In October, a number of counties in the Northern Virginia region saw home sales increase, according to the Long & Foster Market Minute reports. The Northern Virginia market includes the city of Alexandria and Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties. The Long & Foster Market Minute reports are based on data provided by Metropolitan Regional Information System and its member associations of Realtors and include residential real estate transactions within specific geographic regions, not just Long & Foster sales.

The number of homes sold rose in a number of places in the Northern Virginia region in October, with both Arlington and Prince William counties experiencing increases of 12 percent. Loudoun County followed with an 8 percent increase, while in Fairfax County and Alexandria City, the number of homes sold fell by 1 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

Median sale prices varied in the Northern Virginia region last month, with Prince William County experiencing a 3 percent increase. In both Fairfax and Loudoun counties, the median sale price increased by 1 percent. Arlington County experienced a 9 percent decline in median sale price, and in Alexandria City it fell by 11 percent.

Active inventory continued to decrease throughout the Northern Virginia region in October when compared to the same month in 2015. Prince William County saw inventory decline by 30 percent, and in Loudoun County it fell by 27 percent. In Fairfax County, inventory declined by 23 percent, and Alexandria City experienced a decline of 22 percent. Active inventory in Arlington County fell by 17 percent.

Homes in the region sold within about six weeks or less on average, according to October data. In both Arlington County and Alexandria City, the days on market (DOM) average was 38 days, followed by both Fairfax and Prince William counties with a DOM average of 40 days. Loudoun County experienced a DOM average of 42 days.

“The U.S. economy saw promising signs in October, such as an uptick in wage growth and higher-than-expected retail sales. In the housing market, we continued to see positive trends as well, including in the Northern Virginia region where we saw rising home sales,” said Jeffrey S. Detwiler, chief operating officer of The Long & Foster Companies. “Although low inventory has increased the burden on demand for homes, many are still purchasing property in an effort to take advantage of low mortgage rates.”

The Long & Foster Market Minute is an overview of market statistics based on residential real estate transactions and presented at the county level. The easy-to-read and easy-to-share reports include information about each area’s units sold, active inventory, median sale prices, months of supply, new listings, new contracts, list to sold price ratio, and days on market. Featuring reports for more than 500 local areas and neighborhoods in addition to more than 100 counties in eight states, The Long & Foster Market Minute is offered to buyers and sellers as they aim to make well-informed real estate decisions.

The Long & Foster Market Minute reports are available at www.LongandFoster.com, and you can subscribe to free updates for the reports in which you’re interested. Information included in this report is based on data supplied by MRIS, which is not responsible for its accuracy. The reports do not reflect all activity in the marketplace. Information contained in this report is deemed reliable but not guaranteed, should be independently verified, and does not constitute an opinion of MRIS or Long & Foster Real Estate.