The Georgetown Report by Russell Firestone | The Real Estate Market in Georgetown and Washington DC
The Real Estate Market in Georgetown and Washington DC
In the month of February, there were 14 sales in Georgetown with an average sale price of $1,342,107 for a total sales volume of $18,789,500.00.
This is the link to the PDF list of properties that were sold in Georgetown in the month of February:
Sold Properties
All sales data provided by MRIS.
According to Cassidy and Turley, the Washington DC area had $7.2 billion in office sales 2011 which is up 68 percent from 2010. The high office building sales bodes well for the DC jobs market and further bolsters the residential real estate market.
Washington office sales volume second to Manhattan – Washington Business Journal.
In the month of January, there were 10 sales in Georgetown with an average sale price of $2,064,125 for a total sales volume of $20,641,250.00.
This is the link to the PDF list of properties that were sold in Georgetown in the month of January:
Sold Properties
All sales data provided by MRIS.
According to Real Estate Business Intelligence, the DC area has the lowest “for sale” inventory in seven years. Not since the hot real estate market of 2005 has the inventory in the DC area been this low. Agents in Northwest DC have been discussing how low the inventory has been for the last year and this data from RBI supports what we have all been saying.
DC Metro Closes 2011 with Lowest Inventory Level since August 2005 | RBI.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the existing home market is in its third month of an uptrend in sales. Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist says that “these are the early signs of what may be a sustained recovery.”
“The latest monthly data shows total existing-home sales1 rose 5.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.61 million in December from a downwardly revised 4.39 million in November, and are 3.6 percent higher than the 4.45 million-unit level in December 2010. The estimates are based on completed transactions from multiple listing services that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops.”
According to Clear Capital, Washington DC area real estate prices will rise 6.5% in 2011 following a rise of 5.3% in 2010. The report was prepared by senior statistician Dr. Alex Villacorta.
“Some housing markets are well on their way to recovery, while others are experiencing a renewed downturn reminiscent of the housing crash only two years ago,” added Dr. Villacorta. “Understanding which path a given market is likely to follow is dependent on several key factors, but the two clear drivers are local unemployment rates and the prevalence of distressed homes.”
The Washington DC area already has the lowest unemployment in the nation and very low distressed home inventory compared to the rest of the country. According to Villacorta:
“Major cities in the western Gulf states, and Washington, D.C. are least likely to see high dollar declines in home values. Washington, D.C. follows-up its strong performance in 2010 with an expected 6.5 percent year-over-year price change in 2011.”
Click the images to see the full size charts:
Read the full report here Newsroom at Clear Capital : Market Report
The average price of a home in the Washington DC area rose by 3.7% in October. No other housing market in the US is even close according to Case Shiller. Real estate values and jobs go hand in hand. The DC area has the lowest unemployment in the nation as well.
Link: Washington home values best in nation in October | Washington Business Journal
Link: Washington DC Area Unemployment Lowest in Nation | The Georgetown Report
The Washington metroplitan area unemployment rate is 5.8% and is the only major city in the US with an unemployment rate below 6%. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Washington DC metropolitan area had the largest year over year employment increase in the country- a gain of 43,700 jobs.
Bureau of Labor and Statistics Report
Washington unemployment lowest in nation | Washington Business Journal.
Existing home pending sales rise to a six month high nationwide thanks in part to mortgage rates being low. However, the mortgage rates are tied to the 10 year bond and investors are moving toward higher yields in Europe according to Frank Notehaft at Freddie Mac.
Existing pending sales may have jumped a staggering 10.4 percent in October, the strongest pace since April of this year, but interest rates are on the rise. According to Frank Notehaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac, investors moved from U.S. Treasury debt to European markets — where improvements are being made to the debt crisis. This in turn caused “bond yields to rise and mortgage rates along with them,” he says.
via Realty Times – Real Estate Outlook: Existing Pending Sales Rise.
Richard Moroscak, a Senior Lending Officer at Monarch Bank, in his weekly mortgage status report states that:
It is year-end on Wall Street and investors like everyone, are generally distracted by holiday events and administrative tasks aimed at cleaning up balance sheets. The effect is less participation in the bond market and increased volatility. Mortgage lenders have year-end activities as well and they impact loan pricing. Lenders are reluctant during the holiday season to get aggressive with mortgage rates. This slows loan production and gives the operations staff and management a chance to prepare for a new year. Everyone expects Rates to come back down in the New Year.
Hopefully, rates will go lower again in 2011 and existing home sales will continue the upward trend.
The median sold price for properties in zip code 20007 (which includes Georgetown) is up 29.45% from October 2009 to $1million. A total of $34,030,454 in properties sold in the month of October.
