The big news for the D.C. Metro area housing market this month
October 2011 contract activity in the Washington, D.C. metro area outpaced seasonal patterns, attaining a level that was 18.6% higher than the 5-year October average. There were 4,125 new contracts written in October 2011, 10.4% ahead of the September 2011 total of 3,829. For the past 10 years, new contract activity has averaged a 4.3% increase from September to October. The median sale price of $320,025 was 5.9% lower than October 2010. This, combined with the marked 23.3% month-over-month decrease in new listings, can partially be attributed to the lower jumbo mortgage limits which took effect October 1. New listings were down over 13.2% compared to October 2010 and down 20.3% from the 5-year October average.
