Northern Virginia housing market ‘defying expectations’

Home sales in Northern Virginia in 2020 defied expectations, with the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors saying its members sold $15.3 billion, 13% more than 2019.

“Defying expectations, the 2020 housing market in Northern Virginia was a powerful driver of the region’s economy,” said Derrick Swaak, president of the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors. “Even with the downturn we experienced in the beginning weeks of the pandemic, the NVAR region housing market had an incredibly strong year.”

The median price of a home that sold in Northern Virginia last year was $590,000, up 9%, and $90,000 more than the median price throughout the D.C. metro.

The Northern Virginia Association of Realtors covers Fairfax and Arlington counties, the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church, and the towns of Vienna, Herndon and Clifton.

Its members sold 22,840 homes in 2020, 4% more than in 2019.

Those homes sold quickly, with the average number of days on market of 19 days, five days faster than the average in 2019.

“With mortgage rates at historic lows, the stock market remaining strong, and buyer demand unabated, we don’t foresee any conditions that would dampen the strong market going into the first quarter of 2021,” Swaak said.

Potential buyers are still looking in Northern Virginia.

During the last week of December, showing activity throughout all of Virginia in areas served by listing service Bright MLS were 252% above levels during the same week in 2019

There are more properties for potential buyers in Northern Virginia to look at. Active listings at the end of December totaled 1,723, 19.2% more than the same time in 2019.

home sales in N.Va. chart
Here’s a look at home sales in December 2020 in Northern Virginia. (Courtesy Northern Virginia Association of Realtors)

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct Derrick Swaak’s name. 

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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