Ask Eli

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. Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Ask Eli, Live With Jean playlist. Enjoy!

Question: What is the normal commission rate for buyer-side real estate agents?

Answer: There has been a long-held belief that real estate agents should avoid any public discussion of commissions to avoid antitrust laws and ethics violations, but now that many popular public-facing real estate websites (e.g. Zillow and Redfin) are publishing buyer-side commissions, not to mention recent efforts by the National Association of Realtors to open-up transparency, I don’t see any reason why I can’t share that data the same way I do other relevant stats throughout the year.

The data and charts below represent the buyer-side commission published in the MLS for transactions in Arlington, sans any subjective commentary that could get me in trouble.

How Are Commissions Determined?

In most cases, commissions are set in the Listing Agreement between the seller and the seller’s real estate agent. A total commission fee is established, with a disclosed amount going towards the agent/broker representing the buyer of the home. That buyer-side commission is published in the MLS. The other portion of the commission/fees (that going to the listing agent/broker) is not and I do not have any broad-market insight into those numbers.

Buyer agents may establish minimum commissions or other fees in the Representation Agreement between the buyer-side agent/broker and the buyer, but this article/data is specific to the buyer-side commission, offered by the seller/listing broker, published in the MLS.

Buyer-side Commissions Down 11.4% Since 2014/2015

In 2014 and 2015, buyer-side commissions averaged 2.9% across all transactions in Arlington. As of 2021, the average buyer-side commission in Arlington dropped by 11.4%, to 2.57%. The biggest one-year drop occurred between 2018 (2.75% average) and 2019 (2.65% average).

Setting aside the historically high volume of real estate transacted in 2021, gross revenue (calculated by real estate sales volume multiplied by the average buyer-side commission percentage) to brokerages covering buyer-side transactions in Arlington remained fairly consistent year-to-year from 2014-2020 because lower buyer-side commissions were offset by rising real estate values.

So, for everybody out there with a dislike for us real estate agents, you can raise a glass and toast to the industry (at least the buyer-side of Arlington transactions) getting little-to-no raise in the seven years from 2014-2020!

3% Buyer-Side Commission, It Was Nice Knowing You!

In 2014 and 2015, just under 80% of buyer-side commissions in Arlington were 3% (blue bars in chart below) and ~17% were offered at 2.5% (orange bars in chart below). Fast-forward to 2021 and the numbers are almost perfectly reversed with 15% of sales offered at 3% buyer-side commission and 79% offered at 2.5%.

Since 2014, buyer-side commission was offered at 2.5% or 3% in nearly every Arlington transaction, making up 93.4%-96.5% of all transactions over each of the last eight years. After that, the next most common buyer-side commission offered was 2.75%, except in 2021 when 2% offerings overtook 2.75% offerings for third place for the first time, representing 2.5% of total transactions.

I could write pages on the structure of real estate commissions, the value of real estate agents and the make-up of our industry but that’s for another day!

If you’d like to discuss buying, selling, investing, or renting, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to discuss buying, selling, renting, or investing, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at EliResidential.com. Call me directly at 703-539-2529.

Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Ask Eli, Live With Jean playlist.

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.

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. Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Ask Eli, Live With Jean playlist. Enjoy!

Question: How many different real estate agents do business in Arlington in a typical year?

Answer: There were 3,535 real estate transactions in Arlington in 2021, well above the 2,770 and 2,782 in the previous two years, totaling over $2.786B in total sales volume, up from $2.16B and $1.96B in 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Most people would probably assume a few hundred different real estate agents worked on those 3,535 transactions, but in fact there were 2,799 different agents who were involved at least one transaction in Arlington last year (remember, most transactions have two agents involved).

I looked over the 2021 Arlington transaction data and pulled out some interesting highlights below. Of note, there are real estate teams that enter all sales under one agent’s name, so in these cases, individual numbers represent the production of multiple agents rolled into one agent’s name (I don’t have transparency into that data).

Here’s a link to an article I wrote in 2019 explaining how different agents/teams are structured.

