Home Sales and Inventory Down Across the Northern Virginia Area in March

April 22, 2019

Market Minute Logo 2019 smallBoth inventory and home sales took a dip across the Northern Virginia region in March, according to the Long & Foster Real Estate Market Minute report. Alexandria City and Arlington County had dramatic decreases in available inventory with drops of 53% and 43%, respectively. Alexandria City also saw a decline in home sales of 25%, followed by Arlington County which had a 24% decrease. Median sale prices rose in three counties with Alexandria City exhibiting the highest increase at 23%. 

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

Northern Virginia Market Minute Chart March 2019

“In and around the Northern Virginia area, there’s some dramatic numbers there,” said Larry “Boomer” Foster, president of Long & Foster Real Estate. “You can see that numbers are down, and this is most likely on account of the Amazon effect that the region has been witnessing since December.” 

Units sold are down because there’s not enough good inventory on the market while the demand is huge, he said. In some areas there are outliers, where there’s room to build. Foster said, “If builders are able to put together a decent product, they’ll be able to sell it and sell it quickly.” There’s lots of demand and people looking to buy, it’s just whether or not there’s product available or sellers will do what is necessary to get their house ready to be shown and price it appropriately. 

With the limited supply, Foster said that now is a great time to get your home listed, explaining that if “you’re in a sweet spot price-wise and geographically, you can dictate terms to the buyer. If there are no upgrades that are needed to make it more buyable, there’s no reason to hesitate on listing your home. 

Talking about the low interest rate environment, Foster said he’s surprised at where we are. “Most of us thought going through the year that we would see interest rates grind higher slowly throughout the year. However, when looking at the current economic landscape, it makes sense,” he said.  

Foster said with the world economy so volatile, many foreign investors are “flocking to treasuries as a safe haven to park their money, leading to the interest rate being low.” Because of this it is an opportunity for people to have more buying power if they want to jump into buying a home. With home affordability also being low, it’s exciting time for both buyers and sellers. 

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.