Three ZIP Codes And One Home Type Stand Out
If it feels like there are more homes for sale in DC than buyers to go around, you’re exactly right. DC home sales just fell to a 16-year low, while the number of homes for sale is at a 10+ year high. But the numbers aren’t consistent for every home type and neighborhood. Dig into the data and it’s clear what’s weighing the market down, and where. Here’s the breakdown, and what it means for your next move, whether you’re buying or selling.
There’s A Condo Logjam
DC had 3,070 homes for sale at the end of October, about 4% more than a year earlier, and buyers have signed fewer contracts this year than last. That sounds like one market slowing down. But split the numbers by property type and it turns out to be two markets moving in opposite directions. That’s good news for some sellers and a warning for others.
| DC, January–October | Condos | Houses |
|---|---|---|
| Active listings, end of October | 1,742 vs 1,612 (+8.1%) | 1,328 vs 1,332 (flat) |
| New purchase contracts | 2,406 vs 2,749 (−12.5%) | 3,480 vs 3,353 (+3.8%) |
| Closed sales | 2,094 vs 2,405 (−12.9%) | 2,926 vs 2,866 (+2.1%) |
| Months of inventory* | 7.2 (5.9 a year ago) | 3.8 (4.0 a year ago) |
2026 vs. 2025. “Houses” means every listing not classed as a condo: mostly detached homes and townhouses. *Active listings divided by the average number of new contracts per month, January through October.
DC’s overall inventory growth is in line with the nation’s: active listings are up 4.3% here and 4.6% nationally, according to the National Association of Realtors. What sets DC apart is how long it would take to sell it all. Bright MLS puts DC at 6.2 months of supply in October, against 5.1 nationally, and the difference is condos.
House contracts and closings are both up this year. Condo contracts and closings are both down by about one in eight, and condo listings are up 8%. Nearly all of the extra inventory in DC is condos.
And it isn’t because more owners are selling. Fewer homes of every type came on the market this year: 10,662 new listings citywide from January through October, down 6.7% from 11,428 a year earlier. Condo listings fell 7.6%, but condo buyers pulled back even faster, with contracts down 12.5%. Houses went the other way: 5.7% fewer listings and 3.8% more contracts. That gap, not a wave of sellers, is why condos are stacking up while house inventory holds steady.
And many of the owners who are selling are doing it at a loss. According to Parcl Labs, about 1 in 5 homes listed in Washington, DC today have an asking price below what the owner paid for them. Nationally, it’s 6.7%.
WASHINGTON, DC · JAN–OCT 2026 VS. 2025
Months of inventory, condos vs. houses
7.2 vs. 3.8
Condos up from 5.9; houses down from 4.0
Active listings at the end of October divided by average monthly new contracts, January–October.
Source: Bright MLS BrightStats, retrieved Nov. 14, 2026; ratios are my calculation.
BrightStats’ own months-of-supply figure uses closed sales, so it differs slightly (6.8 for condos in October).
Where Condo Inventory Is Piling Up
The chart compares condo months of inventory in each ZIP code with at least 50 condo contracts this year. The dashed line is the citywide figure for houses, for reference.
DC ZIP CODES · CONDOS · JAN–OCT
Condo months of inventory by ZIP code
7.2 citywide
Up from 5.9 a year earlier
ZIP codes with at least 50 condo contracts, January–October 2026.
Active condo listings at the end of October divided by average monthly new condo contracts, January–October. Source: Bright MLS BrightStats, retrieved Nov. 14, 2026; ratios are my calculation.
Using ten months of contracts instead of one month keeps small ZIP codes from swinging on a single slow October.
Three ZIP codes stand out, and in each one the build-up is in condos:
- 20024 (Southwest Waterfront, The Wharf): 10.0 months of condo inventory, up from 6.3. Condo contracts are down 24% this year and condo closings down 28% (95 vs. 132). Almost every home for sale here is a condo. It’s also one of the few ZIP codes where more condos came on the market this year, up 8%, so supply is rising just as buyers pull back.
- 20002 (NoMa, H Street, Trinidad): 10.5 months of condo inventory, up from 7.4, against 4.5 for houses, unchanged from last year. Condo contracts are down 25% and condo closings down 30% (160 vs. 230), while house contracts and closings are flat. All 11 listings added since last October are condos. Condo owners here actually listed 17% fewer units this year, so the build-up is buyers stepping back, not sellers piling in. This is the clearest split in the city: the same ZIP code, two different markets.
- 20037 (West End, Foggy Bottom): 7.8 months of condo inventory, up from 5.6. Condo contracts are down 18% and condo closings down 14% (147 vs. 171). Like 20024, this ZIP is almost all condos.