• 9% of the agents who did business in Arlington last year were involved in just one Arlington transaction (many did other business outside of Arlington)
• Just 3.5% of agents handled 10 or more transactions in Arlington and .6% handled 20 or more transactions
• 1,894 different agents represented buyers in Arlington and 25 of them (1.3%) worked with 10 or more buyers in Arlington
• 1,639 different agents represented sellers in Arlington and 42 of them (2.6%) worked with 10 or more sellers in Arlington
• Of the 1,178 agents who handled 2 or more transactions in Arlington, they averaged 4.5 transactions each
• Keri Shull and her team once again led Arlington in transactions and sales volume, by a wide margin, participating in roughly 7.9% of the transactions in Arlington and handling just under $160M in Arlington sales volume

Most studies suggest that consumers are less concerned with measures like sales volume and more focused on the strength of communication and trustworthiness of the agent they’re working with, but market expertise and experience are still important factors for most people.

Many people see the low barrier to entry for real estate licensing, and the resulting high volume of agents, as a negative, but it also means that you have a lot of choices as a consumer and, with some effort, can make sure that you’re working with somebody who provides the type service you’re looking for and the experience to match.

If you’d like to discuss buying, selling, investing, or renting, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to discuss buying, selling, renting, or investing, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at EliResidential.com. Call me directly at 703-539-2529.

Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Ask Eli, Live With Jean playlist.

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.

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. Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Ask Eli, Live With Jean playlist. Enjoy!

Question: How are you seeing recent interest rate increases effect the real estate market?

Answer: Real estate has become significantly more expensive in the last 6 weeks due to a combination of another round of strong price growth and rapidly increasing interest rates.

Interest Rates Up, Prices…Up?

Theoretically, higher interest rates should put downward pressure on home prices, but over the last 4-5 weeks, as rates have been climbing, I’m seeing winning offers on single-family homes coming in 10-15% or more above the asking price (and prices justified by 2021 sales). I’ve also seen price increases and competition, to a lesser extent, in the condo market.

Why is this happening? Early rate increases seem to have had the opposite effect on prices than you’d expect because some buyers are choosing to pay more now rather than wait and risk higher rates (most projections show rates increasing through 2022). Time will tell if this gamble pays off or not.

How is this possible? We live in an area where incomes often support higher borrowing limits than buyers choose for their own budgets, especially dual-income households, so for many buyers, especially those with the means to purchase single-family homes, they have the borrowing capacity to pay more and some are choosing to do so.

At some point, higher interest rates should cool the market, but we’ve yet to reach that point locally.

The Effect Higher Rates Have on Payments

I mentioned earlier that to this point, higher rates, and the threat of more increases in the future, have caused prices to increase. In general, a .5% increase in interest rate has a similar effect on the monthly payment as a 6.5% increase in purchase price, so if a buyer expects interest rates to be .5% higher in a few months, they can claim a victory on their mortgage payments by paying 3-4% more now before the rate hike.

The table below is a simple reference point on how much a .5% increase in interest rate effects monthly payments at different loan amounts. Is the threat of those changes in payment enough to cause you to pay more now or make a purchase decision that you otherwise may not have?

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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. Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Ask Eli, Live With Jean playlist. Enjoy!

The 2022 Colors of the Year were recently released and this year we have Sherwin Williams Evergreen Fog, a subdued green, and Pantone Very Peri, a bold purple.

… And announcing colors of the year is about as far as I should take my commentary on interior design, so I’d like to re-introduce Caroline Goree ([email protected], (703) 994 5921), a fantastic Designer with a boutique Residential Interior Design Firm, Madigan Schuler, located in Alexandria, to provide insight into what trends she’s seeing in local home design.

In 2018, Caroline introduced us to one of my favorite design quotes from Matthew Frederick’s book, 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School, “Being nonspecific in an effort to appeal to everyone usually results in reaching no one.”

Take it away Caroline…

As I began to brainstorm the trends of 2022, it made me reflect on the 2020 design trends column I wrote for you just a month before the pandemic started. While many of the décor aspects are still quite relevant, so much of the residential design world has not only been impacted (thank you supply chain issues) but also influenced by the pandemic.

