Bethesda 20816 February 2011 Market Report

Year to Date - 1st Quarter

Active inventory is counted one month in arrears but all the other numbers are current to date.

Overall days on market are up from last year by 35%. Visually it's hard to understand from that large spike in Feb of 2010 but the average DOM in 2010 were 26 and they are currently an average of 35. Buyers are moving very quickly on well priced properties in the condition they want but for anything that is priced where the market won't bear it, there will be a longer marketing time.

List to sale price ratio fell in January of 2011 and then rose in February and March, as the lack of inventory became apparent. The current average of 98% is the same for both years. This and price are the numbers to watch for the next couple months if the inventory stays constrained.

20 sales so far this year vs 23 sales at the same time last year account for the 3% drop in sales. Interestingly, only seven of the 20 homes sold this year were under $1M. Everything else was above $1,095,000. Last year in the same time frame only 8 homes over $1M sold - almost the direct inverse. I am talking with a lot of buyers who are in this price range search. They want a house that is more done with the space they need and while our housing stock has some of those homes, they are not generally the bulk of the market.

The type of homes sold this year is the driver behind the rise in median price. I break down the price ranges separately and the median price is up very slightly in the $750K-$1M range and up 1% in the $1M-$1.25 range . Good homes with larger space and some upgrades have been desirable this spring.

21 homes are under contract. 27 homes are curently for sale.

The chart below shows the absorption rate or months of supply, currently at 3 months signaling a seller's market. Note the spikes in past early spring markets and the lack of the same in Jan/Feb of this year. For buyers who need a home now they are feeling the pressure of this lack and are fearful there may not be more inventory coming on to meet their time frame.