Prince George's County, Maryland
May 2023 Market Watch
Prince George's Home Sales:
Homeownership Demand Drives 24.2% Sales Increase,
While Still Capped by Low Supply of Home Listings
Landover, MD, June 2023 - The Prince George's County Association of REALTORS® (PGCAR) reports an astounding 24.2% surge during May to 815 Closed Sales. New Pending Contracts also increased 3.5% from April to 898 New Pending Contracts in May. The addition of 853 New Listings in May was enough to fuel this burst, providing further evidence that sales and the high demand for Prince George's County homes is largely constrained by limited supply. Homes also sold more quickly in May, with Days on Market decreasing by 23.1% down to 10 days.
Home values are also strong, setting new all-time record highs in Median Sold Price and Average Sold Price for May. Median Sold Price was $424,000, increasing 1% over April and 2.2% over May 2022. Average Sold Price was $433,987, decreasing 0.3% from April and increasing 0.3% over May 2022.
Contract activity for Prince George's County homes (815 Closed Sales plus 898 New Pending Sales) has greatly outpaced Active Listings (averaging only 822 in May) for every month of 2023. Due to this mismatch between high demand and low supply, the Months of Supply of "for sale" homes remains critically low at 1.1, meaning that if no new listings are added, current listings would sell out in 1.1 month.
The increased amount of New Listings eased the Contract Ratio (Pending Contracts per Active Listing) to 1.52, a 5% decrease from April. Under current circumstances of limited inventory, the number of "for sale" homes is the predominant driver of sales activity changes. All market indicators continue to point to the long-standing strength of the Prince George's County home market, especially given the attractiveness and relative affordability of Prince George's County within the greater Washington, DC region.
The lack of inventory to meet the high demand for Prince George's County homes remains a critical need to be solved. Positive factors helping our County market maintain its strength include: 1) With inflation easing, economists expect mortgage rates to stabilize, most likely decreasing slightly throughout 2023 and 2024. 2) With new home developments recently completed or nearing completion, a wide range of single-family, condo, and townhome communities will continue to add New Listings through summer and fall. 3) The recent hold on a proposed townhome development moratorium was convincingly argued for and won by legislators, housing proponents and industry members. 4) Several state and local homebuyer savings programs are providing downpayment and closing cost savings to Prince George's County homebuyers. 5) Homes are selling fast! This helps incentivize Sellers who have been on the fence.
| May 2023 | Year Over Year (YoY) | Month Over Month (MoM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Sold Dollar Volume | $350,836,926 | - 13.8% | + 23.6% |
| Closed Sales | 815 | - 15.2% | + 24.2% |
| Median Sold Price | $424,000 | + 2.2% | + 1% |
| Average Sold Price | $433,987 | + 0.3% | - 0.3% |
| Median Days on Market | 10 days | + 42.9% | - 23.1% |
| Average Days on Market | 26 days | + 73.3% | - 7.1% |
| New Pending Sales | 898 | - 17.0% | + 3.5% |
Rachel Jefferies, PGCAR President and Associate Broker of Keller Williams Preferred Properties, provides insights on the economic and lifestyle benefits of homeownership. She shared details of the market: "A 24.2% jump in Closed Sales during May proved the strength of the Prince George's County home market once again! The high demand for homes continues to strain against a limited supply of "for sale" homes. These increased sales were prompted by 853 New Listings coming on market during May.
Due to the high demand and low inventory, Prince George's County Sellers are seeing faster sales and higher Sold Prices. Home values are strong. In fact, Prince George's County home values reached all-time May record highs. In May, the Prince George's Median Sold Home Price rose to $424,000, a 2.2% increase over 2022. Average Sold Price increased 0.3% over 2022 to $433,987. Prince George's County still enjoys relative affordability within the greater Maryland-DC-Virginia region and is a highly desirable location for homeownership, allowing our County to outperform regional and national market trends.
What a great time to sell! There is unmet homeownership demand at every price point, the May Median Days on Market fell to 10 days, and the Average Sold Price to Original Listing Price was 100.9%.
It's also a great time to buy! With 30-year interest rates stabilizing, now might be the ideal time to lock in a mortgage rate and payment. Once locked in, your monthly mortgage payment is protected against inflation. If rates decrease in the future, you may be able to lower your monthly payment with a refinance. In contrast, the average rent increase per year has been 3.18% since 2012. The ability of homeownership to stabilize your costs and build your equity as you pay your mortgage helps make homeownership the greatest indicator of generational wealth.
Jefferies added: "If you're considering selling or buying a home, please contact a REALTOR® soon. Your local REALTOR® can provide a competitive market analysis for your current home, and a detailed analysis for locations you're considering. Let a REALTOR® help set a favorable and realistic budget or price; manage the home searches and showings, inspections, appraisals and myriad other details; and guide you towards a favorable outcome in buying or selling a home.
Buyers, have the valuable discussions with your REALTOR® that help find the right home for you. Whether upsizing, downsizing or buying your first home, an objective professional working on your behalf can reveal more options to best match your current and future family, work, and lifestyle desires. Let your REALTOR® connect you with lenders experienced in a variety of mortgage options and incentives. Prince George's County and Maryland do exceptionally well providing incentives for homebuyers. Homebuyer programs can lower interest rates or assist with your downpayment, including Prince George's $10,000 Pathway to Purchase, Maryland's SmartBuy which eliminates up to $50,000 in student debt, and numerous others. There are also mortgage programs that can help upgrade or renovate a home - for required repairs or fitting a home for handicap use."
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 4,000 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 homeownership and private property rights.
CONTACTS:
Rachel Jefferies, 2023 PGCAR President - 240-737-5000, RachelLJefferies@gmail.com
Mike Graziano, Executive Vice President - 301-306-7900, mikeg@pgcar.com
