Real Estate
Are We Still in a Sellers Market?
Check out how fast Columbia properties are going under contract!
Although the market is super hot right now, many homeowners are wondering how we will know if the market is shifting from a seller's market to a buyer's market. A higher Contract Ratio signifies a relative increase in contract activity compared to supply, and indicates the market is moving in the seller's favor. A lower Contract Ratio signifies a relative decrease in contract activity compared to supply, and indicates the market is moving in the buyer's favor. In this article, we breakdown the trends in the Contract Ratio for detached homes, townhouses, and condos to see what's happening in the Columbia real estate market.
COLUMBIA DETACHED ACTIVITY:
In Columbia, MD, the median sold price for detached properties for June was $483,131, representing an increase of 5% compared to last month and an increase of 6.2% from June 2019. The average days on market for units sold in June was 13 days, 41% below the 5-year June average of 22 days. There was a 27.9% month over month increase in new contract activity with 87 New Pendings; a 13.5% MoM increase in All Pendings (new contracts + contracts carried over from May) to 101; and a 24.6% decrease in supply to 46 active units. This activity resulted in a Contract Ratio of 2.20 pendings per active listing, up from 1.46 in May and an increase from 1.13 in June 2019. The Contract Ratio is 87% higher than the 5-year June average of 1.18. This indicates the market continuing to favor sellers.
Table 1: Contract Ratio for Detached Homes in Columbia
| Month | CLOSED | SOLD PRICE (MED) | DOM (AVE) | CONTRACT RATIO |
| JUN-20 | 46 | $483,131 | 13 | 2.20 |
| MAY-20 | 61 | $460,000 | 17 | 1.46 |
| APR-20 | 50 | $506,000 | 26 | 1.38 |
| MAR-20 | 47 | $468,000 | 33 | 1.74 |
| FEB-20 | 46 | $459,000 | 35 | 1.67 |
| JAN-20 | 52 | $444,950 | 59 | 0.87 |
| DEC-19 | 64 | $450,000 | 26 | 0.64 |
| NOV-19 | 76 | $430,100 | 31 | 0.84 |
| OCT-19 | 99 | $420,500 | 35 | 0.60 |
| SEP-19 | 89 | $439,900 | 28 | 0.87 |
| AUG-19 | 93 | $439,900 | 27 | 1.10 |
| JUL-19 | 87 | $439,950 | 27 | 1.10 |
Find out what's happening in Columbiafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
COLUMBIA TOWNHOUSE ACTIVITY:
In Columbia, MD, the median sold price for townhouse properties for June was $329,900, representing a decrease of 0.6% compared to last month and an increase of 8.2% from June 2019. The average days on market for units sold in June was 11 days, 36% below the 5-year June average of 17 days. There was a 13.2% month over month increase in new contract activity with 43 New Pendings; an 11.6% MoM increase in All Pendings (new contracts + contracts carried over from May) to 48; and a 44% decrease in supply to 14 active units. This activity resulted in a Contract Ratio of 3.43 pendings per active listing, up from 1.72 in May and an increase from 2.35 in June 2019. The Contract Ratio is 67% higher than the 5-year June average of 2.06. This indicates the market continuing to favor sellers.
Table 2: Contract Ratio for Townhomes in Columbia
| Month | CLOSED | SOLD PRICE (MED) | DOM (AVE) | CONTRACT RATIO |
| June | 14 | $329,900 | 11 | 3.43 |
| May | 25 | $332,000 | 12 | 1.72 |
| April | 19 | $325,000 | 25 | 2.58 |
| March | 23 | $301,500 | 20 | 2.22 |
| February | 19 | $328,500 | 17 | 2.42 |
| January | 22 | $300,000 | 28 | 1.55 |
| December | 22 | $320,000 | 26 | 1.41 |
| November | 31 | $305,000 | 22 | 1.16 |
| October | 34 | $295,450 | 28 | 1.41 |
| September | 36 | $297,000 | 24 | 1.53 |
| August | 40 | $307,500 | 18 | 1.23 |
| July | 40 | $315,000 | 17 | 1.65 |
COLUMBIA CONDO ACTIVITY:
In Columbia, MD, the median sold price for condo propertiesfor June was $235,000, representing a decrease of 3.9% compared to last month and no change from June 2019. The average days on market for units sold in June was 14 days, 49% below the 5-year June average of 27 days. There was a 25.8% month over month increase in new contract activity with 39 New Pendings; a 31.6% MoM increase in All Pendings (new contracts + contracts carried over from May) to 50; and a 21.9% decrease in supply to 25 active units. This activity resulted in a Contract Ratio of 2.00 pendings per active listing, up from 1.19 in May and an increase from 1.52 in June 2019. The Contract Ratio is 61% higher than the 5-year June average of 1.25. This indicates the market continuing to favor sellers.
Find out what's happening in Columbiafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Table 3: Contract Ratio for Condos in Columbia
| Month | CLOSED | SOLD PRICE (MED) | DOM (AVE) | CONTRACT RATIO |
| June | 25 | $235,000 | 14 | 2.00 |
| May | 32 | $244,500 | 31 | 1.19 |
| April | 25 | $198,500 | 15 | 0.92 |
| March | 28 | $190,000 | 24 | 1.29 |
| February | 30 | $217,000 | 26 | 0.90 |
| January | 19 | $240,000 | 26 | 1.58 |
| December | 21 | $216,500 | 42 | 1.29 |
| November | 28 | $214,250 | 18 | 1.00 |
| October | 30 | $175,000 | 19 | 1.27 |
| September | 30 | $231,500 | 32 | 0.97 |
| August | 24 | $180,000 | 24 | 1.29 |
| July | 26 | $195,000 | 26 | 1.15 |
About Peggy Yee
Peggy Yee is a supervising broker at Frankly Realtors and is a local Top Producer. She has sold over $180 million in sales and was one of Northern Virginia Magazine's Top Realtors since 2015. She has been quoted in the Around Reston Magazine, Washington Post, Money Magazine, Consumer Reports, Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com. Peggy is 100% committed to making your move the best experience possible! Don't just take our word...Click here to see what Peggy's past clients have to say about the experience working with her from Buyer and Seller Video Testimonials and you'll understand why she is one of the top real estate agents in Columbia with dozens of 5 Star Zillow reviews. Click here for Zillow Reviews.
* Data Source: BrightMLS and SmartCharts. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.