The D.C. metro area stands alone in the Mid-Atlantic as the only region where home prices are expected to fall next year.
A forecast issued Wednesday (Dec. 3) by multiple-listing service Bright MLS predicts the median sales price of homes sold in the D.C. region in 2026 will drop 1% to $616,700, following a projected 3% increase in 2025.
The culprit? Federal government uncertainty.
“Ongoing uncertainty around the federal government suggests weaker demand in the Washington D.C. metro,” the forecast notes. “More affordable markets [across the Mid-Atlantic] are expected to see stronger sales and faster home price growth in 2026.”
It’s a sharp contrast to the rest of the Mid-Atlantic, where every other major market is projected to see price growth ranging from 1.5% to 3.1%.
Philadelphia’s median price is expected to climb 2.8% to $400,360. Baltimore will see a 2.5% bump to $412,100. Even north-central Virginia — which includes Fredericksburg and surrounding areas — is projected to rise 1.5% to $505,980.
Bright MLS analysts offered this assessment of the broader regional market:
“The Mid-Atlantic housing market is traditionally more stable than other regions. Like most markets across the country, the Mid-Atlantic housing market will move towards a more balanced market in 2026. However, still-low inventory will make the region’s housing market more competitive and sellers will still have an advantage in many local markets across the region.”
Despite the price dip, the D.C. area isn’t expected to see fewer transactions. Total sales are projected to rise 9.6% to 55,650 homes.
That tracks with what Bright MLS expects across the Mid-Atlantic: more homes changing hands as mortgage rates ease and inventory loosens. Analysts project rates will fall to an average of 6.15% by the end of 2026.
Across the entire Mid-Atlantic region, the median sales price is anticipated to be $436,270 in 2026, up 2.6%. Nationally, the median sale price of $417,600 in 2026 is expected to rise 0.9% from 2025.
Bright MLS’s coverage area includes about 70 cities and counties incorporating all or parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
