% | 39 | 34.5% | 32 | -5.9% | 43 | 32 | 102.2% |
| Benning Heights / Capitol View / Marshall Heights | $266,000 | 47.8% | 36 | -12.2% | 24 | -35.1% | 42 | 24 | 96.2% |
| Bloomingdale | $755,000 | 6.8% | 33 | 26.9% | 15 | 0.0% | 37 | 10 | 99.5% |
| Capitol Hill | $790,000 | 6.9% | 92 | 13.6% | 36 | 16.1% | 67 | 12 | 99.2% |
| Chevy Chase-DC | $950,885 | 10.9% | 45 | 32.4% | 17 | 30.8% | 34 | 8 | 97.8% |
| Chinatown / Mount Vernon Square / Penn Quarter | $479,500 | -9.9% | 72 | -7.7% | 30 | -18.9% | 61 | 24 | 96.3% |
| Cleveland Park | $687,500 | 55.4% | 28 | 40.0% | 22 | 144.4% | 28 | 9 | 99.4% |
| Columbia Heights | $560,000 | 17.6% | 80 | 12.7% | 59 | 90.3% | 117 | 14 | 98.9% |
| Congress Heights | $223,500 | -12.3% | 20 | 53.8% | 18 | -5.3% | 21 | 40 | 100.7% |
| Deanwood | $197,865 | -3.0% | 22 | 29.4% | 15 | -6.3% | 26 | 27 | 94.9% |
| Dupont Circle | $404,000 | -1.0% | 93 | 22.4% | 38 | 31.0% | 82 | 15 | 99.4% |
| Eckington | $610,000 | 16.9% | 14 | -22.2% | 12 | 71.4% | 22 | 13 | 96.9% |
| Edgewood | $534,825 | -4.5% | 20 | 33.3% | 14 | 180.0% | 25 | 12 | 99.1% |
| Fairlawn / Twining / Randle Highlands / Penn Branch | $289,000 | 33.3% | 24 | -14.3% | 34 | 54.5% | 44 | 52 | 102.8% |
| Foggy Bottom / George University / West End | $484,500 | -5.1% | 60 | 1.7% | 34 | -8.1% | 47 | 26 | 96.8% |
| Fort Totten / Lamont Riggs / Pleasant Hill / Queens Chapel | $370,000 | 5.7% | 39 | 69.6% | 12 | -55.6% | 33 | 24 | 98.1% |
| Foxhall / Palisades / Spring Valley / Wesley Heights | $1,100,000 | -7.2% | 47 | 34.3% | 41 | 24.2% | 48 | 23 | 95.8% |
| Georgetown | $1,331,250 | 7.4% | 51 | -23.9% | 29 | 20.8% | 51 | 16 | 95.4% |
| Glover Park / Cathedral Heights / McLean Gardens | $435,000 | -10.8% | 99 | 22.2% | 69 | 7.8% | 86 | 16 | 96.3% |
| Greenway / Benning / Dupont Park / River Terrace | $237,950 | 27.2% | 16 | 0.0% | 10 | -33.3% | 21 | 66 | 93.4% |
| Hill East | $696,245 | 16.6% | 54 | 8.0% | 17 | -26.1% | 43 | 19 | 99.0% |
| Historic Anacostia | $198,226 | -31.1% | 18 | 80.0% | 17 | 112.5% | 26 | 22 | 104.8% |
| Howard University / Le Droit Park | $745,000 | 24.7% | 50 | 4.2% | 19 | 46.2% | 54 | 12 | 98.0% |
| Kingman Park | $515,000 | 4.0% | 38 | 35.7% | 24 | 33.3% | 44 | 27 | 97.2% |
| Logan Circle-Shaw | $659,500 | 19.9% | 132 | -13.2% | 50 | 42.9% | 125 | 11 | 99.3% |
| Logan Circle-Shaw | $667,500 | 2.9% | 57 | -9.5% | 14 | -6.7% | 49 | 11 | 99.6% |
| Massachusetts Avenue Heights | $592,500 | -21.1% | 26 | -13.3% | 25 | -3.8% | 41 | 28 | 95.7% |
| Mount Pleasant | $904,500 | 12.0% | 20 | 0.0% | 10 | 233.3% | 25 | 10 | 99.2% |
| Navy Yard | $610,000 | 41.2% | 13 | 30.0% | 3 | -50.0% | 10 | 8 | 100.4% |
| NoMa | $782,500 | 16.8% | 14 | -50.0% | 12 | 71.4% | 20 | 14 | 99.4% |
| Petworth | $675,000 | 14.4% | 59 | 9.3% | 29 | -9.4% | 59 | 16 | 98.5% |
| Pleasant Plains | $570,000 | 17.9% | 30 | -11.8% | 19 | 35.7% | 34 | 13 | 99.8% |
| Southwest / Waterfront | $350,000 | 25.8% | 36 | -30.8% | 21 | 31.3% | 40 | 8 | 100.0% |
| Stanton Park | $695,000 | 8.4% | 81 | -5.8% | 40 | 37.9% | 81 | 8 | 99.5% |
| Takoma | $626,000 | 0.2% | 24 | 71.4% | 11 | -8.3% | 22 | 14 | 99.4% |
| Trinidad / Arboretum / Ivy City | $425,000 | -7.4% | 53 | 10.4% | 29 | -21.6% | 57 | 19 | 98.0% |
| Truxton Circle | $659,000 | 2.2% | 13 | -31.6% | 9 | 28.6% | 12 | 25 | 99.5% |
| Union Station / Kingman Park / Stanton Park | $623,000 | 0.4% | 114 | -6.6% | 58 | 18.4% | 117 | 13 | 98.9% |
| Van Ness / Forest Hills / Wakefield | $472,500 | 5.0% | 32 | 0.0% | 17 | 13.3% | 33 | 10 | 97.1% |
| Woodley Park | $324,450 | -29.2% | 16 | 60.0% | 5 | 66.7% | 10 | 16 | 94.1% |
| Washington, DC | $489,000 | 3.2% | 485 | -4.0% | 1,273 | 6.2% | 788 | 22 | 97.3% |
NOTE: Not all neighborhoods are listed, but totals for Washington, D.C., encompass entire city. Data is based on listing information and might not reflect all real estate activity in the market. Neighborhood-specific data is measured over the three months ended Jan. 31. Inventory measures listings active as of Jan. 31.
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