As the summer heat set in, the housing market continued to cool. July sales of existing homes totaled just 6,630 in the Washington metropolitan area.
That’s 16 percent fewer than in July 2006 and the slowest July in 10 years.
Looking at the cumulative data for the first seven months of the year doesn’t make the picture any brighter. Total sales were down 15 percent by the end of July, with just two jurisdictions in the region posting increases in sales.
Somehow, the District has managed to post a 2 percent increase in existing home sales this year, while sales in Arlington County are up by a surprising 10 percent.
It’s remarkable that sales could be up anywhere, particularly when you consider that sales in Prince William and Stafford counties are just half of what they were two years ago.
The relative strength of the housing market in Arlington and the District demonstrates just how much people want to live close to the region’s core, even if homes there are very expensive.
Just a few years ago, the affordability of counties outside the Beltway, such as Prince William and Stafford, attracted home buyers in droves. The surge in sales of both new and existing homes caused home prices there to rise rapidly.
Perhaps that is one reason behind the dramatic slowdown we have seen in Prince William and Stafford in the past two years.
If there is a bright spot to be found for home sellers, it’s that the inventory stopped rising last month.
In June, the inventory of homes for sale reached a record high of 50,794. In July, it dropped slightly, to 50,344. That’s not enough to make it any easier to sell your home, but it is a modest glimmer of hope.
— Chris Sicks
Contact Chris Sicks by e-mail (csicks@gmail.com).
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