September 2020 Briggman Market Watch: Housing inventory is continuing to rise and condos hit a 4 year high of 3 month inventory
11/2/2020
September 2020 Briggman Market Watch: Housing inventory is continuing to rise and condos hit a 4 year high of 3 month inventory
That’s just the trend – there are more homes coming on the market and they are not all of them are selling. Last year we had 262 available listings on September 31st, 2019 and this year 501. That’s a 91% increase! New contracts went up only about 10% from 237 to 260. Which means – the prices are going to stabilize, even with the low interest rates. Condos are the most vulnerable segment and will see a significant change in salability. Average sales price went up from $705,000 to $826,000 and Median sales price went up from $590,000 to $710,000 for the month of September, 2020. I think it’s very much driven by the record low interest rates. So it is better to sell now than a year ago, just good luck selling! Here’s a chart of inventory levels for different Arlington housing types: condos, townhomes, single family homes and overall (2.5 months of inventory is a healthy market for Arlington, VA): As we coming to the holiday season I expect the market to slow down – that’s a regular yearly trend, even during pandemic. It will be interesting to see how election results will affect Arlington real estate. On the other hand – best homes always sell – in any market. So put your best foot forward, make your home look great, price it right and it will sell. And I am here if you need help.August 2020 Briggman Market Watch: House inventory rose in Arlington, VA for – especially for condos
August 2020 Briggman Market Watch: House 
inventory rose in Arlington, VA – especially for condos
Real estate market in Arlington, VA is continuing to shift.
First things first – the basics of any market is supply and demand. As you can see in the chart below the inventory is increasing – especially condos. We’ve had 1 or less month of inventory of homes since Amazon’s announcement in November, 2018 and for the first time ever we are getting to close 2 months, and condo inventory is the highest it’s been since about 3 years ago (it’s marked in yellow in the chart). So if you have a condo to sell – this is not the best news. Price drops are likely. Number of active listings in Arlington, VA increased by 75% in comparison to last August – from 226 to 397! Buyers should be dancing around! New contracts are up by 50% (from 196 to 296). Interest rates are still at their lowest in history – hovering around 3% – making purchasing extremely attractive to buyers. Average Sales price in Arlington was up 11% from August 2019 from $620,000 to $688,000, but down from July $722,500. What about pandemic? Are sellers holding off because of it? Are buyers hesitant to look? I’m sure some people are, but most of us have gotten used to this new world and are willing to take some risks to improve our living situations. Many sellers have been moving out before putting their homes on the market, everyone is using masks and avoiding overlapping showing appointments, in-person open houses are rare, but starting to pop up. So what does it all mean? Increasing inventory levels means that the market is stabilizing and looking for real estate won’t feel like looking for toilet paper in April any more! And it’s especially relevant to condo sales – condos won’t be flying off the shelves they way they were – you will actually have to present them well and convince buyers that they are a reasonable investment – even during pandemic. These are overall trends and every neighborhood and condo building have their own supply and demand chart. That’s why you need an expert! Thinking about buying or selling? Contact me and we can talk about what makes sense for your situation!Arlington, VA real state inventory DOUBLED in July, 2020!
How was Arlington, VA real estate market in July, 2020?
The market has certainly shifted – and in a big way:
1. The inventory of available homes in Arlington doubled from 0.9 months in July, 2019 to 1.8 months of inventory in July 2020!
It means that buyers had more homes to choose from and didn’t have to compete as fiercely as a year ago. 1.8 months of inventory means the market is heading towards a more balanced state (2.5 months is balanced in Arlington), prices should not be increasing as fast and not all properties will be getting multiple offers. The last time we had 2 months if inventory was November, 2018. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues.2. We had 446 new listings come on the market in Arlington, VA vs. 258 a year ago. That’s 73% increase!!!
Why? Last year homeowners were holding onto properties due to Amazon’s announcement – it looked like their Arlington real estate investments were going to skyrocket for years to come, but with a lot of uncertainty about the post-pandemic economic future – a lot of them are not as confident. I think a lot of us are getting used to the pandemic at this point as well, understand how to protect ourselves and have been hearing good real estate news – so people are more confident in listing and dealing with the new reality. It is probably better to list now than next year. There’s no way Arlington is not going to be affected by this economic slowdown.3. Average SOLD price increased by 20% in Arlington VA vs. last year from $685,000 to $828,000!