Although I would love to design with the sole purpose of creating a beautiful, aesthetically pleasing room, the functionality of spaces, furniture and fabrics has become more important than ever.

Built to Last

Between remote working, virtual learning and cancelled day care, our homes are being used hard, or as I say, being “loved” more than years prior. With this additional love comes lots of spills, crumbs and crushed cushions in the coveted corners of furniture for prime movie watching.

The additional wear on soft goods has created a spike in the “performance” product world (think indoor/outdoor rugs, fabric, etc). Instead of a beautiful natural fiber rug, we replaced these selections with polypropylene carpets that mimic the look and patterns of the sisal and seagrass products but are much more durable and easier to clean.

When reflecting on my business last year, 100% of my clients chose an indoor/outdoor material (Sunbrella), performance fabric (Crypton), or had their goods treated with a spill repellant technology (Fiber-Seal) for any furniture in the main spaces of their home. Furthermore, people quickly saw the downside of “disposable” furniture and were more open to investing in pieces built to last against the hours of lounging.

Pro Tip: When purchasing a new sofa, do your research. Ask if it is built with an “8-way hand tied coil” where craftsman tie springs eight ways from side to side, front to back and diagonally. This helps build furniture that is soft, flexible, comfortable and long lasting.

Textures, Wovens and Rattans… Oh My!

A trend we are seeing across the board is the use of texture within design. This could be a fabulous set of caned antique dining chairs to go around a fresh new table or a fun rattan accent chair to sit in the corner of an inviting family room. Even a piece as simple as woven framed mirror or foot stool can add that pop in a space that felt dull and tired.

Fabric like as Boucle’s (think fuzzy/curly multi-dimensional material) is not only used in the custom furnishings world but now a standard offering in many retail stores on their soft goods. I recently used a plush emerald green cable knit fabric for pillows on a simple white sofa to add depth and a punch of color (also a 2022 trend!)

Pro Tip: A little rattan goes a long way. Although it is one of my favorite trends, just a sprinkle throughout a room does the trick. No need to make your family room feel like a Palm Beach sun porch!

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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. Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Ask Eli, Live With Jean playlist. Enjoy!

Question: Have rental prices in Arlington followed a similar trend as the ownership market?

Answer: The rental market for apartments was hit hard during the pandemic with rental rates dropping roughly 15%-20% in Arlington and the D.C. Metro, but rents quickly climbed back up last year and seem to be stabilizing.

As you would expect, the pandemic had the opposite effect on the detached and townhouse rental markets, sending those prices up, but at a lower rate than the appreciation we’ve seen in the cost to buy.

Below, I’ve compiled rental data from the MLS in Arlington over the last five years. Note that very few commercial apartment buildings listed in the MLS so this data is limited to non-commercially owned rentals (for apartments, that is mostly individually owned condos).

Further, it’s difficult to say what percentage of non-commercially owned properties go through the MLS for rent but I would guess that it’s less than half of rented apartments, but likely a majority if detached and townhouse properties. Despite the limited data set, we still have more than enough information available through the MLS to generate outputs that represent the true rental market.

Here are some highlights from the data table:

• The total number of rentals that came to market in 2021 increased sharply over previous years with 48.8% more apartment rentals and 24.9% more detached/townhouse rentals, compared to the averages over the previous four years
• The increase in rent for 3-4 bedroom and 5+ bedroom single-family homes from 2019-2021 was 6% and 12.7%, respectively
• In 2021, the average tenant for a single-family or townhouse paid at or over the asking price
• Rental prices for 3-4 bedroom townhouses is nearly identical to those of 3-4 bedroom detached homes
• The average rent for a one-bedroom and two-bedroom condo is down from 2019 highs by 5.7% and 3.2%, respectively

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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. Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Ask Eli, Live With Jean playlist. Enjoy!

Question: How has the Arlington housing market compared to the rest of the region?

