The Truth About Housing Market Reports Revealed

What you need to know about reading real estate news headlines.  

Have you read a news headline recently that went something like this: “Home prices continue to decline.” This is pretty alarming news, but unfortunately, that’s the point. These headlines don’t usually tell the full story, so today, I’m sharing a few things I like to keep in mind while reading housing market data reports. If you’ve been worried about the housing market recently, I think these points will help ease your mind:

1. National trends don’t necessarily reflect our local market. National data gives you an idea of the average market, but Washington, D.C. isn’t exactly average. Our city has a lot of unique qualities that mean we’re often heading in a different direction than other metropolitan areas. Also, when you’re checking D.C.-specific data, check to see which counties are included. There’s usually a big difference between stats from just the city and the greater area. 

"Prices are still up year over year."

2. There’s a difference between month-over-month and year-over-year data. Our market right now is tricky because prices have been declining slightly month over month, but they’re still up overall year over year. So if you sold a home in November 2022, you would have still likely received a higher price than you would have in November 2021, despite all the negative headlines. 

3. Urban housing markets are different from rural ones. In most housing reports, urban and local areas are lumped together. However, many urban markets, including Washington, D.C., are still seeing high prices.

Hopefully, this cleared up some of the confusion you might have felt due to alarming headlines. If you have a specific question about this topic or our market, please call or email me. I am always willing to help!