Condo inventory also rose noticeably in 20010 (Columbia Heights, Mount Pleasant), 20016 (AU Park, Spring Valley, Tenleytown) and 20036 (Dupont Circle south, Golden Triangle). In 20016, more condos were listed this year, up 14%, while condo contracts held flat. 20020 (Anacostia, Hillcrest, Fairlawn) also shows a high condo ratio, 9.7 months, but on a much smaller base: 61 condo listings and 63 condo contracts this year. Smaller ZIP codes such as 20012, 20017 and 20032 show high condo ratios as well, but with fewer than 30 condo contracts each this year, a handful of sales moves those numbers a lot.
A single month can mislead. In October alone, 20032 (Congress Heights, Bellevue) looked like one of the ZIP codes where inventory was building, but with ten months of data it drops off the list. Its overall ratio is 6.3, the same as last year, and house contracts there are up 30% and house closings up 27%. October was a slow month, not a trend.
Where Houses Are Softer Too
Two ZIP codes don’t fit the pattern, and they’re worth noting so the condo story isn’t overstated:
- 20019 (Deanwood, Benning, Fort Dupont): House closings are down 20% (202 vs. 251) and house contracts down 14%. Months of inventory for houses rose to 5.5 from 4.4, well above the citywide 3.8.
- 20003 (Capitol Hill, Navy Yard): House closings are down 10% (208 vs. 231) and house contracts down 16%. But house inventory hasn’t built up: at 3.0 months it’s still one of the tightest house markets in DC. That points to fewer houses coming up for sale rather than fewer buyers. Condo inventory here is high, 8.7 months, but it was just as high a year ago.
And in some ZIP codes house sales are clearly up this year: 20001 (Shaw, Bloomingdale, Eckington) by 28%, 20016 by 17% and 20008 (Cleveland Park, Woodley Park, Forest Hills) by 12%, while condo sales in those ZIP codes are flat or down.
Every ZIP Code, January–October 2026
| ZIP | Area (approximate) | Condo listings (vs. 2025) | Condo months of inventory (2025) | Condo closings vs. 2025 | House listings (vs. 2025) | House months of inventory (2025) | House closings vs. 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20001 | Shaw, Bloomingdale, Eckington, Mount Vernon Triangle | 166 (−8%) | 7.2 (8.0) | +5% | 102 (+19%) | 5.0 (5.8) | +28% |
| 20002 | NoMa, H Street, Trinidad, Brookland (part) | 202 (+6%) | 10.5 (7.4) | −30% | 186 (0%) | 4.5 (4.4) | +1% |
| 20003 | Capitol Hill, Navy Yard | 92 (−6%) | 8.7 (8.7) | 0% | 63 (+7%) | 3.0 (2.4) | −10% |
| 20004 | Penn Quarter | 25 (−4%) | 8.9 (7.9) | −24% | 0 (—) | — | — |
| 20005 | Downtown, Logan Circle (part) | 57 (+2%) | 5.3 (4.3) | −20% | 4 (—) | — | — |
| 20007 | Georgetown, Glover Park, Burleith | 90 (+14%) | 5.3 (4.9) | +3% | 83 (+1%) | 3.5 (3.3) | −4% |
| 20008 | Cleveland Park, Woodley Park, Forest Hills | 83 (+9%) | 4.8 (3.7) | −19% | 26 (−30%) | 2.2 (3.4) | +12% |
| 20009 | Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, U Street | 243 (+10%) | 5.4 (4.5) | −6% | 54 (−10%) | 4.2 (4.5) | −3% |
| 20010 | Columbia Heights, Mount Pleasant | 67 (+14%) | 7.9 (5.7) | −19% | 44 (−8%) | 3.2 (4.1) | +16% |
| 20011 | Petworth, Brightwood, Takoma (part) | 80 (−11%) | 7.4 (7.1) | −8% | 146 (−17%) | 3.0 (3.7) | +2% |
| 20012 | Takoma, Shepherd Park | 28 (+75%) | 11.7 (4.6) | −41% | 42 (+35%) | 3.9 (3.0) | +7% |
| 20015 | Chevy Chase DC | 18 (+20%) | 6.2 (8.8) | — | 30 (−3%) | 2.1 (1.9) | −6% |
| 20016 | AU Park, Spring Valley, Tenleytown | 125 (+36%) | 7.5 (5.5) | −4% | 69 (+25%) | 3.4 (3.2) | +17% |
| 20017 | Brookland, Michigan Park | 24 (+20%) | 8.6 (6.5) | −8% | 43 (−25%) | 2.7 (3.4) | −5% |
| 20018 | Woodridge, Fort Lincoln | 21 (—) | 7.2 (5.8) | −47% | 69 (−10%) | 4.1 (5.3) | +18% |
| 20019 | Deanwood, Benning, Fort Dupont | 26 (−4%) | 7.4 (5.7) | −38% | 156 (+8%) | 5.5 (4.4) | −20% |
| 20020 | Anacostia, Hillcrest, Fairlawn | 61 (−8%) | 9.7 (7.2) | −31% | 121 (−1%) | 4.4 (5.8) | +8% |
| 20024 | Southwest Waterfront, The Wharf | 119 (+20%) | 10.0 (6.3) | −28% | 10 (—) | 5.3 (3.5) | −21% |
| 20032 | Congress Heights, Bellevue | 33 (−11%) | 18.3 (9.5) | −48% | 72 (+20%) | 4.9 (5.3) | +27% |
