Inventory remains the constraining factor in the Fairfax County home-sales market, pushing down sales in February even as prices continue reaching new heights.
A total of 933 properties changed hands across the region last month, down 7.5 percent from the 1,009 transactions in January 2021, based on data provided by MarketStats by ShowingTime based on listing activity from Bright MLS.
The condo market saw a slight year-over-year increase in sales, while the single-family and townhouse markets were down.
That drop, however, needs to be taken in perspective, as the Fairfax market in late 2020 and early 2021 was on a red-hot streak following the initial blast of COVID during the first half of 2020. The 933 properties that sold in February 2022 were well above the same month in the pre-pandemic years of 2019 (781) and 2018 (768).
Sales prices continued their growth in all sectors of the market, with the average sales price of $713,873 last month representing an increase of 8.5 percent from a year before.
Among the various components of the market:
• The average sales price of single-family homes was $1,029,954, up 10.8 percent from a year before.
• The average sales price of attached homes, such as townhouses and rowhouses, was $458,435, up 6.5 percent.
• The average sales price of condominiums was $344,493, up 5.3 percent.
A total 147 Fairfax properties went to closing for $1 million or more, including 11 that sold for more than $2.5 million and two for more than $5 million.
Add up the sales and prices, and total sales volume for the month stood at $648.4 million, down 1.6 percent from a year before.
Inventory remained a challenge, with the 531 properties available countywide at the end of the month marking a decline of 45 percent from the (already constrained) inventory of a year before.
Homes that did come on the market were snapped up fast, taking just an average of 21 days to go from listing to ratified sales contract (compared to 24 days a year before) and garnering 102.5 percent of list price, up from 100.8 percent a year before.
Conventional mortgages represented the method of transacting sales in 689 cases, followed by cash (107) and VA-backed loans (89).
Looking forward, new pending sales reported in February were up 2.7 percent from a year before, although total pending sales were still in negative territory, down by 8 percent.
Figures represent most, but not all, homes on the market. All February 2022 figures are preliminary and are subject to revision.