Washington house prices
House prices in the Washington, DC-MD (MSAD) metro area fell 1.1% over the year to 2026 Q2, and are +6.6% over five years. It ranks #92 of the 100 metro areas FHFA tracks.
How Washington compares
Washington is moving more slowly than the typical American market, where the median state changed +2.7% over the same year. Within its own state it is running 2.6 percentage points behind District of Columbia overall, which is the more useful comparison, since a metro and its state share the same mortgage market and much of the same economy.
Prices remain 2.8% below the record set in 2025 Q3, which is worth knowing before treating recent growth as a recovery. At the current 30-year mortgage rate of 6.71%, a $300,000 loan costs about $1,938 a month in principal and interest.
Fifteen years of the index
Q2 of each year, index base 100 in 1991. Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index, purchase-only, quarterly, not seasonally adjusted.
Washington house prices: common questions
Are house prices going up in Washington?
No. Prices fell 1.1% over the year to 2026 Q2. Across the 100 metros tracked, Washington ranks #92 for one-year growth. That is 2.6 percentage points slower than District of Columbia as a whole.
How much have Washington prices risen long term?
+6.6% over five years, +42.5% over ten, and +320% since the index began in 1991.
Has Washington recovered its previous peak?
Not yet. It sits 2.8% below the record set in 2025 Q3.
What exactly is being measured?
The FHFA purchase-only house price index, built from repeat sales of the same properties financed by mortgages Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac bought. It tracks price movement rather than price level, and it excludes cash purchases and homes bought with jumbo or government-backed loans, so very high and very low ends of a market are underrepresented.