The Advantage of Selling Your Washington DC Area Home in Spring 2023
Thinking about selling your house in the DC metro region? If you’ve been waiting for the right time, it could be now while the supply of homes for sale is so low. HousingWire shares:
“. . . the big question is whether we are finally starting to see the seasonal spring increase in inventory. The answer is no, because active listings fell to a new low last week for 2023 . . .”
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) confirms today’s housing inventory is low by looking at the months’ supply of homes on the market. In a balanced market, about a six-month supply is needed. Anything lower is a sellers’ market. And today, the number nationally is much lower:
“Total housing inventory registered at the end of February was 980,000 units, identical to January and up 15.3% from one year ago (850,000). Unsold inventory sits at a 2.6-month supply at the current sales pace, down 10.3% from January but up from 1.7 months in February 2022.”
Focused locally, those numbers tell an even more lucrative story for potential sellers:
Washington, D.C. has 2.8 months of housing inventory
Arlington County, VA has 1.2 months of housing inventory
Fairfax County, VA has 0.7 months of housing inventory
Loudoun County, VA has 0.9 months of housing inventory
Montgomery County, Md has 0.9 months of housing inventory
Prince George’s County, MD has 1.1 months of housing inventory
Why Does Low Inventory Make It a Good Time To Sell in Washington DC?
The less inventory there is on the market when you sell, the less competition you’re likely to face from other DC area sellers. That means your house will get more attention from the buyers looking for a home this spring. And since there are significantly more buyers in the market than there are homes for sale, you could even receive more than one offer on your house. Multiple offers are on the rise again even in Washington DC, but especially in the Northern Virginia and Maryland Suburbs (just two weeks ago my buyers were one of 18 offers on a townhome in Ashburn, VA) (see graph below):
If you get more than one offer on your house, it becomes a bidding war between buyers – and that means you have greater leverage to sell on your terms. But if you want to maximize the opportunity for a bidding war to spark, be sure to lean on your expert real estate advisor. While we’re still in a strong sellers’ market, it isn’t the frenzy we saw a couple of years ago, and today’s buyers are focused on the houses with the greatest appeal. Clare Trapasso, Executive News Editor at Realtor.com, explains:
"Well-priced, move-in ready homes with curb appeal in desirable areas are still receiving multiple offers and selling for over the asking price in many parts of the country. So, this spring, it's especially important for sellers to make their homes as attractive as possible to appeal to as many buyers as possible.”
Bottom Line
If you’ve been waiting for the right time to sell your house, whether you’re in downtown DC, Northern Virginia, or Suburban Maryland, low inventory this spring sets you up with a big advantage. Let’s connect today to make sure your house is ready to sell: Fill out the form below for a free, no obligation pricing opinion for your home (created by a real professional and NOT an automated algorithm), and a custom market update specific to your neighborhood.