That’s a large upswing. Not all properties increased by 20% – most increases are for detached homes and townhomes. Condos are registering a 5% increase overall. 4. We had a dramatic -35% drop in total number of sales in May due to COVID – a couple of months later we actually have a 6.39% increase in July vs. 2019 (283 vs. 266 sales). As I mentioned earlier – sellers are more comfortable with the pandemic and don’t want to gamble with the uncertain future, and money is so cheap for buyers that they keep buying. So what does the future hold? Real estate market is holding strong here in Arlington, but with increasing inventory levels – I expect the prices to level off. The interest rates are too good for buyers not to buy – so I expect the demand will continue – as long as people can keep their jobs. Will they keep their jobs? It’s very much a white-color community doing a ton of government contracting work – I think the government will probably continue the contracts – at least for now. Amazon just rented some more office space here in Arlington – maybe the economy won’t be hit as hard as I expect. If you are thinking about selling – I think now is a good time to do that, because we probably will see some foreclosures and short-sales once people have to start paying their mortgages again (landlords haven’t been able to evict non-paying renters and can only carry properties for so long without rental income, and unemployed homeowners have been given 1 year off from mortgage payments). If you are thinking about buying, have a good amount if cash for down payment and are secure in your job – you might want to wait a little till the market is less competitive, but if you have no money for downpayment – now is the time – as money is so cheep. I am here for any questions! Call me/test me at 703-217-2077 if you are looking to buy or sell in Arlington, VA!Arlington, VA real estate update – sales down 31% in April
Sales are down 31% in April 2020 for Arlington, 
VA real estate
Arlington had 197 sold homes in April 2020 vs. 287 in 2019. That’s a 31% drop. But it’s a lot more than ZERO sales – which is what many people are thinking is happening.
Active listings in April this year were 254 vs. 245 in 2019. Very similar amount of inventory.
There were 41 listings in “Temporarily Off market” status – which means Arlington sellers are waiting to see what the market is going to do and when it would be safe to resume showings and the sale.
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 in the middle of pandemic and 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 would gladly pay for this service for any of my sellers – just ask!
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 home!
Even though the sales are down, the values are not down due to low inventory levelsArlington, VA real estate market is still going strong regardless of pandemic
State of the real estate market in Arlington, VA April 18, 2020
If you are thinking about selling your home in the next year – now is probably the best time, but you do have to take safety into consideration and evaluate your risk. 4/18/2020-
- Our MLS data for March shows that inventory levels in Arlington are still at 1 month – which indicates a very strong seller’s market… many buyers are still looking, real estate market is very much alive:
Arlington real estate update during coronavirus pandemic 4/1/2020
4/1/2020
- Governor Northom announced “Shelter in Place” for Virginia, but real estate services are still considered “essential” – so we are still working and selling homes.
- Homes are still selling – I just submitted an offer for my client on a townhome in South Arlington and we had to compete with 3 other offers and are under contract for a lot more than the sales price.
- Interest rates have gone up since a week ago and continue to be the wild card in the market.
- March 31st we had 79 listings on Temporary of the market or Withdraw status – that’s 28% of total inventory and is a high number. This decreases the supply which might keep prices high.
- Here are the activity for Arlington real estate in the last week – you can see an increase in withdrawn and temporarily withdrawn listings.
3/23/2020 update Arlington real estate during coronavirus pandemic
- Homes are still selling in Arlington! 55 homes went to “pending” status in the last 7 days. (Last school day in Arlington was 3/13/2020)
- Open houses are very unlikely – look for photos and ask for virtual tours from the listing agent.
- 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.
- My office – KW Metro Center is closed to the public, but it open for private appointments.
- Here are the statistics numbers for Arlington Co today – I will be keeping track of this daily:
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.Top 5 Arlington real estate bits from last 7 days
What’s happening in Arlington, VA real estate?
Every Wednesday I publish a list of important events in Arlington’s real estate. Today is February 26, 2020 and here are the top 5 bits from the last 7 days!
1. Arlington Economic Development just posted 4th Quarter real estate update completing all of 2019. Report shows annual price increases for Arlington properties: detached homes: +11.5%, townhomes +9.3%, condos +4.7%. New listings were down 17.6% (3,930 in 2018 vs. 3,237 in 2019) For the full report and info about ongoing project in Arlington click here.
