The average sales price of single-family homes across Arlington in November stayed well above $1 million but was down more than 20 percent from a year before, according to new data, even as townhouses and condos saw ever-increasing prices.
A total of 291 properties changed hands during the month, according to figures reported Dec. 14 by MarketStats by ShowingTime, based on listing data from Bright MLS. That’s up 9.3 percent from a year before, when the Arlington market was rebounding from the initial impacts of COVID on the economy.
The average sales price of all homes that sold stood at $789,481, down 8.4 percent, with the decline concentrated in the single-family sector, which dropped 20.7 percent to a still jaw-dropping $1,154,256.
Attached homes saw an average price of $574,204, up 5.7 percent, while in the condo sector, the average sales price of $537,597 was up 14.8 percent.
(An explanation of the condo-sector appreciation is in order. In the months following the onset of COVID in early 2020, high-end condos across Arlington sat on the market while prospective buyers gauged the impact of the pandemic on communal living. In more recent months, those same high-end condo properties have been among the strongest, sales-wise, in the area.)
A total 66 properties went to closing for more than $1 million during the month.
Add up the sales and prices, and November’s total market volume of just under $231 in Arlington was up 17 percent from a year before.
In perhaps further proof that local real estate has returned to more seasonal norms (stronger spring-summer, weaker fall-winter) compared to last year’s roller-coaster ride, it took an average of 31 days for a typical home to go from listing to ratified sales contract, up from 23 days a year before, and homes that found a buyer garnered 97.8 percent of listing price, down from 99 percent a year before.
Conventional mortgages represented the method of transacting sales in 200 cases, followed by cash (53) and VA-backed loans (21).
Inventory is again becoming a challenge, with the 370 properties on the market at the end of the month down almost a third from a year ago, and the number of new listings coming to market in November also down by roughly that much.
Where is the market headed? An analysis by Bright MLS shows that a large number of Arlington ZIP codes, led by 22206 and 22204 in the southern half of the county, are among the strongest regionally in terms of buyer interest. Pending sales, which generally translate into completed transactions within a month or two, were very healthy in November.
Figures represent most, but not all, sales during the period. November 2021 figures are preliminary and are subject to revision.