Answer: The 2022 housing market reached a full sprint by the 2nd week of January and the question everybody is trying to answer is whether we’re in for yet another monstrous year or if the craziness will settle as interest rates climb and more inventory hits the market in the next 4-8 weeks. My personal prediction (and hope) is that January and February will be intense but once we start seeing more properties listed for sale (March-June), the market should gain some stability, albeit still very competitive.

Cause of the Craziness

If there’s one metric that best illustrates why the January market is already so brutal, it’s Months of Supply, a measure of current supply and the pace of demand. Housing economists say that ~6 months of supply is a balanced market, and the lower that number, the more favorable things are for sellers.

Nearly all local and regional markets including Arlington, Northern Virginia, and the D.C. Metro closed out December with the lowest Months of Supply for single-family detached homes ever with Northern Virginia and the D.C. Metro heading into January 2022 with less than two WEEKS of supply and Arlington coming in just a fraction over two weeks. Loudoun County entered the new year with ONE week of supply…

Even the condo market made significant improvements in the last quarter of 2021 after taking quite a beating during the first 12 months of the pandemic. On a quarterly basis, Months of Supply for the condo market in Northern Virginia, the D.C. Metro and Arlington dropped significantly relative to the last 5-6 quarters. Months of Supply in Arlington’s condo market is now much closer to pre-pandemic levels than where it has been since the pandemic started.

The Problem is High Demand, Not Under-Supply

Months of Supply is affected by supply and demand, but the incredibly low readings for single-family detached homes are being driven almost completely by insanely high demand (see Absorption Rate chart below) because we have had a healthy/normal dose of inventory listed for sale over the last 18 months (see New Listings charts below).

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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. Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Ask Eli, Live With Jean playlist. Enjoy!

Question: How close are the County’s tax assessments to actual market values?

Answer: Last week, Arlington announced that the next round of annual tax reassessments would increase the total residential assessment by 5.8% (this is overall, changes to individual home/land values will vary significantly). This change is meant to align with the increase in market values of Arlington homes, but assessed values remain well below actual market values for most homes. In fact, 88.6% of homes sold in 2021 sold for above their most recent tax assessment value.

Homes in Arlington that sold in 2021 sold for an average of 14% (median 12.3%) above their most recent tax assessment. Last year, that difference came to an average of 18.2% and in 2019 it was 14.2%.

Homeowners in the 22205 zip code benefit the most by underassessment’s with an average difference between 2021 sold prices and their assessments of 20.9%, or nearly $181,000. Owners of single-family homes and townhouses (17.6% average difference) benefit more from underassessment’s than condo owners (9.5% average difference).

If County assessments were representative of actual market values, the average Arlington homeowner would pay over $1,000 more per year in property taxes. So don’t forget to send the Department of Real Estate Assessments a thank you card!

If you believe that the County’s assessment of your home’s value is too high, you have the right to appeal the assessed value, but that must be done by March 1.

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to discuss buying, selling, renting, or investing, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at EliResidential.com. Call me directly at 703-539-2529.

Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Ask Eli, Live With Jean playlist.

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.

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. Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Ask Eli, Live With Jean playlist. Enjoy!

Question: How did Arlington’s single-family home market perform in 2021?

Answer: Last week we reviewed the performance of the condo market so this week we will take a look at the market that has been a topic of conversation across the country for well over a year — the single-family (detached) housing market.

Appreciation Was Strong, Not Exceptional

The 2021 Arlington single-family market was fiercely competitive and experienced its highest appreciation in years. However, the shift in market conditions (demand and price appreciation) was not nearly as dramatic as other regional or national markets that have made headline news over the last 12+ months.

Why? Because thanks to strong market fundamentals and Amazon’s 2018 HQ2 announcement, the Arlington market was already exceptionally competitive and expensive, relative to most other regional and national markets, prior to the COVID-driven housing market mayhem.