2. 45 million $ home sale in Arlington throws off market statistics for January 20th – showing “average price” 47% increase from $659,008 to $968,949 (2018 vs. 2019) Medium price was 5% down. This sale will continue to mess up our future “average price” statistics! Ugh. Here’s a link to the listing on Zillow.
3. Arlington Co Board voted 4:0 to advertise hearings for 3 JBG Smith submitted projects as a “whole” vs. individual projects. The developer would get the maximum height and density benefit overall AND community would get a maximum benefit from combining the tree projects. With so many new projects going in – we will definitely need a new school! If you are interested in the future of Crystal City – you should go to the meetings. You can read more here.
4. The old warehouses along Eads St. in Crystal City have been torn down to make room for Amazon’s permanent HQ2 – coming in 2023. Watch the video here!
5. New York architecture firm wants to create an amazing park by Amazon HQ2, but the redundant parking for 50 cars in the area might have to go. Want to have impact of what the park brings? – survey links and more information can be found here.
Hope you found this interesting and useful! If you have any other Arlington real estate facts, events that you want to bring up – please contact me! Provided to you by Renata Briggman – local Arlington real estate agent.Staging Transformation for a Penthouse in Woodbury Heights
Woodbury Heights, Arlington, VA Condo, Staging Transformation.
Arlington is full of home sellers with great sophisticated taste, but they have a hard time pulling it all together. Many sellers I meet have some nice art, furniture, travel souvenirs, but their homes just don’t look “completed” yet. And usually it does not take much, but it does take skill and effort. I believe that if we want to get the best price for a home – we need to impress the buyer, look our best and suggest a lifestyle that they could lead. The seller of this condo was a very VERY sophisticated man – he had the most beautiful paintings, art deco furniture and many good ideas. Before I even met him, he ordered a “sputnik” chandelier understanding the need to enhance the condo for current buyers. He was on the right track, but he also had a deadline and was clearly overwhelmed by the task ahead of him. He was my PERFECT client!
I quickly brought in my stager Jan and we went room by room taking inventory of available furnishings, what were the gaps, what walls needed painting and what were other improvement projects that were low priced, but made a big impact on the look and feel of the condo. About 2 hours later we had a list, colors and a plan.
The most unique and amazing feature of the condo was the Washington, DC Skyline view. We didn’t want to do anything to distract the potential buyers from this glorious view. It would have been amazing to paint the condo some dramatic color, because it had 2 story ceilings and gorgeous angles, but we left the pale yellow walls alone – the view was a priority and we didn’t need any more drama.
It was somewhat an awkward space to configure – there was a cozy fireplace, THE VIEW, a couple of potential TV walls and a very wide room. We moved a ton of furniture around to create new spaces, and the only “new” things that we brought in were dining room chairs, master bed frame and staging props. All these extras were included in my listing fee.
We also picked a few shades of gray to paint the kitchen, bath vanity cabinets and doors. Painting doors in a new trend and really takes spaces to the next level.
We got rid of client’s bed frame (because it was just not in line with anyone’s taste) and moved the bed to a different side of the room. We also moved the dest to the den and created a sitting area in the master.
The master was remodeled about 10 years ago, but had an old vanity still there. Client – without us ever asking – ordered the vanity and had it replaced. It was an absolutely great investment on his part. We also picked a light gray shade for him.
The process wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t hard. I guided the seller every step of the way and was continuously tracking our progress so we stay on the agreed upon schedule. There was certainly a wow and a lot of pride at the end. We ended up receiving 4 offers and selling $15,000 over the list price. (List price was $750,000, SOLD price $765,000)
The cherry on top of this wonderful experience was a testimonial from my client:
“Renata helped me sell my condo in Arlington VA this December 2019.
There is not much that I can add to Renata’s 5-star reviews, but I will try! Renata is a true professional. She has a method and a vision that worked perfectly for me. The sale closed within 30 days !!!
– She brought in an expert stager who provided me advice on how to prepare my property for sale.
– She advised me on listing price, timing and contract negotiations and she was absolutely right on all counts.
– Renata and her team were always responsive, attentive to all details and willing to go the extra mile.
I highly recommend Renata Briggman as a real estate agent in Northern Virginia.”
If you are thinking about selling – please request a consultation here! I would love to help you too!
