Prices ticked up slightly for single-family houses, but otherwise, Fairfax County’s September real estate market was soft, according to new data.
A total of 897 properties went to closing during the month, down from 953 a year before and below the five-year September average of 930 transactions, according to figures reported Monday (Oct. 12) by MarketStats by Showing-Time.
Driven largely by an increase in the single-family market, the average sales price of homes that went to closing in September rose 3% to $903,940.
The average single-family sales price was $1,220,641 (+2%), while the average attached property — townhouses, rowhouses and condominiums — saw a decline of 0.8% from September 2025 to $569,805. The condo-only sector recorded a 10.3% drop to an average sales price of $421,643.
Total sales volume was just under $814 million, down 3.7% from $845 million a year before.
Homes that went to closing in September spent an average of 26 days between listing and ratified sales contract. That’s unchanged from a year before, but slightly higher than the five-year running average of 22 days for September sales.
Homes that went to closing garnered 98.3% of original listing price, also unchanged from a year before.
Prospective purchasers have more inventory to consider, with the 2,326 listings on the market, as of Sept. 30, up 36% from a year before.
Countywide, pending sales at the end of the month stood at 921 homes, down about 11% from a year before. Those pending sales typically translate into consummated transactions within a month or two of posting.
In Fairfax City, there were 25 sales in September, down from 40 a year before. The average sales price of single-family homes that sold was $823,411, down 7.4%.
At the end of the month, the city had 70 properties on the market, up from 51 a year earlier. Pending sales at month’s end stood at 19, down from 24 at the same time in 2025.
All figures represent most, but not all, homes on the market. September 2026 figures are preliminary and are subject to revision.
Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist for the Bright MLS multiple-listing service, said Fairfax’s relatively anemic September sales figures were emblematic of a larger regional trend:
“Buyer traffic in the D.C. area has dropped off considerably. The number of pending sales in September was down 17.1% year-over-year while showings were down by 16.9%. Pending sales and showings were down across virtually all local jurisdictions in the DMV.
“It is higher rates, and not federal government cuts, that is quelling the D.C. area housing market. Inventory is climbing with active listings above pre-pandemic levels. With cooler demand, there may be local markets this fall where prices fall below last year’s levels, though significant price drops are not expected.”
A general increase in sales prices across the D.C. region year-over-year in September was due largely to a greater percentage of more expensive single-family homes in the overall sales mix, Sturtevant said.
September’s data arrived as those in Virginia’s real-estate industry hunkered down for the cooler market conditions that autumn typically brings.
A monthly online “flash survey” of members of the Virginia Realtors trade organization conducted Sept. 23-30 found that only 6% of respondents described buyer activity in their area as “high” or “very high,” while 59% rated it “low” or “very low.”
A total of 511 Virginia Realtors members responded to the survey, including 373 who participated in a home sales transaction within the past month.
The organization’s monthly Buyer Activity Index, which hit a peak for 2026 of 55 in April on a 0-to-100 scale, declined to a year-long low of 24 in September — and only 4% of respondents expect strong buyer activity in three months’ time.
Among respondents to the survey, 44% said they expected prices in their areas to be lower at the end of the year than they were in late September, with 20% expecting prices to rise and 33% expecting relatively little change.
Per-square-foot prices down in region’s inner core
Prices on a per-square-foot basis were down in the region’s inner core in September, but increased in outlying areas.
Average sales prices on a per-square-foot basis were down in the District ($483 from $509 a year before) as well as in Arlington ($486 vs. $500), Falls Church ($528 vs. $545) and Alexandria ($479 vs. $500). Prices also were down in Fairfax County ($367 vs. $371) and Fairfax City ($353 vs. $365).
But per-square-foot prices were up in Loudoun County ($301 vs. $296 a year before) and Prince William County ($255 vs. $246).
For the Mid-Atlantic as a whole, September’s average per-square-foot sales price of $254 was up slightly from $252, according to data reported by MarketStats by ShowingTime.
Year-to-date sales up in major local jurisdictions
Home sales for the first nine months of 2026 were up 2.1% from the same period in 2025, according to an FFXnow analysis of data reported by MarketStats by ShowingTime.
A total of 20,691 properties changed hands during the January-through-September market in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties and the City of Alexandria. That’s up from 20,174 during the first nine months of 2025.
Two jurisdictions posted increases, with three others showed declines:
- Home sales across Fairfax County were 9,374, up 3.4% from 9,069 in September 2025
- Sales in Prince William County stood at 4,081, up 9.4% from 3,769
- Transactions in Loudoun County totaled 3,850, down 4.2% from 4,019
- Sales in Arlington were 1,786, down 0.2% from 1,786
- Transactions in Alexandria were 1,522, down 0.9% from 1,536
Across the entire Mid-Atlantic region covered by MarketStats by ShowingTime and Bright MLS, year-to-date sales totaled 168,157, up 0.2% from 167,762.
Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, had the most sales during the first eight months of 2026, though the 10,164 transactions were down 3.1% from the year before. Fairfax County was second, followed by Montgomery County, Maryland (7,372); Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (6,457); and Baltimore County (6,140).
