This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!
Question: How is the market shaping up for 2020? Have things cooled down or picked up where they left off last year?
Answer: The early Arlington/Northern Virginia market conditions are… crazy. After a fast and furious 2019 for condos and detached/townhouse properties in Arlington, it looks like we’re in for another year of fast-paced sales and strong appreciation.
In some of the most in-demand markets (e.g. R-B Corridor condos and $800k-$1.2M detached) pre-inspections (buyers do an inspection before making an offer), zero contingencies and escalations 3-10% over the asking price no longer guarantee an accepted offer because there are multiple buyers offering those terms.
From the activity I’ve seen on both the buyer and seller side of this market, it seems like sellers can safely increase their asking price by 3-5% over what 2019 sales support and soon enough appraisers will have the necessary data points to support these increases, thereby eliminating much of the current appraisal risk for financed purchases.
Activity Over The Last 30 Days
The market fired up within the first couple weeks of January, but you know I never like to make statements about the market without also backing it up with data. So here are some highlights on the type of activity we’ve had over the last ~30 days (excluding relisted homes, Coops, and age-restricted housing). The data is of 7 a.m. Tuesday, February 18:
- 223 homes listed for sale
- Of those 223 homes, 150 (67.3%) are sold or under contract
- Of the 150 homes sold or under contract, only 16 (10.7%) were on the market for 10+ days and 97 (64.7%) were on the market for 6 days or less (indicative of multiple offers)
- Of the 73 homes still for sale, 37 (50.7%) are still within their first week on the market (high probability of going under contract soon) and 16 (21.9%) are $1.7M+
- Of the 25 that sold, only one sold for below the original asking price and it was in a condo building with a major pending lawsuit that makes it nearly impossible for a buyer to get a loan. 7 have sold for over ask.
New Supply Increasing, Total Supply Decreasing Less
There is a glimmer of hope for buyers amongst all the competition and price appreciation. Arlington had a YoY increase in new listings for December ’19 and January ’20 for the first time since October ’18 (Amazon HQ2 announced in November ’18). While demand is still outpacing new supply, resulting in 45(!) consecutive months of YoY decreases in housing supply, the drop in YoY supply was below 20% for the first time since October ’18 (-8.8% drop). So what does that mean in plain English? It’s getting less bad.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Here are some of my thoughts about what the rest of the spring/2020 might look like:
- Once more of the early sales close, asking prices should adjust upwards to reflect the current market so we won’t see the same volume of offers but I expect prices to maintain the recent increases and buyers will continue offering very attractive terms to sellers (little or no contingencies, quick closes, etc).
- In many cases there are 5-10 losing offers for every sale so those buyers are still active and possibly even more motivated, hence why I don’t see the market slipping in a couple of months after an early surge.
- I think there’s a good chance that we continue to see YoY increases in the number of new listings as homeowners decide to take advantage of the price increases over the last 18 months to move up, downsize or relocate to a less expensive market.
- Low interest rates, strong stock market/economic performance and the long-term local growth potential from Amazon, Nestle and others will keep demand high.
- I’m interested to see how the elections impact market conditions this year. Usually buyers freeze up and sellers hold back on listings in the months leading up to a national election. I wouldn’t be surprised to see demand dip this fall given how much negativity will surround this year’s campaigns. However, with so much momentum in the market and if supply also drops, I’m not confident that it will result in buyers paying less.
For those of you currently looking or planning to look outside of the Arlington/Alexandria markets hoping for an easier buying experience, I’m sorry to say that homes are moving quickly with multiple offers and favorable contingency terms (for sellers) all over Northern Virginia. Expect this level of activity/competition to last through May/June.
If you’d like to discuss the best buying or selling strategies in the current market, feel free to email me at [email protected] to schedule time to talk.
If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to set-up an in-person meeting to discuss local real estate, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at www.EliResidential.com. Call me directly at (703) 539-2529.
Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington D.C., and Maryland with RLAH Real Estate, 4040 N. Fairfax Dr. #10C Arlington, VA 22203, (703) 390-9460.