June 2024 Market Report

The most common question I hear from acquaintances and people who recognize me as a real estate professional is, “How’s the real estate market doing?”

My reply is never a simple, one-word answer! The complexities of the market, nuances, and trends in different segments and specific locations cannot be summed up briefly. For instance, a home seller in Bethesda listing a home in the $1M range will have a very different experience compared to that of a condo seller in Adams Morgan, DC, listing in the same range.

Residential real estate is hyper-localized and nuanced in ways that often aren't obvious. This is why it’s critical for home sellers and buyers to have a trusted, experienced market expert by their side. An expert can provide solid advice while preparing a property for the market, explain the nuances within the data, and help position the property effectively, navigating challenges throughout the process. For years, Galanti Group has produced well-thought-out market reports with in-depth analysis of the macroeconomic circumstances impacting our region. We also break down various trends in submarkets by zip codes, neighborhoods, product types, and price categories.

The following is a mid-year breakdown of a few markets by category. The highlight is the significant shift in buyer activity, with a healthy increase compared to the previous year, countered by a continued shortage in homes for sale. This has resulted in yet another year-over-year increase in home values, despite interest rates hovering around 7%.

In Bethesda-Chevy Chase, the Single-Family Home (SFH) market continues to lead in appreciation rates. During Q1 2023, there were 194 contracts for SFHs in B-CC, with a Median List Price of $1.398M. By Q1 2024, while the number of contracts remained at 194, the Median List Price jumped to $1.585M, a 13.4% increase!

More importantly, the Median Close Price also rose from $1.43M in Q1 2023 to $1.585M in Q1 2024, a 10.8% increase. Furthermore, in April-May 2023, 204 new contracts were entered with a Median List Price of $1.499M. In April-May 2024, the number of new contracts fell by 14% to 175, while the Median List Price increased modestly to $1.55M.

It's also notable that in April-May 2023, 232 new listings entered the market, while only 210 new listings were added in the same period in 2024, nearly a 10% drop. The Median Days on Market and Average Days on Market have remained steady over the past few years, around 6-7 days for median and 17-20 days for average.

Lastly, let’s focus on a specific segment that has been steadily shrinking in Bethesda-Chevy Chase: detached homes priced under $1,000,000. During Jan-May 2023, 68 homes in this price range were sold in B-CC. However, in 2024, only 38 homes in this price category were listed and entered under contract in the same period, a dramatic 50% drop!

On the flip side, luxury properties (for our purposes, those priced between $3M and $10M) have increased by 30% from 134 detached homes listed for sale between Jan and May 2023 (in Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Potomac, and Washington DC) to 174 properties listed in the same period in 2024. The number of contracts in this segment also increased, though more modestly, from 69 in 2023 to 80 in 2024, a 16% increase.

Stay tuned for more information and market analysis. In the meantime, feel free to get in touch with us for any of your real estate questions.

Avi