So how does 2014 Arlington Real Estate Market compare to 2013? Is it better or worse? Well, it depends on who is looking at the statistics – buyers or sellers. The market is a simple law of supply and demand and I am seeing the demand has decreased and the supply has increased.
Here are the main statistics and my interpretations:
Average and median sales price remains almost unchanged. Average sales price in the 1st half of 2014 was $617,708 vs.$605,277 in 2013 (2% increase), Median sales price increased $100 from $525,500 in 2013 to $525,600 in 2014. So the market has not reacted to the changes in supply and demand yet.
I think the market is slowing down a little, because of the the lower demand – total sold volume dropped by almost 7% (from 896mil to 835 mil), total units sold dropped by 8,65% (from 1,480 to 1,352), new “under contract” listings dropped by 8% (from 1,722 to 1,588).
The inventory is up – which means more supply. At the end of June, 2014 there were 591 available homes for sale vs. 394 in June of 2013 – which is 38% increase. This means buyers have a lot more to choose from than last year.
Here is a chart that shows the months of supply of homes in Arlington (All active listings divided by current demand)
So I am predicting a small slow down overall, fewer multiple offers and longer days on the market. Now all real estate is local and there are some submarkets that won’t follow these trends. If you are trying to buy a decent single family home in a popular neighborhood under $800,000 – you are out of luck – you’ll have to compete and submit your escalation clause.
Luckily interest rates for 30 year fixed loans are staying around 4% – which is keeping real estate a little more affordable. On the other hand buyers are hoping that it will stay this way for a long time and aren’t in a rush to make real estate decisions – and in my opinion that’s a bit risky.
So Arlington real estate is doing well – not crazy well, but well.