In August, the majority of 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.

In August, the number of homes sold increased in many parts of the region, with Loudoun County seeing an increase of 14 percent, followed by Fairfax County with an increase of 13 percent. Both Arlington County and Prince William County experienced a 7 percent rise in the number of homes sold, while in Alexandria City sales declined by 9 percent.

Median sale prices rose in a number of areas in the Northern Virginia region, including Prince William County where it rose by 6 percent. In Fairfax and Loudoun counties, the median sale price increased by 2 percent and 1 percent, respectively. Arlington County experienced a decline of 1 percent, and in Alexandria City the median sale price fell by 14 percent.

Active inventory decreased throughout the Northern Virginia region in August when compared to the same month in 2015. Prince William County saw inventory decline by 28 percent, and in Loudoun County it fell by 25 percent. Alexandria City experienced a 24 percent drop in inventory and in Fairfax County active inventory decreased by 23 percent. Arlington County saw a 12 percent drop in inventory.

Homes in the region sold within about a month or so on average, according to August data. In Arlington County, the days on market (DOM) average was 32 days, followed by Prince William County with a DOM average of 33 days. Fairfax County experienced a DOM average of 36 days, and both Alexandria City and Loudoun County had DOM averages of 39 days.

“The U.S. economy was lackluster in August, but consumer sentiment remained positive. At Long & Foster, we saw evidence of that optimism in many of our markets 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 levels continue to be a source of frustration, many are still taking advantage of historically low mortgage rates, and we expect the housing market to remain steady this fall.”

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.