The Washington region’s real-estate market is opening the spring season with increased opportunities for buyers. But Northern Virginia’s inner suburbs are still seeing extremely tight inventory.
The number of active listings at the end of February across the Washington region (5,277) was up 5.5 percent from a year before, marking the first year-over-year gain in nine months. That’s according to data reported March 11 by Bright MLS, the region’s multiple-listing service.
That’s the good news for those seeking to buy a home across the region this springtime. The bad news: Supply is just 44 percent of where it stood in February 2019, and in Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax County is lower than a year ago:
• In Arlington, the 213 homes on the market at the end of February represented a year-over-year decline of 13.8 percent.
• In Alexandria, the 126 available properties represented a drop of 16 percent.
• In Fairfax, the 788 homes on the market marked a fall-off of 1.4 percent.
(The year-over-year increase for the region as a whole was largely due to a 20-percent bump up in inventory in the District of Columbia. Montgomery County and Loudoun County also saw increases.)
When looking at months’ worth of supply, which compares inventory to monthly sales and where any figure under 2 generally suggests a tight market, the region as a whole stood at 1.29 but Arlington was 1.12, Fairfax County 0.85 and Alexandria 0.73.
Still, springtime hope springs eternal.
“More activity is likely on the horizon – buyers will have more opportunities as additional new listings are added,” said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist for Bright MLS.
But even if it increases, the current level of supply suggests “tough competition” for those seeking homes, Sturtevant said.
“Price pressure and a brisk pace will be features of the spring market, especially for detached-single-family buyers, where supply is the most depleted,” she said.
For February, consummated transactions totaled 3,082, a drop of 2.7 percent from a year before. The median sales price of $560,000 regionally was up 4.7 percent across all types of home, and the jump was highest (10.7%) in the single-family sector.
Alexandria, Arlington and Prince George’s County each saw an increase in year-over-year sales in February; Fairfax County was essentially flat; and declines were recorded in the District of Columbia, Loudoun, Montgomery and Frederick counties and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church. All jurisdictions showed year-over-year increases in median sales prices.
Figures represent most, but not all, homes on the market. February 2024 figures are preliminary and are subject to revision.
