Author: Scott McCaffrey

Home sales across Northern Virginia were in positive year-over-year territory in February for the first time since November 2021, and a mild increase in inventory is leading some to believe the springtime market could be a solid one.

“Spring is always strong for the Northern Virginia real estate market, but this one is looking particularly positive as we are seeing more listings coming on the market as compared to a year ago, and those who are buying are willing to spend a little more,” said David Raffinengo of KW Metro Center, a member of the board of directors of the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors (NVAR).

Total properties changing hands may have been down ever so slightly – declining a single transaction from 694 to 693 – but prices were up enough in Fairfax County’s real-estate market in February for a nearly 16-percent increase in total sales volume.

That’s according to figures reported March 12 by Bright MLS, based on data from MarketStats by ShowingTime, which reported that the average sales price of the 693 properties that went to closing countywide in February was $835,322, up 16.4 percent from a year before.

Whether she was helped by Democratic crossover voting remains an open question, but in the end, Nikki Haley topped Donald Trump among the Fairfax County electorate on March 5.

The former South Carolina governor picked up 57.29 percent of the vote to 40.28 percent for the former president, according to preliminary figures as of March 8 at 2:55 p.m. reported by the Virginia Department of Elections.

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.

The combination of prospective buyers ready to act and slightly more inventory on the local home-sales market gave the weekly number of home-showings across the region a bump up in new data.

The total number of home showings for the week ending March 10 across the Washington region stood at 25,051, according to figures reported March 11 by Bright MLS, the region’s multiple-listing service.

George Mason University’s leadership is gearing up to sit down with residents living near the proposed baseball/cricket stadium on the western portion of the university’s Fairfax campus.

“We hear and respect your questions and concerns about the timing of the project and whether neighbors will have the opportunity to be heard up front. We assure you that you will,” university president Gregory Washington said in a March 1 e-mail.

McLean ranks ninth nationally and Vienna 14th in a new survey of communities whose residents display the best money-management skills.

In order to determine where Americans are tops at handling their finances, WalletHub compared more than 2,500 localities based on 10 key indicators of money-management. The data set ranges from the median credit score and the average number of late payments to the mortgage debt-to-income ratio and outstanding student-debt burden.

A number of upcoming theater productions will spotlight area youths.

• Tysons-based Traveling Players will present two works – “Dracula: A Comic Thriller” and “Jane Eyre” – with performances as part of its Thrills & Chills Festival, running weekends March 9-17 at Tysons Corner Center.

Local students took home first place in all three age levels in the Virginia Department of Aviation’s Virginia Aviation Art Contest.

More than 60 entries from students ranging in age from 6 to 18 were evaluated, with the winners moving on to competition sponsored by the National Association of State Aviation Officials.

Just under three in four Fairfax County residential properties saw a year-over-year increase in assessed value, according to data presented Feb. 20 by county officials.

The average assessment on residential property rose 2.9 percent to $744,526, with increases reported in all three segments of the real-estate market: