Mid-Atlantic Housing Market Continues to Sharply Cool

Fewest number of June pending sales since 2016

• Pending sales down 21.0 %, largest year-over-year decline since April of 2020.
• Median home price in the Mid-Atlantic climbs 7.8% to $399,000; Philadelphia sees the biggest increase, rising 9.2%
• Inventory expands for second month in a row, significant departure from last two years

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fewer sales, slower price growth, and growing inventory suggest markets are reacting to rising mortgage rates throughout the Mid-Atlantic, as sales were down 18.1% year-over-year, according to the Bright MLS Monthly Housing Report released today. As home buyers have pulled back, active listings increased again in June. Despite a deceleration in sales activity, the median home price in the region continues to rise, staying at a record high of $399,000 in June – $124,000 higher than it was five years ago.

“Buyer activity in the Mid-Atlantic has slowed as a result of rising mortgage rates, high inflation, and growing economic uncertainty,” said Dr. Lisa Sturtevant, Bright MLS Chief Economist. “For the second month in a row, inventory has increased which will mean that buyers that remain in the market will have more options and less competition. Despite the increase in active listings, supply remains very low and there is a long way to go to reach a balanced market in the Mid-Atlantic.”

Washington DC Metro: Cooler Market with Slower Price Growth Anticipated

• The number of new pending sales in the Washington metro area fell by 24.3% compared to a year ago. This is the 4th consecutive month of year-over-year declines and is the lowest June pending sales total in the region since 2014. New contract activity was down among all housing types in the region.
• The median sales price was up 5.8% compared to a year ago. Price growth has begun to moderate in the region, with the most notable impact in the condominium market where the median price rose by just 1.1% between June 2021 and June 2022.
• Inventory in the region appears to have bottomed out. At the end of June, there were 7,473 active listings across the region, which is down by just 0.5% compared to a year ago. Single-family detached inventory increased by 13.1% and townhome inventory was up 21.4% this month. Condo inventory in the region continued to fall in June.

“The market has been cooling since the spring, but in June we really saw the impact of rising mortgage rates and persistently high inflation,” Sturtevant said. “Inventory has bottomed out in the region, with big increases in the availability of both single-family detached homes and townhomes in many local markets.”

Baltimore Metro: Market Adjustment Well Underway in the Region

• Slower sales activity and declining buyer activity indicate that housing market correction in Baltimore is underway. Expect sales activity to be relatively slow over the summer. Prices will continue to rise in most markets, but the rate of price growth will continue to moderate.
• The number of new pending sales has been down for 13 consecutive months. In June, there were 3,984 new pending contracts in the Baltimore metro area, which is the lowest number of June pending sales since 2014.
• The median sales price in the Baltimore metro area was $375,000, which is 5.6% higher than a year ago. While prices continued to rise in the region in June, the rate of price growth this month was lower than it has been since November 2021.
• Inventory expanded for the 2nd month in a row in the Baltimore metro area. At the end of June, there was a total of 4,233 active listings across the region, which is up 8.2% compared to the end of June 2021. Inventory of both single-family detached homes and townhomes increased, but the number of condo listings declined in June.

“The Baltimore area housing market is experiencing a pull-back from the frenzied pace of the last two years as higher prices and rising mortgage rates have taken some prospective buyers out of the market,” said Sturtevant. “While inventory is expanding in the region, supply is very tight. In some suburban markets there is still less than one month of supply, so there is a long way to go to reach balanced market conditions.”

Philadelphia Metro: Slowing Market but Sellers Still have the Advantage

• For the 4^th month in a row, new pending sales declined year-over-year in the Philadelphia metro area. There were 16.0% fewer new pendings in June and the number of new pending sales declined by 7.8% between May and June, which is a typical month-to-month decline.
• Despite slower sales activity, prices continued to rise more quickly in the Philadelphia region than in either the Baltimore or Washington metro areas. The median price in the Philadelphia metro area was $355,000 in June, up 9.2% compared to a year ago.
• Inventory in the region may have bottomed out, with the number of active listings at the end of the month down by just 1.8% compared to a year ago. However, despite inventory increases, sellers retain the advantage in most local markets across the region.

“Overall, the Philadelphia area is seeing stronger price growth than other major metros in the Mid-Atlantic. Despite the pull-back in buyer activity, the median sales price in the metro area was up 9.2% compared to a year ago, which is much faster home buyer appreciation than in either the Baltimore or Washington, DC markets,” Sturtevant said.

Full Mid-Atlantic and Metro area reports are available at BrightMLS.com/MarketInsights

About Bright MLS

Bright MLS was founded in 2016 as a collaboration between 43 visionary associations and two of the nation’s most prominent MLSs to transform what an MLS is and what it does, so real estate pros and the people they serve can thrive today and into our data-driven future through an open, clear and competitive housing market for all. Bright is proud to be the source of truth for comprehensive real estate data in the Mid-Atlantic, with market intelligence currently covering six states (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia) and the District of Columbia. Bright MLS’s innovative tool library—both created and curated—provides services and award-winning support to well over 100k real estate professionals, enabling their delivery on the promise of home to over half a million home buyers and sellers monthly. In 2021, Bright subscribers facilitated $141B in real estate transactions through the company’s platform. Learn more at Bright MLS.com.

Christy Reap
Christy.reap@brightmls.com
202-309-9362