What is the Home Demand Index?
The Home Demand Index (HDI) is the nation’s only local housing market index that tracks pre-sale activity to measure housing market competitiveness. The HDI uses data on pre-sale activities, including in-person showings of homes and views of homes online, to measure housing market activity across different geographies and types of homes. The data used to construct the HDI are the most accurate and up-to-date information from the real estate agents and prospective buyers and sellers that are active in the market.
While most housing market indices are based on history, the HDI provides forward-looking insights to real estate professionals and consumers to help make better decisions in a rapidly changing real estate market
Greater Metropolitan Market Areas
The Bright MLS |T3 Home Demand Index currently covers the three greater metropolitan market areas served by Bright MLS, namely the Greater Philadelphia Area (in blue), the Greater Washington D.C. Area (in gray), and the Greater Baltimore Area (in orange).
Colors are provided for visual identification of each market area and do not correlate to index activity level. Make a selection on the map to go to the report for a market area or view an overview of each market area here..
Bright MLS | T3 Home Demand Index
www.homedemandindex.com
Washington D.C. | August 2026
Home Demand Index
The Home Demand Index (HDI) for the Washington DC metro area stands at 88 for this report period, down one point from 89 last month and below the 93 recorded during the same period one year ago. Washington DC continues to hold the highest headline reading among the three metros covered in this report, though its lead over Baltimore has narrowed to just one point this period, the closest the two metros have run in recent months. The most significant development within the tier structure is the luxury single-family segment’s decline into Slow territory at 86, down thirteen points from 99 last month and twenty points below last year’s level of 106, a meaningful deceleration in above-$1.4 million buyer engagement that marks this tier’s first reading below the Steady threshold in several months.
Demand by home type in Washington DC this period is defined by the luxury single-family tier’s decline into Slow territory, down thirteen points to 86 and twenty points below a year ago, while luxury condo posted the largest month-over-month decline of any tier in this report, down sixteen points to 96 and twenty-one points below a year ago, though it remains Steady. Entry and mid single-family both eased modestly, down one point each to 80 and 79 respectively, while entry condo held largely steady at 107. Townhouse demand was the exception to the broader softening, up one point to 94 and up one point year-over-year, the only tier in the DC metro to post a positive annual comparison this period.
Monthly Statistics for August 2026
Home Demand
Index
Index
88
(Slow)
Home Demand Index
from prior month
from prior month
89
Home Demand Index
from prior year
from prior year
93
Index change
from prior month
from prior month
-1.1%
Index change from
same time last year
same time last year
-5.4%
Bright MLS | T3 Home Demand Index
www.homedemandindex.com
Philadelphia | August 2026
Home Demand Index
The Home Demand Index (HDI) for the Philadelphia metro area stands at 81 for this report period, down one point from 82 last month and below the 85 recorded during the same period one year ago. The modest month-over-month decline is consistent with the seasonal deceleration typically observed as the market transitions from summer into the late-season selling window, and the four-point year-over-year deficit remains the narrowest among the three metros covered in this report, indicating that Philadelphia continues to track closer to its prior-year baseline than either Baltimore or Washington DC. The most notable development within the tier structure is the entry condo segment’s positive year-over-year reading, up seven points from a year ago to 105, the only tier among the eighteen covered across the three metros this period to register a year-over-year gain.
Demand by home type in Philadelphia this period is defined by a clear split between the condo tiers and single-family, with entry condo the only segment among the six to post a positive year-over-year reading, up three points to 105 and seven points ahead of a year ago, while luxury condo eased seven points to 95, still Steady. All three single-family tiers registered negative year-over-year comparisons: entry single-family held flat at 73, mid single-family eased two points to 77, and luxury single-family eased two points to 71, essentially unchanged from a year ago. Townhouse demand eased one point to 87, rounding out a period where the attached, lower-priced segment is the only genuine source of year-over-year strength in the metro.
Monthly Statistics for August 2026
Home Demand
Index
Index
81
(Slow)
Home Demand Index
from prior month
from prior month
82
Home Demand Index
from prior year
from prior year
85
Index change
from prior month
from prior month
-1.2%
Index change from
same time last year
same time last year
-4.7%
Bright MLS | T3 Home Demand Index
www.homedemandindex.com
Baltimore | August 2026
Home Demand Index
The Home Demand Index (HDI) for the Baltimore metro area stands at 87 for this report period, flat with last month’s 87 and below the 93 recorded during the same period one year ago. The absence of month-over-month movement follows two consecutive months at an identical reading, indicating the metro has settled into a stable plateau rather than continuing the sharper swings that characterized the spring cycle, consistent with the seasonal deceleration that typically sets in as the peak-selling window narrows heading into late summer. The most significant development within the tier structure is the fifty-five-point year-over-year decline in luxury condo demand, the widest single-tier annual gap recorded in this report, which should be read against an unusually strong luxury condo market in August 2025 rather than as evidence of acute current-period weakness in this thin, low-volume segment.
Demand by home type in Baltimore this period shows four of six tiers in Steady territory, with mid single-family remaining in Slow territory and entry single-family remaining in Limited range as the metro’s persistent affordability constraint. Entry single-family rose two points to 68, continuing to reflect the most acute payment-affordability pressure at the sub-$375,000 detached price point, while mid single-family was similarly flat at 85 and remained in Slow territory. Luxury single-family eased six points to 104, remaining comfortably in Steady territory as buyers at these price points remain more insulated from financing-cost sensitivity. Entry condo eased five points to 109 and luxury condo gave back nineteen points to 106, both remaining in Steady territory, though luxury condo’s fifty-five-point year-over-year shortfall is the widest single-tier annual gap in this report and should be read against an unusually strong luxury condo market a year ago rather than current weakness. Townhouse gained one point to 92, remaining in Steady territory and a reasonable proxy for the broader market’s underlying health this period.
Monthly Statistics for August 2026
Home Demand
Index
Index
87
(Slow)
Home Demand Index
from prior month
from prior month
87
Home Demand Index
from prior year
from prior year
93
Index change
from prior month
from prior month
0.0%
Index change from
same time last year
same time last year
-6.5%
Bright MLS | T3 Home Demand Index
www.homedemandindex.com