Existing-home sales on Capitol Hill—including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops—increased 21.6 percent in 2009, according to a report issued by Don Denton of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. Collectively, 928 Capitol Hill homes sold in 2009 compared to 763 homes sold in 2008.
Real estate agent Phil Guire of Guire and Harrison Realty Group expects the trend to continue. “If interest rates remain steady at 6 percent and we continue to see jobs created in the area—from the Department of Transportation and Securities and Exchange Commission relocations to the projected influx of employees at the Navy Yard—the real estate market is poised to have a good year in 2010.”
While both the country and Capitol Hill saw the first annual sales gain since 2005, the average fee simple Capitol Hill home price decreased 6.2 percent from $535,000 in 2008 to $502,000 in 2009. Guire attributes the change to homeowners choosing not to list high-end homes on the market. “Prices appear to be trending down because owners of homes exceeding $800,000 recognize that their homes are harder to finance and are therefore harder to sell.”
The average number of days a Capitol Hill home stays on the market increased 6.4 percent from 72 days to 82 days in 2009. However, Guire notes that the “historical average that a home is listed on the market is 90 days or more,” so the increase in days on the market is not alarming. In fact, it’s the sign of a healthy housing market.
Today’s housing market is healthier than the market of 2005 and 2006. “Demand to buy a home on the Hill remains high and inventory is low,” said Guire. “However, buyers and sellers are now able to take their time when buying and selling a home.”
This is really great to know. Thanks for providing stats and useful information in layman terms. This can be hard to understand for some people.