Sellers are returning to Washington housing market

Kathy Orton, The Washington Post's real estate blogger, reports that home sellers are returning to the market. "New listings increased more than 13 percent across all property segments in February compared with the previous month, according to a report released Monday by RealEstate Business Intelligence and the George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis," Orton writes.  "The uptick in homes for sale is a welcome sign in a housing market that has been as dormant the past several months as the area’s flowers and trees."

She credits the causes of the historically low inventory to concerns over the federal government's budget tug of war and the fact that many homeowners owe more than their homes are worth.

Now as home values steadily rise, more sellers are starting to come off the sidelines. The median sales price climbed to $355,000 in February, a 3.4 percent increase over January and an 11.7 percent increase from February 2012. Single-family detached homes showed the biggest price gains compared to townhouses and condominiums. Their median price grew by $72,000, a 19.5 percent increase from February 2012. The average sale-to-list price ratio swelled to its highest percentage since June 2006, increasing to 97.1 percent.