We take a look at what is happening in the Northern Virginia real estate market.

December brought some delight to home buyers as contracts and home sales rose to match 2017 numbers. “Contracts in the pipeline and home sales are up in our NVAR footprint despite stock market swings and a continuing federal government shutdown,” says Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® CEO Ryan Conrad in an NVAR press release. “In 2018, Realtors® in Northern Virginia conducted transactions at a pace almost identical to 2017, which was the highest since 2005.”

Though the market is holding steady, the current government shutdown has some nervous and the outlook on the situation is uncertain. There is a slight impact on current clients, as reported to NVAR from area agents, but it is still too soon to tell what the overall impact will be on the market.

The 2019 market outlook is positive with interest rates at a normal level and the excitement of Amazon’s HQ2 coming to the area. More listings are coming on the market, however, inventory still remains low.

A snapshot of the Northern Virginia real estate market:

• 1,514 homes sold in December 2018, an increase of 5.43 percent above December 2017 home sales of 1,437
• 1,905 active listings in December, compared with 2,388 homes available in December 2017 
• $593,400 average home sale price, up about 1 percent compared with last December 
• $512,000 median sold price, similar to $510,000 in December 2017
• 1,270 new pending home sales, up 16.51
• Total pending sales of 1,697, up by 14.12 percent