Market Shift: Inventory Increase in Alexandria, Arlington, D.C.

Are homeowners in or near Washington, D.C. beginning a migration away from the big city in exchange for the open spaces in surrounding counties? It’s difficult to detect a definite trend at this point, but August real estate inventory could suggest a bit of a shift. It’s been an emerging trend over the past few months.

Inventory of available homes for sale in August for Arlington, Alexandria City, and Washington, D.C., was up from the same month in 2019. Right now it appears this trend of increasing inventory is sticking close to the big city.

For months, low inventory and exceedingly low interest rates have turned pretty much the rest of the region into a rather strong seller’s market. Inventory last month, compared to August 2019, remains drastically low in Fairfax County (down 33 percent), Montgomery County (down 40 percent), Prince William County (down 66 percent), and Prince Georges County (down 55 percent).

The dearth of available homes in these areas continues to impact average days on market as well, making it extremely competitive for buyers. In Fairfax County, average days on market for a listed home in August was just 16—down from a 23-day average in August 2019. Over the same period, Montgomery County homes sold, on average, in 24 days, compared to 32 days last year. Prince William County days on market dropped from 25 in August 2019 to just 14 days last month, and Prince Georges County days on market dropped from 33 to 24 over the same period.

Still, the growth in inventory in Alexandria, Arlington, and D.C. hasn’t had a negative impact on prices at all. Washington, D.C., average August sold prices were 6.7 percent higher than in August 2019. Average Arlington sold prices were up 8.2 percent, and Alexandria City average sale prices were up a whopping 22 percent over August of last year.

Continue reading here.

Christopher Prawdzik and his wife Angela Logomasini are licensed Realtors® with Samson Properties in Alexandria and are members of the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® Top Producer’s Club. Operating as D.C. Region Real Estate, they serve the Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland real estate market and offer comprehensive real estate services, including 4½% full-service listings.

© 2020 DCRegionRealEstateNews.com