Listings coming onto the region’s housing market the week ending Dec. 18 showed a holiday dormancy, although they were higher than at the same point last year.
That’s according to Bright MLS, which reported that the 597 new listings for the week represented a 19.4-percent drop from the week prior but were up 3.6 percent from a year ago.
The weekly snapshot includes market activity in the District of Columbia; Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun counties and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church in Virginia; and Montgomery, Prince George’s and Frederick counties in Maryland.
Convincing homeowners to give up their attractive home mortgages obtained before rates spiked has proved to be a challenge in the local area, and it now is coupled with the seasonal cooling that typically arrives in December. Optimists say the peak is over for interest rates, and expect the logjam of availability to begin easing as the spring market takes hold.
A total of 885 contracts were signed during the week, down 6.1 percent from a week before and off 3.8 percent from a year ago. Showings (13,055) also were down, 8.6 percent and 3 percent, respectively.
The median list price for all homes that went to market for the week was $514,990, a decline of 1.9 percent from a year before but up 2.5 percent from a year ago.
The median days between listing and ratified sales contract was 31 for the week, relatively flat both from a week before (up two days) and a year ago (down one).
Figures represent most, but not all, homes on the market. Most recent figures are preliminary and are subject to revision.
For more data, see the Website at brightmls.com/marketupdate.
