WASHINGTON INFORMER: The Prince George’s County Association of REALTORS® (PGCAR) reports a Spring Market with high homebuyer demand but limited supply. While “Days on Market” decreased by 31.6% down to 13 days, “Closed Sales” also dropped, from 751 in March to 656 in April. New “Pending Contracts” were steadier, decreasing slightly from 890 in March to 868 in April.
The strong demand for Prince George’s County homes at lower supply resulted in more all-time record highs in Median Sold Price and Average Sold Price for April. Median Sold Price was $419,950, a 1.2% increase over March and a 5% increase over April 2022. Average Sold Price was $435,243, a 2.3% increase over March and a 2.7% increase over April 2022.
Contract activity for Prince George’s County homes (656 Closed Sales, plus 868 New Pending Sales) greatly outnumbered “Active Listings” (averaging 810 in April) for the fourth consecutive month. This dropped the “Months of Supply” of “for sale” homes to 1.0, meaning that if no new listings are added, current listings would sell out in one month.
The increased mismatch in April sales activity versus inventory pushed the Contract Ratio (Pending Contracts per Active Listing) higher again to 1.60, an 18.5% increase over March. A rising Contract Ratio shows movement toward a Seller’s market. All market indicators point to the continued strength of the Prince George’s County home market, especially given the attractiveness and relative affordability of Prince George’s County within the greater Washington, D.C., region.
The lack of inventory to meet the demand for Prince George’s County homes is of great concern. Several promising factors are helping Prince George’s market maintain its strength, although greater home inventory is a critical need to be solved.
Positives include:
- Interest rates are continuing to settle closer to 6%, historically considered a good rate.
- With several new home developments nearing completion, a wide range of single-family, condo, and townhome communities will come onto the market throughout the summer.
- More owners of second or investment homes within the county are seeing the high value of selling.
- Several new homebuyer savings programs are making the transition from renter to homeowner even more attractive and profitable.
- A lower DOM (Days on Market) tends to bring out Sellers who have been on the fence.
As PGCAR president and associate Broker of Keller Williams Preferred Properties, Rachel Jefferies provided insights on the economic and lifestyle benefits of homeownership.
“Prince George’s County home sales are once again straining against a limited supply of ‘for sale’ homes. A Spring sales surge of 40.6% in March followed by only 780 New Listings in April, further tightened available home inventory,” Jefferies said.
Due to the high demand and low inventory, Prince George’s County Sellers are seeing faster sales and higher “Sold Prices.” Home values are strong. In fact, Prince George’s County home values reached all-time April record highs. In April, the “Prince George’s Median Sold Home Price” rose to $419,950, a 5% increase over 2022. The “Average Sold Price” increased 2.7% over 2022 to $435,243.
Prince George’s still enjoys relative affordability within the greater Maryland-DC-Virginia region and is a highly desirable location for homeownership, allowing the county to outperform regional and national market trends.
A Great Time to Sell and Buy
Sitting on the fence about selling? It’s a great time to sell! There is unmet homeownership demand at every price point, the April “Median Days on Market” was 13 days, and the “Average Sold Price” to “Original Listing Price” was 99.5%.
It’s also a great time to buy!
First, with 30-year interest rates continuing to hover closer to 6%, now might be the ideal time to lock in a mortgage rate and payment. Once locked in, your monthly mortgage payment is protected against inflation.
Second, homeownership remains the greatest indicator of generational wealth. As economic concerns come and go, homeownership can stabilize your costs, steadily build your equity as you pay your mortgage, and is likely to provide a substantial financial gain as home values continue to increase over the next three, five, 10, and 20-plus years. Homes have a long track record of increasing in value over any 10-year period.”
“Whether selling or buying, please contact a REALTOR® early in your decision,” Jefferies added. “Let a REALTOR® help set a favorable and realistic budget or price; manage the home searches and showings, inspections, appraisals, and myriad other details; and guide you towards a favorable outcome in buying or selling a home.”
Buyers, have valuable discussions with your REALTOR® that help find the right home for you.
An objective professional working on your behalf can reveal more options to discover and best match your most important family, work, and lifestyle desires.
For example – a couple with two children purchased their ideal home. It was a townhome with a spacious common area and neighborhood pool they didn’t need to maintain, instead of the single-family home they originally envisioned.
Also, let your REALTOR® introduce you to lenders experienced in a variety of mortgage options and incentives. Several homebuyer programs exist that can lower interest rates or assist with your down payment. There are amazing incentives available for Prince George’s County homebuyers, including the $10,000 Pathway to Purchase, Maryland SmartBuy which allows up to $50,000 in student debt elimination, and numerous others.”
The Voice for Real Estate in Prince George’s County
PGCAR is the voice for REALTORS® in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Representing more than 4,000 real estate professionals in the national capital area, PGCAR is an affiliate of the Maryland and National Association of REALTORS®.
We are proud to serve our members and our community, and work to ensure professionalism in the industry. Our volunteers and staff work to offer services to real estate professionals and to provide avenues for our members to become more successful.
We proudly work to promote and protect homeownership and private property rights.
