Buyer interest in homes here in Alexandria and nearby is not likely to decrease anytime soon, according to the housing market forecast by the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® (NVAR).
In fact, price increases and low inventory of homes available prompted NVAR to revisit their 2019 projections. NVAR the City of Alexandria, Fairfax and Arlington counties, plus Fairfax City, Falls Church, Vienna, Herndon and Clifton.
While Arlington will have the most dramatic median price increases by the end of 2019 year-over-year (17.2%), portions of Alexandria won’t be too far behind.
The average sale price in Arlington County in May was more than $713,000, a nearly 7% increase compared to May 2018.
In Alexandria, the average sale price was $597,000, an increase of 3.5% over a year ago.
In both areas, inventory is down compared to last year, meaning more buyers are competing for fewer homes.
“This is a market response to the Amazon HQ2 announcement with investors competing with residents for a shrinking number of homes for sale. The price gains we foresee do not reflect an overall bubble in housing prices but rather reflect the specific circumstances of our current market” said NVAR President Christine Richardson of Weichert, Realtors, said.
In Fairfax County, the average price of $611,000 is an increase of almost 2%.
The Fairfax County median sale price is expected to see a 2019 year-over-year gain of about 7 percent, Clower said. This is more than double the original 3.1 percent projected year-over-year growth.
“The average sold price to original list price ratio in May was 99.9 percent for the NVAR region, and over 100 percent in both Arlington and Alexandria,” said Richardson. “Ratios at that level reflect a housing market with multiple offers on the table, and that’s what we’re continuing to see.”
Homes are selling significantly faster than at this time last year.
However, some residents are sitting on the sidelines of this real estate market – waiting for even higher prices, or deciding to rent their homes out when they move instead of selling.
Based on revised projections, the number of available homes for sale in Fairfax County is expected to be down 10.2 percent at the end of 2019. The decline was previously projected to be just 2.4 percent.
“Arlington inventory has fallen off a cliff,” Clower said, and is expected to be down by 18.8 percent at the end of 2019. The original forecast showed a 7 percent year-end decline.
The number of available homes in Alexandria is expected to show a year-end decline of 37.5 percent in 2019. Previously, that decline was projected at 0.6 percent.