Here are some highlights from the chart and table below (22206 and 22209 are not included due to lack of single-family homes sold):

• The average and median price of a single-family home in Arlington increased in 2021 by 6.2% and 7.2%, respectively. Excellent appreciation for any homeowner, but not the double-digit appreciation other regional and national markets experienced last year.
• Nearly 50% of homes sold for more than the asking price and didn’t last more than one week on market.
• More single-family homes were listed and sold in 2021 than any of the last five years. Had supply been closer to the ~1,000 homes sold in the previous three years, I suspect average and median prices may have climbed closer to double-digit year-over-year increases.
• The median price of a house in Arlington exceeded $1M for the first time in 2021. The average price climbed above $1.2M in 2021 and has been above $1M since 2018.
• The average buyer paid 1.1% over the asking price, which equates to about $13,000 over ask.
• Of the homes that went under contract in one week or less (just under half), the average buyer paid 3.7% over the asking price.
• In 2017, the majority of homes (39%) sold for less than $800k, in 2021 just 15% of homes sold for less than $800k (this includes teardowns) and 19% sold for at least $1.6M.
• In each of the last three years, over 40% of homes have sold for $800k-$1.2M.

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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. Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Ask Eli, Live With Jean playlist. Enjoy!

Question: How did the Arlington condo market perform in 2021?

Answer: Happy New Year everybody! I hope you’re all enjoying the beautiful snow.

We’ve reached a clear market stabilization point in Arlington’s condo market after an up-and-down 2-3 years. The condo market surged from the 2nd half of 2018 through pre-COVID 2020, led by the announcement of Amazon HQ2 in November 2018, then was hit hard by COVID with many owners and investors flooding the market with supply while demand dropped. This downward pressure lasted from the Summer of 2020 through Q1 2021 and has since stabilized.

Note: The statements and data below are for apartment-style condos (buildings/shared entry) and does not include townhouse-style condos (direct entry) or senior living.

Amazon HQ2 and COVID Were (Mostly) Offsetting Forces

The pricing and demand data are such that the upward pressure from Amazon HQ2 and the downward pressure from COVID seem to have mostly offset each other resulting in modest-to-moderate annual price appreciation over the last 5+ years in the Arlington condo market.

Prices from the 2019 market surge have stuck, with the average price of a one-bedroom in 2021 being 1.5% higher than in 2019 and the average two-bedroom in 2021 being 5.6% higher than in 2019. For the entire Arlington condo market, the average cost of a condo in 2021 rose 2.9% over 2019 values.

If you remove new construction condo sales, the average one-bedroom in 2021 is just 1% higher than in 2019 and the average two-bedroom in 2021 is only .9% higher than in 2019. For the entire Arlington condo market, the average cost of a condo in 2021 rose just .3% over 2019 values.

The other interesting takeaway from the data below is that key demand metrics like average sold price to original asking price, percentage of homes selling within 10 days on market, and average days on market have all settled back to what we saw before the Amazon HQ2 surge (and had been for a while before that).

I think that we are positioned for moderate condo appreciation in the coming years, unless we undergo a significant restructuring of office usage. This is based on a few key points:

• Condo values have held on, and even appreciated slightly since 2019, despite the massive supply hitting the market over the last 18 months. Historically low interest rates and rising single-family/townhouse prices certainly helped drive that.
• Amazon HQ2 will continue hiring thousands/tens of thousands of people over the next decade and driving major commercial development in Arlington
• The pipeline for new condo development is practically non-existent and it takes years to fill that pipeline
• In many cases, apartment rents are now higher than they were pre-pandemic, making buying more attractive
• Wider gaps between condo prices and single-family/townhouse prices drive more buyers to condos, if they wish to remain in Arlington

Market Performance Similar Across All Price Points

Sometimes entire markets are led or held back by smaller sub-sections of the market and that gets lost when you take broad averages. I broke the Arlington condo market down into the lower 25%, middle 50%, and upper 25% of price points in each of the last three years to see if one section of the market might have an unnoticed influence on the overall numbers.

As it turns out, all three price cross-sections of the Arlington condo market have performed very similarly over the last three years, which I think is representative of a healthy market.

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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. Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Ask Eli, Live With Jean playlist. Enjoy!

