Aug 2026
$692K
-1.3% year-over-year
How it’s calculated
Rolling 3-month median sale price vs. same 3 months one year prior.
Washington, DC housing market
Washington, DC median sale price $692K in Aug 2026, down 1.3% year over year. Also days on market, price cuts, affordability and ZIP-code figures.
The median sale price in Washington, DC is $692K as of Aug 2026, down 1.3% from a year earlier. The decline is steeper than in most of the 195 U.S. metros Pecan Street ranks on this measure. FHFA's repeat-sales index for the metro points the other way: up 0.5% through Q2 2026.
Washington is the only metro Pecan Street tracks in the District of Columbia; nationally, the metros closest to it on median sale price ($692K) are Flagstaff, AZ ($704K) and Cape Cod, MA ($712K). On median days on market (43 days), the closest are Akron, OH (43 days) and Boston, MA (43 days).
Listings spent a median 43 days on market in Sep 2026, fewer than in most of the 195 metros. 38% of active listings carry a price cut, 0.6 points more than a year earlier. Building permits authorized 2,214 new housing units in Aug 2026.
At the 7.45% 30-year fixed rate with 20% down, principal and interest on a median-priced home come to $3,853 a month; at 28% of gross income, that takes about $165K a year. The median sale price equals about 19 years of HUD Fair Market Rent, a ratio down 9.9% from a year earlier. That ratio is higher than in most of the 195 metros. Active listings ask a median $301 per square foot, down 2.2% from a year earlier.
In 10 of the 12 ZIP codes in the table below, median list prices are lower than a year earlier; two are higher.
Headline
Oct 6, 2026
7.45%
30-year fixed
Where it comes from
National benchmark: Optimal Blue OBMMI 30-year conforming, via FRED. An average of rates borrowers have actually locked, updated daily.
The same rate appears on every market page.
Principal & interest
$3,853/mo
$165K/yr income needed
How it’s calculated
Payment — this market’s median sale price with 20% down, on a 30-year fixed loan at the rate shown. Principal and interest only — no property tax, insurance, PMI or HOA.
Income needed — that payment at 28% of gross income. A rule of thumb, not a lending decision.
How Washington compares to other U.S. metros
| Days on market | ↓171st of 195 |
|---|---|
| Home-price growth | ↓156th of 195 |
| Price-to-rent | ↑41st of 195 (top 22%) |
| Price cuts | 91st of 195 (top 47%) |
Rank across the U.S. metros Pecan Street tracks, on market data alone — a higher rank means more of that measure (more price cuts, faster price growth, a wider asking-vs-sale gap, a higher price-to-rent ratio, or more days on market). The bar shows where this metro sits within that metric’s own cohort (left is more, right is less); ↑ and ↓ mark the positions furthest from the middle, and rows are ordered the same way. Metrics without data for this metro are omitted.
Affordability
| Price-to-rent ratio | ≈ 19 -9.9% YoY ↑41st of 195 (top 22%) |
|---|---|
| Asking price / sq ft | $301 -2.2% YoY |
Price-to-rent divides the median sale price by the annual HUD Fair Market Rent (a 3-bedroom, 40th-percentile benchmark), so it is a directional rent-vs-buy read, not a cap rate; its year-over-year change is directional in the same way. Asking price per square foot is the median across active for-sale listings (Realtor.com), as of Sep 2026. The bar under a figure places this metro among the U.S. metros we track on that measure, highest first.
Market pressure
| Listings with a price cut | ≈ 38% +0.6 pts YoY 91st of 195 (top 47%) |
|---|---|
| New housing units permitted | 2,214 |
Price-cut share is the portion of active for-sale listings that have taken a price reduction (Realtor.com), as of Sep 2026. New housing units authorized by residential building permits in the metro that month — new supply in the pipeline, which counts of existing listings don't capture (US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey), as of Aug 2026. The bar under a figure places this metro among the U.S. metros we track on that measure, highest first.
Market facts
| ZIPs with listing data | 12 shown of 300 |
|---|---|
| MLS board of record | Bright MLS |
| Price methodology | Redfin vs FHFA HPI |
| Data as of | Aug 2026 |
Recent signals
No signals flagged for this market right now.
Price reconciliation
normal · 1.8ppRedfin (city) -1.3% | FHFA HPI · Q2 2026 +0.5% |
Year-over-year home-price change from two independent methods — Redfin (monthly sold price) and FHFA (quarterly repeat-sales index). When they diverge, the market is mid-shift; cite the figure with that in mind.
Market dispatches
Citable market dispatches for Washington → Latest dispatch: Jul 10, 2026.
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Try it freeZIP-level data
| ZIP | Median list price | Active listings | New listings | Price reductions | Days on market | Home value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20001 | $743K↓ | 249↑ | 118↑ | 66↓ | 58↓ | $631K↓ |
| 20002 | $573K↓ | 361↓ | 142↓ | 86↓ | 58↑ | $611K↓ |
| 20009 | $600K↑ | 253↓ | 144↓ | 86↓ | 49↑ | $569K↑ |
| 20011 | $604K↓ | 220↓ | 106↓ | 86↓ | 56↑ | $608K↓ |
| 20016 | $524K↓ | 180↑ | 84↑ | 44↑ | 54↓ | $1.1M↑ |
| 20019 | $389K↓ | 178↓ | 62↓ | 46↓ | 57↑ | $352K↓ |
| 20020 | $374K↓ | 177 | 44↓ | 40↑ | 87↑ | $354K↓ |
| 20906 | $281K↓ | 188↑ | 82↓ | 82↑ | 44↑ | $443K↓ |
| 22191 | $502K↑ | 166↑ | 62↑ | 74↑ | 37↑ | $483K↑ |
| 22407 | $530K↓ | 188↑ | 82↑ | 80↑ | 43↑ | $464K↑ |
| 22554 | $599K↓ | 198↑ | 64↑ | 92↑ | 44↑ | $564K |
| 22630 | $472K↓ | 172↑ | 64↑ | 76↑ | 44↑ | $407K↑ |
ZIP figures from Realtor.com listing data; home value from Zillow ZHVI. ZIP codes shown have the most complete listing-data history and active for-sale inventory in this metro; the latest available month is shown per ZIP. Arrows show the direction of each figure against the same three months a year earlier; no arrow means the change rounds to zero or the comparison isn't available.