Homes in the Washington region are selling at a robust clip as the number of contracts signed in April was the second-highest total for the month in five years, according to a new housing report. But pending sales fell short of the surge of activity seen in March, according to the RBI Pending Home Sale Index released Tuesday.
The 5,170 homes that went under contract in April also represent a 16 percent decline from a year ago. But housing expert Jonathan Miller said last year’s number’s are skewed thanks to the first-time homebuyers’ tax credit, which caused a boom-bust in 2010 home sales.
He also attributed the spike in pending home sales in March to the same phenomenon.
“In March, the surge was almost an overcorrection of a lack of demand at the end of 2010,” said Miller, a consultant for RBI and president of real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel Inc. “And for April, the actual level of sales is the highest April — other than last year — since 2006. So as an individual month it is also very high.”
The report shows other indicators that housing demand is increasing in the Washington region. The average number of days on the market fell to 78 from 83 days in March and the median sales price rose for the second consecutive month to $334,000.
The number of houses on the market has remained relatively steady, an indicator that the housing market is becoming self-sustaining again. But between the housing boom in the 2000s followed by the recession three years ago, it has been a long time since the housing market has been normal, Miller said.
“It’s moving toward normalization,” he said. “Because the boom was so long and pronounced, most people’s orientation became backwards and that became the norm. Well, that’s not true — this is the norm.”
