CHANTILLY, Va., Jan. 22, 2018 – Homes sales increased in several parts of the Northern Virginia region in December, according to the Long & Foster Real Estate Market Minute report. Arlington County experienced an increase of 30 percent and Alexandria County saw a 28 percent increase, while Fairfax County saw no change in comparison to December 2017. Median sale prices declined throughout the region with a 4 percent fall in Arlington County and 1 percent dip in Alexandria, Fairfax and Loudoun counties. Inventory also continued to fall, ranging from a 1 percent decline in Prince William County to a 39 percent decline in Arlington County. 

The Long & Foster Real Estate Market Minute report for Northern Virginia includes the city of Alexandria, and Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties. 

“In December, most of Northern Virginia followed a similar pattern to what we’ve seen in the past several months, but we did see unit sales increase in Arlington County and Alexandria City,” said Larry “Boomer” Foster, president of Long & Foster Real Estate. “It’s pure speculation, but considering the timing of the Amazon HQ2 announcement, I believe this is more than just coincidence. Those bumps were likely due to investors, which is a testament to the hyperlocal nature of real estate.”  

While there’s a consensus in the industry that mortgage interest rates will be climbing in 2019, for the last few weeks they have been down. Foster attributes that to volatility in the stock market and in the world economy.  

“Foreign and domestic investors are putting a ton of money into the 10-year treasury bonds causing the yield on the 10-year treasury bonds to go down, which in turn causes the 30-year fixed rates to go down,” Foster said. “If the government shutdown, Brexit talk and trade wars with China continue, we’ll see a lot of people fleeing to the security of bonds, which will keep interest rates artificially low.”  

Consumer sentiment about the economy remains high despite the volatility of the markets. One of the biggest indicators of a strong real estate market is high consumer sentiment, because when people are confident they buy and sell homes, Foster said.  

“The complexities of our market conditions are what make it crucial to work with a professional, knowledgeable real estate professional,” Foster said. “While the bigger trends help us understand the health of the market, home buyers and sellers can benefit most from an expert with knowledge of individual neighborhoods, like those at Long & Foster Real Estate.” 

To learn more about your local market conditions, visit Long & Foster’s Market Insights. You can also learn more about Long & Foster and find an agent at LongandFoster.com.