Pandemic first for Northern Virginia housing market: More new sellers

home in Herndon
This house in Herndon, Virginia, went under contract in June. (Courtesy Long&Foster/Val Klotz)

For potential home buyers looking in Northern Virginia, the odds of finding something they like may be improving. For the first time since February, the number of new listings is up.

The Northern Virginia Association of Realtors reports there were 21% more new listings on the market in the NVAR region in June than there were in May. New listings were up 1.5% from a year ago.

NVAR covers Fairfax and Arlington counties and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church.

The biggest year-over-year increase in new listings is where inventory has been the tightest.

New homes coming to market in Arlington County in June were up almost 21% compared to a year ago, and up 40% from new listings in May. In Alexandria, the year-over-year gain was 28.6%, and up 29% from May.

Prices in Northern Virginia are still rising. The overall average selling price in June was almost $647,000, the highest average for a June on record in NVAR’s territory.

“We know that pent-up demand continues to drive market activity in our region. What we’re seeing this year is that the typical spring market pushed into summer,” said NVAR CEO Ryan Conrad.

“With each phase of eased restrictions on business activity, home buyers and sellers are exhibiting greater confidence in the ability to safely engage in the home sale process.

Even with the rise in new listings, inventory in Northern Virginia remains extremely tight.

Total active listings in June were down 32.8% from a year ago, constraining actual sales, which were down 13.7% from a year ago.

Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.

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