| 20036 | Dupont Circle (south), Golden Triangle | 51 (+34%) | 6.8 (4.4) | −17% | 2 (—) | — | — |
| 20037 | West End, Foggy Bottom | 124 (+13%) | 7.8 (5.6) | −14% | 6 (—) | — | — |
Listings are active at the end of October 2026; contracts and closings are January–October 2026 vs. the same months of 2025. A dash means fewer than 15 sales in the comparison year, too few for a meaningful percentage. ZIP code 20006 has fewer than 20 listings and is left out. ZIP codes don’t follow neighborhood lines; area names are approximate. Source: Bright MLS BrightStats, retrieved Nov. 14, 2026; ratios and percentages are my calculation.
What It Means
If You Own A Condo In A High-Inventory ZIP Code
You are competing with more condo listings than a year ago, and buyers in 20002, 20024 and 20037 have ten months of choices or close to it. Pricing to the most recent closed sales in your building, not last year’s, matters more than staging or timing. If your building’s reserves fall short of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac standard that takes effect for loan applications dated on or after January 4, 2027, ask your association now where it stands, because buyers’ lenders will.
If You’re Buying
In the condo-heavy ZIP codes, buyers have leverage on price and terms. The trade-off is risk: vet the association’s budget, reserves and any planned special assessments before you fall for the unit. If your budget is $750,000 or more, look at houses too. House inventory is flat citywide and sales are up, so the competition is stiffer, but without condo dues your payment goes further.
If You Own A House
Citywide, house sales are holding up better than the headlines suggest: contracts up 3.8% and closings up 2.1% this year, with months of inventory slightly lower than a year ago. The exceptions are real, though. In 20019, house inventory has risen and sales are down, so pricing carefully matters there as much as it does for condos.
See this week’s full dataset for the District of Columbia and the DCMA.
Open the DC Market DashboardIs DC real estate inventory rising?
Yes, but almost entirely in condos. At the end of October 2026, DC had 1,742 active condo listings, up 8.1% from a year earlier, and 1,328 active house listings, essentially unchanged. Condo contracts January–October were down 12.5%, while house contracts were up 3.8%.
Which DC ZIP codes have the most condo inventory?
Among ZIP codes with at least 50 condo contracts this year, 20002 (NoMa, H Street, Trinidad) and 20024 (Southwest Waterfront, The Wharf) had about 10 months of condo inventory at the end of October 2026, and 20037 (West End, Foggy Bottom) had 7.8 months, all up from a year earlier.
Are DC house sales down in 2026?
Not citywide. House closings January–October 2026 were up 2.1% from the same months of 2025, while condo closings were down 12.9%. A few ZIP codes, including 20019 and 20003, did see fewer house sales.
Are more people selling homes in DC this year?
No. New listings in DC from January through October 2026 were down 6.7% from the same months of 2025, and condo listings were down 7.6%. Inventory rose because sales fell faster than listings, especially for condos, where new contracts were down 12.5%.
Sources
- Homes.com, “Analysis: District of Columbia home sales fall to 16-year low as buyers gain leverage,” Melina Duggal, November 13, 2026.
- National Association of Realtors, “Existing-Home Sales Decreased 5.5% in October,” November 12, 2026.
- Parcl Labs, share of DC listings priced below the owner’s purchase price, shared by Jason Lewris on LinkedIn, November 2026.
- DC active listings at a 10-year high: SmartCharts Pro data tracked by the author through 2026.
- Bright MLS BrightStats, Washington, DC by ZIP code: active listings, new listings, new purchase contracts and closed sales, all home types and condos, October 2026 year-to-date vs. October 2025 year-to-date, retrieved November 14, 2026.
Months-of-inventory ratios, house figures (all home types minus condos) and percentage changes are my calculations from Bright MLS figures.
