March Signed Contracts Jump 34.3% Over February; Median Sales Price Rises 3.2% Year‐Over‐Year

Rockville, MD – (April 11, 2011) – The following analysis of the Washington, D.C. Metro Area housing market has been prepared by housing market expert Jonathan Miller, based on the March 2011 RBI Pending Home Sales Index™ released today:

OVERVIEW:

Pending home sales jumped 34.3% month‐over‐month as the Washington, DC metro area entered the “spring market” with 5,432 signed contracts, the highest number for the month of March since 2006. The March total exceeded the federal homebuyers tax credit‐fueled total reached in the same month last year. With three consecutive months of increased pending sales activity, median sales price showed a seasonal increase of 6.7%, the first month‐over‐month increase since last October.

Rockville, MD –(March 10, 2011) – According to data released today by RealEstate Business Intelligence (RBI), an MRIS company, the Baltimore metro area housing market showed gains in pending home sales in the first two months of 2011, reaching its highest level since April 2010 when the federal homebuyer’s tax credit expired.  However, housing prices have declined to levels last seen in 2004.

“Pending home sales increased 25.1 percent year-over-year in a manner consistent with seasonal expectations year to date in 2011,” says noted housing market expert and RBI analyst Jonathan Miller.  However, median sales price in February fell 9.5 percent from the same month last year.  The economic challenges of tight credit and above average unemployment levels continue to press housing prices lower.”