The summer doldrums weighted on the Mid-Atlantic markets in the Bright MLS service area, which recorded a 2.8% year-over-year decline in closed sales during July.
Last month, there were 20,847 new pending contracts in the Bright MLS service area, down by 1.7% from the previous year. Year-to-date through July, new pending sales are tracking 1.5% below 2024.
The decline in sales was seesawed with the upswing in inventory. By the end of July, there were 23,804 listings available for sale across the Bright MLS service area, a 26.2% year-over-year spike. But inventory in the region is now at 69% of pre-pandemic levels, there are still fewer single-family detached compared to pre-pandemic 2019 while the inventory of condominiums is well above where it was six years ago.
Also on the rise was home pricing. In July, the median sold price in the Bright MLS service area was $440,000, which was a 4.8% year-over-year increase. But this was attributed to more higher-end sales rather than broad price increases across all home types.
“It is not just about mortgage rates anymore. Many people are feeling anxious about their own personal financial situations, and that uncertainty is keeping them from making the decision to buy a home,” said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS. “Higher-income buyers, those who are still feeling more economically secure, are accounting for a bigger share of housing market activity this summer.”
Among the region’s major markets, the Philadelphia metro area recorded a record-breaking median sold price in July was $420,000, up 6.3% from one year ago. But the number of closed sales were down 2.8% compared to a year ago.
The Baltimore region experienced a 5% year-over-year drop in the total number of closed sales during July, but the median sold price was up 4.2% to $420.000. And the Washington, DC metro area saw a 2.5% decline in closed sales was the median sold price in the region was $640,000 in July, up 2.4% compared to one year earlier.
