The year-over-year median sales-price increase for homes in the Washington region in the fourth quarter of 2023 was up 7.6 percent, more than twice the national average, a rare occurrence of the local swing being significantly more pronounced than that at the national level.
The median sales price of single-family homes across the Washington region was $591,700 in the October-November-December period of 2023, according to figures reported by the National Association of Realtors.
That compared to an increase of 3.5 percent (to $391,700) nationally, which itself picked up steam from the 2.2-percent increase in the third quarter.
All told, more than 85 percent of metro markets in the survey (189 out of 221) registered home-price increases in the fourth quarter of 2023.
“Many home-buyers have been shocked at high housing costs, with a typical monthly mortgage payment rising from $1,000 three years ago to more than $2,000 last year,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.
Among the major U.S. regions, the South posted the largest share of single-family existing-home sales (45%) in the fourth quarter, with year-over-year price appreciation of 3.2 percent to $360,300. Prices climbed 7.3 percent in the Northeast ($441,000), 4.7 percent in the Midwest ($282,800) and 4.2 percent in the West ($609,500).
“Sales were restrained due to limited inventory,” Yun said. “But increased home-building, along with lower mortgage rates, will not only improve housing affordability but also help bring more homes onto the market in 2024.”
The 10 metro areas with the largest year-over-year median price increases were Dayton, Ohio (19.9%); Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, Tenn.-Va. (+19.2%); Fond du Lac, Wisc. (+18.6%); Trenton, N.J. (+17.3%); Salinas, Calif. (+17.1%); Newark, N.J.-Pa. (+16.7%); Anniston-Oxford, Ala. (+15.7%); Bloomington, Ill. (+15.4%); Johnson City, Tenn. (+15.2%); and Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, Calif. (+14.8%).
The most expensive housing markets for the quarter were San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. ($1,750,300; +11%); Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, Calif. ($1,299,500; +14.8%); San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif. ($1,251,000; +4.3%); Urban Honolulu ($1,069,400; -1.9%); Salinas, Calif. ($993,900; +17.1%); San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif. ($931,600; +8.7%); Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif. ($916,800; +7.9%); San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif. ($912,100; +5.7%); Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. ($884,400; +6.7%); and Boulder, Colo. ($849,400; +11.8%).
Among regions of Virginia, the median sales price in the Richmond area rose 13.1 percent to $412,800, while the median in Roanoke was up 6.5 percent to $277,700, the median in Blacksburg-Christiansburg was up 9.6 percent to $271,200, the median in the Hampton Roads area was up 9.7 percent to $335,000 and the median in Kingsport/Bristol was up 19.2 percent to $260,300.
