State of the D.C. Condo Market Today

Some bad news, but glimmers of a turnaround…

Delta Associates latest condo report was released today, showing that the DC-area pipeline is drying up and that condo prices have dipped a tiny amount in the city.  There are fewer and fewer area projects converting from condos to apartments.This year, 15 condo projects—totaling 2,432 units—were canceled.

At least one blogger is proffering that there will be some project reversions—buildings that started out condo, then became apartments and then went back to condo. “The takeaway for anyone contemplating buying a new condo is that, if Delta is right, prices won’t go much lower than they are right now,” writes Will Smith with UrbanTurf.

Here are some more stats from the Washington D.C. market:

• In the District, the median condo re-sale price is up 2.9 percent.
• The average price per square foot is $510 in Washington D.C. ($480 in Arlington/Alexandria; $410 in Montgomery County)
• The average asking price for D.C. condos has fallen 3.4 percent in the last year.
• The average effective price for D.C. condos has fallen 2.6 percent in the last year.

In the D.C. Metro area:

• New condo sales during the second quarter of 2009 were double the amount of the first quarter and reached about 600 units for the first time since the third quarter of 2007.

• Prices continue to decline, but the rate of the decline is slowing.

• Concessions are down in the District, but up in the suburbs. Metro-wide, concessions are up slightly, averaging 3.7 percent of the purchase price of Mid-Year 2009 (up to 20 basis points from one year ago.)

• Projects that have sold out in the past two years have averaged about three sales a month.

Tags: DC condo market, Delta Associates