May real estate picture largely unchanged

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Most of the Washington region saw little change in the real estate market from April to May, a disappointing result for Realtors who were hoping for a bump from the typically busy spring market.

Median sold prices in most jurisdictions rose or fell a few percentage points from April, and all areas except D.C. had lower median prices than the previous year. Arlington, which experienced an 11.05 percent drop in median sold prices during the month, was the only major exception.

Manassas and Falls Church also saw price larger declines from April to May, but the number of properties sold each month in these cities is relatively small and skews the results.

Some further-out jurisdictions, which have faced the worst housing challenges in recent months, saw a significant jump in the number of houses sold from May 2007 to May 2008, despite year-over-year price declines. In Loudoun County, median prices dropped 19.31 percent from May 2007 (and increased 0.29 percent from April), but the number of units sold jumped 11.82 percent from 457 to 511. In Prince William County, the number of units sold increased 67.59 percent, from 432 in May 2007 to 724 in May 2008. But in other areas, such as Prince George’s County, the number of units sold fell by 48.05 percent, from 743 in May 2007 to 386 in May 2008.

Homesellers fared the best inside the District, where the median sold price rose 5.01 percent over May 2007 from $419,000 to $440,000 and just slightly over April 2008, when the price was $438,000. “Home prices within the District tend to be stable, and they have increased over the past year,” said Paul Carrillo, assistant professor of economics at George Washington University.

But year-over-year price comparisons don’t take into account the quality of the homes being sold, noted Carrillo. Right now, in a buyers’ market, “buyers can be picky,” whereas in a housing boom, “buyers will buy anything.” This means that the price decline could be greater if you control for quality, he said.

The market didn’t seem to be “up as much” as we thought it would be in May, said Donna Evers, president and broker of Evers & Company Real Estate. Even in areas not hit as hard by increased foreclosures, the situation “made consumers hesitant.”

Evers still predicts a better performance in the second quarter of this year than the first quarter.

wblake@dcexaminer.com

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