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Home Sales, Prices Continued Upward Trajectory in May, Reports the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors®
“Our spring market has been strong, which means ‘competitive’ for buyers”
Inventory Challenges Persist; Current Mortgage Rates Still Provide Value, Average Number of Days on Market Decline for Northern Virginia Listings
Fairfax – Home sales and prices in Northern Virginia climbed, with buyers undeterred by looming interest rate increases. Homes remained on the market an average of just 32 days, about 16 percent lower than last May, according to sales data about the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® footprint of Arlington and Fairfax counties, Cities of Falls Church, Fairfax and Alexandria.
Motivated buyers and sellers are riding market momentum in Northern Virginia.
“Our spring market has been strong, which means ‘competitive’ for buyers,” said NVAR Chairman Bob Adamson. “We are seeing multiple offers for our best properties. The Federal Reserve may increase rates later this week for the fourth time since last December,” Adamson said. “It is clear that the prospect of rising interest rates is not cooling our market.”
Some agents noted a slight decline in May activity, compared to April, but prices remain strong.
“With graduations and end-of-school-year activities people are busy,” said Lorraine Arora, NVAR Chair-Elect and managing broker of Weichert, Realtors® in Fairfax. “For the serious house hunter, the low interest rates still help with affordability. We need inventory!” she said.
“Every single month so far in 2017, our region’s total sales numbers have exceeded the year before,” said NVAR CEO Ryan Conrad. “Even the National Association of Realtors® surveys concluded that the single-family homes market had a strong 2017 outlook, and our region is proving that true.
“Our month’s supply of homes, our inventory, continues to be leaner than we prefer for a totally balanced market. Yet, May brought another crop of homes for sale in Northern Virginia, which boosted our new inventory by nearly 11 percent.”
May 2017 Regional Home Sales Compared to May 2016: Northern Virginia
The Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® reports on May 2017 home sales activity for Fairfax and Arlington counties, the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church and the towns of Vienna, Herndon and Clifton.
A total of 2,526 homes sold in May 2017, a 9.26 percent increase above May 2016 home sales of 2,312.
Active listings decreased in May compared with 2016. Listings were down 16 percent below last year’s, with 4,299 active listings, compared with 5,122 homes available in May 2016. The average days on market (DOM) for homes in May 2017 was 32 days, a decrease of about 16 percent compared to the 38 DOM for homes in May 2016.
The average home sale price rose to $589,080 compared to last May. This is a 4.7 percent increase compared to May 2016, when the average price was $562,684.
The median sold price of homes this May, which was $530,000, rose by about 5 percent compared to the median price of $505,000 in May 2016.
The 2,770 new pending home sales in Northern Virginia in May marks an increase of about 8 percent compared with 2,566 new contracts pending in May last year. Total pending sales in May were down by 2.84 percent, to 3,530, compared with 3,633 pending contracts in May 2016.