Northern Virginia Housing Market Sees Rise in Median Sale Price, Tightened Inventory

April 15, 2013

Long & Foster Market Minute® Reports show low days on market for NoVa

The Northern Virginia real estate market continued to experience many positive trends in March compared to the same month last year, according to The Long & Foster Market Minute® reports. In the Northern Virginia counties surrounding Washington, D.C., including the city of Alexandria, and Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties, the median sale price continued to rise throughout the area and inventories continued to decrease to low levels due to homes selling at a rapid pace across the entire region.

The Long & Foster Market Minute® reports are compiled from data from residential real estate transactions within specific geographic regions, not just Long & Foster sales.

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In March, the median sale price increased throughout the entire Northern Virginia region compared to the same month last year. Alexandria City experienced an increase of 25 percent in median sale price, according to data. Loudoun County experienced a 14 percent increase, while Prince William County saw an increase of 10 percent. Fairfax County and Arlington County experienced jumps of 8 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

Active inventory levels continued to decline significantly in March throughout the entire Northern Virginia region, compared to the same month last year. Arlington County saw a decline of 49 percent year-over-year. Compared to the same month a year ago, Fairfax County saw a decrease of 45 percent in available inventory and Prince William County experienced a 41 percent decrease in active inventory. According to data, Alexandria City and Loudoun County saw decreases of 30 percent and 29 percent, respectively, compared to the same month last year.

The number of homes sold in the Northern Virginia region varied in March. Alexandria City and Arlington County saw home sales increase by 13 percent and 12 percent, respectively. Prince William County saw an increase of 10 percent year-over-year, while Loudon County saw an increase of 9 percent.

Homes continued to sell in less than two months on average throughout Northern Virginia, according to March data. Prince William County experienced the shortest marketing time with an average days on market (DOM) of 33 days, while the rest of the region saw DOMs ranging from 35 days to 43 days.

“Spring is finally here, along with an uptick in activity in the residential real estate market in the Northern Virginia region. With improving market conditions – including stronger than expected job growth, and rising affordability and consumer confidence – potential buyers and sellers are using this opportunity to explore what their market has to offer,” said Jeffrey S. Detwiler, president and chief operating officer of The Long & Foster® Companies.

“While inventory remains low, limiting the number of options for would-be buyers, the Northern Virginia market is experiencing some positive trends such as appreciating home prices and decreasing average number of days on market. These are all promising signs for the Northern Virginia region’s local housing market, and provide a prime opportunity for fence-sitters to fulfill their dreams of homeownership.”

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 morethan 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 users can subscribe to free updates for the reports in which they’re interested.