Arlington townhome update during coronavirus pandemic

2/24/2021

Arlington Townhome Market January 2021

Arlington townhome market is very active and good. Single family market is crazy, townhome market is not there, but it’s not too far behind.

The inventory levels are higher than 2020, but I expect prices to keep climbing due to low interest rates and buyers looking for more space. Here is the cart for months of supply – this is our supply/demand indicator. The market is balanced at about 2.5 months of inventory – so we are way below that.

We also have more active townhome listings for sale than before:

On the other hand I received 20 offers on this small townhome listing in South Arlington yesterday. It will be a crazy spring market.

If you are thinking about selling – NOW is an amazing time to do so. Contact me here and let’s talk.

 

1/21/2020

Arlington Townhome Market Review for 2020

Arlington townhome values kept rising in Arlington, VA in 2020, because of high buyer demand and low interest rates. Interestingly pandemic stirred quite a lot of activity in our real estate market. We had 238 townhome sales in 2020 vs. 200 in 2019 – that is a 19% increase.

Below you can see the last 5 year pricing trend – median SOLD prices have been going up.

Townhomes continue to sell very quickly – as you can see the “Days on the market” trend for the last 5 years:

Townhome inventory increased in comparison to 2019, but it still very low and the prices will continue to rise. We need at least 2 months of inventory for the prices to stabilize.

It was a good year for Arlington townhomes. The projections for 2021 are very optimistic – the interest rates will continue to be low and the supply of homes is expected to be short – so if you are thinking about selling – now is a great time. Contact me today for your free consultation!
11/5/2020

Arlington Townhome Market Update Q3

Arlington Townhome market is shifting. There are more townhomes available for sale than a year ago. New townhome listings for Q3 increased by 54% than a year ago (from 82 to 127) and new contracts increased 34% (from 69 to 93).  So supply is increasing faster than demand. For those who love data – we had 0.73 months of supply and now we have 1.21 months. Townhomes are still a very hot commodity, but are cooling off.

Here’s a chart for “Months of inventory” for the last 3 years:

Arlington townhome price per square foot increased 16.5% Q3 2019 vs. 2020 from $393 to $458

On average it takes about 5 days to sell a townhome (I expect this number to increase)

The market is still very strong and interest rates are at all time lows.

It’s a great time to sell! The future is uncertain due to pandemic and the economic downturn, but Arlington is usually very recession proof. The price increases might slow down, but low interest rates will keep prices high. Please contact me if you’d like to discuss the sale of your home or have a question about the market.

7/3/2020

Here are the statistics for the 1st half of the townhome market in Arlington, VA in 2020:

About the same number of townhomes sold in the 1st half of 2020 (98) as in 2019 (105). No significant change.

Prices are going up! Price per square foot in the 1st QTR was up 13.3% and 2nd Qtr. 3.4 vs. 2019 numbers.

Days on the market remain the same – on average it takes 6 days to sell a townhome in Arlington!

STILL RECORD LOW inventory levels. We had 1 or less month of inventory and we need 2.5 months to have a balanced market.

This pandemic hasn’t affected Arlington Townhome Market that much. We are doing business differently, but townhomes are selling well. What does the future hole? It’s hard to know for sure. Arlington real estate market will probably weather the economic downturn better than any other community around.

5/3/2020

Arlington, VA had 19 townhomes sales in April 2020 vs. 22 in April 2019. Arlington townhome market has not really slowed down.

11 of these townhomes sold above listed sales price.

Arlington still has a lot of pent-up demand from last year and we are still experiencing a very strong seller’s market. I just settled a buyer who purchased a townhome in the middle of this pandemic and we had to beat 4 other offers, and paid 35k over the asking price.

There are companies providing disinfecting services after the weekend of showings – which can put some sellers at ease. I will happily pay for this service for all of my sellers still living in the home.

My townhome listing at 4097 Columbia Pike had 4 offers and went under contract in 4 days – please see the link here.We are waiting for settlement and expecting to close above list price. Call me today at 703-217-2077 for a free virtual consultation so I can guide you through the process and help you figure out the best strategy for the sale of your Arlington townhome!

4/18/2020

1. Based on March, 2020 real estate data – the inventory of towhomes of Arlington is still very low indicating a very strong seller’s market. It’s still a good time to sell. We are anticipating that prices will come down within the next 6-12 months.

2. My colleagues are reporting appraisal issues – which means appraisers are taking into account the uncertainty of the future.

3. Mortgage interest rates are still at all times lows, even though bigger banks can offer better terms for jumbo loans.

4. We had only 9 townhome listings on March 31st of 2020 vs. 12 on March 31st in 2019.

If you are thinking about selling – now is probably the best time, but you have to take all the associated virus risks into consideration. Call me at 703-217-2077 and we can talk about pros and cons!

3/20/2020

1. Homes are still selling in Arlington! 3 townhomes went to “pending” status in the last 7 days. (Last school day in Arlington was 3/13/2020)
2. Open houses are very unlikely – look for photos and ask for virtual tours from the listing agent.
3. BE CAREFUL and assess your own risk when listings and seeing homes – the virus can stay in the air and on surfaces from hours to days. It is YOUR responsibility to protect yourself – not seller’s, buyer’s or their agents’. Good listings still get a ton of traffic, but shortages of masks, gloves and hand sanitizer makes it difficult to provide homes with protective equipment.
4. My office – KW Metro Center is closed to the public, but it open for private appointments.
5. Here are the statistics for Arlington Co townhome market today – I will be keeping track of this daily:

5. Mortgage interest rates have been fluctuating like mad on a daily basis. Buyers usually have a limit to what they can qualify for and what mortgage payment they can afford. Locking your rate in a timely manner is important. This uncertainty will scare away a few buyers, but they would risk higher interest rates after the pandemic.So what does the future look like? We don’t know yet. Recession is coming, but Arlington is a lot more resilient than other parts of the country.