The median price of a house in Montgomery County increased from $330,000 in November 2009 to $453,000 in November, an increase of 37 percent, according to a new report from the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors.
But home sales also fell from 710 in November 2017 to 584 in November 2018.
In its most recent market trends report, the association said the average home sales price also increased to $565,618 this November, which was a 4.8 percent increase from November 2017.
The report, released Tuesday, also said that the average November 2018 home value represented the highest the number for the month during the past 10 years.
A similar trend occurred in the District’s housing market, with the median home value increasing from $350,000 in November 2009 to $600,000 in November 2018.
In addition to the decline in closed home sales in the county, there was also a drop in the number of pending home sales by 10.6 percent from November 2017. There were also 909 listings in November 2018, 4.6 percent more than the previous November.
Within the overall trend of a decrease in home sales in the county, single-family detached home and condominium sales experienced a decline in both closed sales and purchase activity.
Townhouse closed sales also decreased, but there were 205 more pending sales this November than one year ago.
GCAAR President Tom Daley speculated that the fall and spring are typically the busiest buying periods of the year when it comes to home sales.
But factors this year such as local and national elections, along with Amazon’s decision to locate one of its two new headquarters in Northern Virginia, factored into the decrease in home sales. The discussion around Amazon, he said, helped create uncertainty about the Montgomery County market.
“It’s not a light switch, but we heard a lot of chatter,” Daley said of the Amazon decision.
Daley added that sale prices increased because there was only two months-worth of real estate inventory in the county, which kept prices high.
“When good stuff comes around, people are paying for it. They may see that type of house or condo and are willing to pay a premium to get what they want,” he said.
The lowest number of sales in Montgomery County during the month of November within the last decade was 673, which was in 2011 according to the report.
Dan Schere can be reached at Daniel.schere@moco360.media
