Prince George's County, Maryland
Market Watch - March 2020
Prince George's County Residential Real Estate Market
Holds Strong Despite Onslaught of Pandemic
The Prince George's County Association of REALTORS® reports that the local area real estate market in March continued to reflect considerable strength despite the escalating coronavirus pandemic and the resulting business slowdowns, with 790 closed sales recorded, an increase of 2.3 percent from March 2019, totaling $263.7 million. The Average Sold Price of $333,664 also improved by 10.2 percent, reflecting the County's limited inventory of existing homes. Even with the increase, Prince George's continues to be one of the affordable areas in metropolitan Washington.
The chart above details March activity compared to the five-year average, an important longer-term measure of market trends. While Closed Sales were essentially on par with the five-year average, Pending Sales fell well below historical and seasonal trends indicating a softer start for 2020 in terms of closings. In addition, the supply of homes for sale dropped considerably, to a five-year low of 1.3 months (representing 1,206 units) available for sale (versus a 1,522 historical March measure and 1.8 month's supply.) This important statistic means that if no new listings come on the market and with typical demand, the supply will go to zero in 1.3 months.
| March 2020 | Year Over Year (YoY) | Month Over Month (MoM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Sold Dollar Volume | $263,711,182 | + 14% | + 24.3% |
| Closed Sales | 790 | + 2.3% | + 18.1% |
| Median Sold Price | $329,900 | + 10% | + 5.7% |
| Average Sold Price | $333,664 | + 10.2% | + 5.3% |
Yolanda Muckle, PGCAR President and a professional REALTOR® at Long & Foster Real Estate Inc., shared: "We're pleased to report that our March market held strong even while facing the beginnings of the coronavirus pandemic hitting the DC area. However, the real estate community, like all business sectors, is adjusting to doing business in a manner that is safe and responsible to prevent the spread of COVID-19."
"While inventory is low, we know homeowners are interested and eager to sell. It is our goal to assist those prospective sellers while we stay at home as ordered by the Governor," Muckle continued. "Thankfully, REALTORS® have been using tools such as virtual homes tours and electronic signing services for a number of years so the transition has, in some ways, been a little easier. Our challenge is to instill confidence in our clients that we can market their property effectively so their home can be sold in a timely fashion. We have no idea when a sense of normalcy will return, but we may see homeowners (who may have been considering selling their homes) being more motivated to do so this year since they are spending much more time at home right now."
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 3,500 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 home ownership and private property rights.
