Differing from the nation’s overall housing market, home sales in Northern Virginia were down slightly in October from September; however, prices continued to grow while inventory shrank from October 2020, mirroring the national market, according to the Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS® (NVAR). Locally and nationally, homes sales decreased from the frenzy of October 2020.
“Price and availability are the housing stories of the year—both for our market and nationally. One goes up as the other goes down. With mortgage rates expected to go up, both price growth and housing supply may moderate,” said Ryan McLaughlin, CEO of NVAR.
Locally, inventory in October was down 12.25% from 2020. Nationally, the inventory of unsold homes similarly decreased 12% from last October, according to The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Supply was even tighter in Northern Virginia which had only 1.19 months of supply available while nationally the supply was 2.4 months. In the region, homes remained on the market for 23 days on average, while nationally properties remained on the market for 18 days in October.
Prices locally and nationally continue to grow, but nationally prices are jumping at a faster pace. In Northern Virginia, the median sold price of homes this October was $625,000, up by 4.2% from $600,000 in October 2020. Nationally, the median home price in October was $353,900, up 13.1% from the prior year.
In Northern Virginia, homes sales dropped slightly in October compared to September and 8.2% compared to a year ago. Nationally, sales grew marginally from September while sales fell 5.8% from a year ago.
McLaughlin added, “Even though our housing market was down a little in October, it continued to outpace five-year averages, with sales and listings higher than October activity in 2019. Our ongoing market strength reflects the region’s strong economy and desirability as a place to live.”
Source: Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS®