Question: Are there ways to buy a home without putting 20% down?

Answer: I hope everybody is enjoying the holidays and some time off!

Next month we will take some time to look at market performance in 2021, but this week I’ll address one of the most common questions I get — is it necessary to save 20% for a down payment in order to buy a home? Studies show that the most common reason people give for not buying a home is not having enough savings for a down payment.

About 1/3 of Arlington buyers purchase a home with less than 20% down and for many buyers, especially first-time home buyers, they’re putting as little as 3-5% down.

Programs For Everybody

For those with good credit, there are popular Conventional Loan programs allowing for as little as 3% down and for those with lower credit scores, FHA Loan programs range from 3.5%-10% down. There are also some exceptional 10-15% down programs available to those with great credit and good incomes that do not include mortgage insurance premiums.

Specialty Programs For Military and Doctors

If you are an active-duty or former service member you likely know about VA Loans that allow purchases with zero down. Doctors also have access to special loan programs offering great rates with low down payments for large loan amounts.

Mortgage Insurance

Many loans with less than 20% down will include mortgage insurance, which I wrote about here. It will increase your monthly payment and is usually a higher the less you put down. However, there are options to get rid of the mortgage insurance fees by buying it out or applying for early removal after a couple of years.

There are also loan options that do not include mortgage insurance at all.

Impact on Negotiations

Clients often ask me if a lower down payment will impact their ability to negotiate, so in 2018 I did an analysis on the topic. The results showed that only cash buyers (100% down) and buyers not putting any money down were materially impacted by their down payment, the negotiation leverage was similar for everybody in between.

However, it would be misleading to suggest that down payment percentage doesn’t have any effect. Most sellers will respond more enthusiastically to higher down payments, and this comes into play in competitive scenarios (multiple offers), which are common in Arlington and the surrounding D.C. Metro neighborhoods. When sellers are choosing between multiple, similar offers, buyers with higher down payments have an advantage.

Buyers can combat the potential negative impact of a lower down payment in multiple offer scenarios by getting a strong pre-approval letter from a reputable local lender, offering to get pre-approved by a lender of the seller’s choosing, increasing the Earnest Money Deposit, or several other tweaks to the contract that will be looked at favorably by the seller.

Favorite Mortgage Programs

If you’d like any additional information or recommendations on lenders or loan programs, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].

If you’d like to discuss buying, selling, investing, or renting, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to discuss buying, selling, renting, or investing, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at EliResidential.com. Call me directly at 703-539-2529.

Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Ask Eli, Live With Jean playlist.

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.

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. Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Ask Eli, Live With Jean playlist. Enjoy!

Question: What were some of the most expensive homes sold this year in the DMV?

Answer: Happy holidays and new year everybody! I hope you’ve been enjoying this unusually warm weather and reconnecting with family and friends for some holiday cheer, we all need it!

It’s always fun to look back at the most expensive homes sold in our nook of the world, so without further ado, let’s take a look at the most expensive homes sold this year in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Note: this includes what is entered into the MLS, it’s certainly possible (likely) that expensive homes have traded hands outside of the MLS.

The most expensive home sold this year in all three DMV states is a 16,000 SqFt home built in 2018 that sits on 16.5 acres along the Potomac River that sold for an incredible $48,000,000! That beats out last year’s leading sale by $3M.

Top 5 Most Expensive Sales in Arlington

While Arlington’s average and median prices are sky-high, it doesn’t have many ultra high-end properties we see elsewhere in the region. Arlington’s most expensive sale this year came from the top floor of the new luxury condo building, Pierce, at $3,920,000. The next most expensive home, pictured above, is a single-family home in Lyon Village, sold for $3,750,000.

Top 5 Most Expensive Sales in Alexandria

The most expensive sale in Alexandria was a beautiful single-family home built in 1800 on a double lot in the heart of Old Town, that sold for $5,000,000.

Top 5 Most Expensive Sales in Fairfax County

Fairfax County boasts the two most expensive sales in D.C., Maryland and Virginia at $48M and $15M. Both homes sit on the Potomac River.

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