This is The Briggman Market Watch, giving buyers and sellers the latest news on Arlington real estate. So how was the Arlington real estate market in 2014?
It was a pretty flat year due to decline in federal employment, federal contracting and job growth only in lower-wage sectors. Mortgage rates did not go up as expected and are incredibly low, but qualifying for a mortgage is still very difficult.
The good news is average and median sales prices went up for the 5th year in a row and are at the highest levels EVER! Average sales price went up 3% from $604,292 in 2013 to $622,619 in 2014, Median sales price went up 2.5% from $525,000 to $537,400. Condo market barely had any increase last year.
Here is a chart showing a 10 year trends for average sales price in Arlington:
The number of sales and total sold volume went down – which means the demand for Arlington real estate was slightly lower this year. Total of homes sold in 2014 was 2,774 – that is 7% lower than 2013. Sales volume went down 4.5%.
We had about 30% more homes on the market for sale in 2014 vs. 2013 – which means buyers had more choices and less desirable homes did not sell. Condos were affected the most this year – as there were 10% less condo sales than 2013. Even with higher number of homes available – we are still short on the inventory levels of 2006 through 2011.
Average days on the market to sell a home stayed about the same – 40 days in 2014 vs. 38 days in 2013.
In summary, while the Arlington real estate market appears to reflect the region’s economic concerns with a lower number of closed sales, steady demand and increasing prices suggest that the market is till doing well – even though it is currently moving towards favoring the buyers.