OK, our weather hasn't been the greatest this summer, but there's good news on the housing market horizon....according to economists participating in a U.S. Chamber of Commerce panel this week, the Washington area was one of 17 metropolitan areas in the nation where home values improved in the month of May.  In fact, the median price for a Washington area home was $331,200 in May, which is up 2.6 percent from a year ago. 

Inventory is starting to tighten up in local markets with only about a 4-month supply of homes available for sale.  That's great news for sellers, who in 2008 were sometimes competing in a market saturated with homes.   At the same time, buyers still have ample homes to choose from at interest rates that are at a 50-year low.  While cautious about saying that we're "out of the woods", our area is likely to continue to benefit from strong job sectors that include government, education and military-based businesses.