Author: Scott McCaffrey

Average sales prices across all three segments of the Fairfax County real-estate market showed major year-over-year jumps in August sales data, even as home sales continue to be held back by availability and affordability issues.

The average sales price of the 1,100 properties that went to closing across the county last month was $845,311, up 17.2 percent, according to figures reported by MarketStats by ShowingTime based on listing activity from Bright MLS.

A proposal to revamp the Pan Am Shopping Center in the Vienna area of Fairfax County may breathe new life into an historic nearby cemetery.

In taking a procedural step forward on the development plan, Fairfax supervisors (strongly) suggested the shopping center’s owner make an effort to assist the family whose ancestors rest in the burial ground.

A total of 264 Fairfax County Public Schools students have been named National Merit Semifinalists, putting them in the running for more than 7,000 scholarships worth $28 million to be bestowed next spring.

They are among 16,000 semifinalists named from among 1.3 million students taking the qualifying exam in the National Merit Scholarship Program.

Home-sellers emerged from a summer hibernation in the week ending Sept. 10, not only putting an increased number of homes on the market, but being aggressive almost to the point of friskiness in the prices they were asking.

The median listing price of $649,000 for the week was up 12.9 percent from a week before and up 8.3 percent from a year ago, according to data reported Sept. 11 by BrightMLS.

The Fairfax County Police Department bucked a national trend by welcoming one of the largest recruit classes in its history.

A total of 59 new recruits last week began their journey toward becoming a county police officer by beginning training at the county’s Criminal Justice Academy.

Those angling to snag an apartment in Tysons generally are paying about the same as a year ago, according to new data.

With a median apartment-rental rate of $2,029 for a one-bedroom unit and $2,425 for two bedrooms in August, the corridor’s year-over-year cost was down 0.1 percent from a year ago despite a 0.6-percent increase month-over-month.

No public middle or high school in the GazetteLeader’s Fairfax coverage area was denied accreditation by state officials or placed in a probationary status for 2023-24, but there were several problem areas identified, according to data reported by the Virginia Department of Education.

Oakton, James Madison and George C. Marshall high schools and Kilmer and Luther Jackson middle schools failed to fully satisfy at least one of the criteria used for accreditation rankings, while Langley and McLean high schools, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology and Cooper, Thoreau and Longfellow middle schools each emerged with a clean bill of health.

Does this year’s decline of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology in a much-hyped national ranking have anything to do with changes to the admissions policy at the school?

The answer seems to depend on which side of the political/cultural divide you find yourself on.

Fairfax’s unemployment rate dropped by two ticks of a percentage point from June to July, according to new state data.

With 657,325 county residents counted in the civilian workforce and 15,382 looking for work, the county’s jobless rate stood at 2.3 percent, according to figures reported Aug. 30 by the Virginia Employment Commission.

The tale in July was essentially the same as in the preceding few months for the Northern Virginia homes market: Tight inventory, rising interest rates and higher prices presented a trifecta of challenges for sellers, pushing total sales down but keeping prices up.

Sales across the catchment area of the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors (NVAR) totaled 1,444 in July, down 20 percent from an already cool July 2022, according to the trade organization. Year-over-year sales were down in double digits in all component jurisdictions: Arlington and Fairfax counties and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church.