Last month the real estate market in Northern Virginia started heading in the direction of a more traditional fall market. There was a decrease in the number of closings and an increase in the number of active properties on the market.
What does this mean for buyers?
The good news for buyers is that there was a 9% increase in the number of active listings on the market compared to August, 2021. As a result, buyers faced less competition in September than they did in the early and late spring market. There was also a big jump in active listing compared to the same time last year. Last month there were 2,836 active listings compared to 2,469 in September 2020.
More good news for buyers is the days on market increased from 18 in August, 2021 to 21 last month which means that buyers had more time to consider submitting an offer. This also holds true for the same time last year -with days on market increasing 10.5% from 19 days in September 2020 to 21 days in September 2021.
In addition, home sales prices were down slightly last month compared to the same time last year. Last month the average sales price was $688,641 compared to $690,981 in September 2020. Add to this that interest rates still remain low – this is all positive information for buyers looking to jump into the real estate market.
What does this mean for sellers?
While the market has cooled a bit, pricing and property condition are key factors for sellers to consider. It is still not unusual for a well-priced home that shows well to still go under contract quickly and sometimes over the asking price.
