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 did Arlington’s single-family housing market perform in 2020?
Answer: Despite the pandemic, the single-family housing market produced strong growth locally and nationally, primarily due to interest rates setting record lows throughout the year and a sharp change in housing criteria due to ongoing work/school-from-home demands. While Arlington experienced strong growth, less expensive markets farther from D.C. saw sharp increases in demand and explosive growth.
More Expensive…
In Arlington, the average and median price for a single-family home increased by 4.9% and 5.7%, respectively, after similar increases in 2019. The growth showed up in all ends of the market, including Arlington’s most expensive homes, with another record-shattering year for the number of $2 million to $3 million homes sold. Only 17% of single-family homes sold for less than $800,000 and about half of those were tear-downs or required major renovations.
Volume Still Down…
Despite a very slow rollout of homes for sale in the first half of the year due to lockdown measures and pandemic fears, market volume caught up quickly in the second half of the year, ending up with 13 more homes sold in 2020 than in 2019, but still approximately 10% lower than 2015 to 2018.
Faster Pace Sales…
Average and median days on market dropped for the fifth year in a row to 7 and 22.2 days, respectively, and the percentage of homes selling in the first week increased for the fifth year in a row, hitting the 50% mark in 2020. The average and median price for a home purchase within the first week on the market was 1.1% and 2% over the asking price, respectively. The takeaway? If you’re searching for a home, be prepared to act quickly and pay above the asking price for something new-to-market.
Six Interesting Charts
Below, I put together a series of charts to visualize how the Arlington housing market performed in 2020 and how that performance compares to the 2015 to 2019 markets.
If you’d like to discuss buying or selling strategies, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].
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 DC, and Maryland with RLAH Real Estate, 4040 N Fairfax Dr #10C Arlington VA 22203. 703-390-9460.