Home Sales Still Sluggish Across Arlington

Sun-Gazette, November 11, 2006
By SCOTT McCAFFREY

Home sales across Arlington in October remained soft, with average sales prices down nearly 20 percent and inventory remaining high headed into the slower winter season.

The good news? It's taking less time to sell a home in Arlington than in most other jurisdictions across Northern Virginia, and sellers are getting a marginally higher percentage of their original list price than those in other parts of the region.

A total of 197 single-family homes, townhouses and condominiums in Arlington changed hands in October, according to figures released Nov. 10 by Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, the area's multiple-listing service.

That's down 19.6 percent from the 245 units that were sold in October 2005.

Counting all units, the average price for properties sold in October was $520,047, down about 9 percent from the $570,883 recorded 12 months before.

The average original listing price of those homes had been $555,819, meaning sellers received 93.6 percent of original list price, down from 98.5 percent a year ago. During the height of the boom market, Arlington homes, on average, were selling for more than what they had been listed for, as buyers bid up the price in a frenzy.

Perhaps not surprisingly, average sales prices varied by type and size of home.

Among single-family homes, the average sales price was $488,583 for those with one or two bedrooms; $608,228 for those with three bedrooms; and $826,850 for those with four or more bedrooms.

For townhouses, the average price was $450,436 for those with one or two bedrooms, $662,900 for those with three bedrooms. There were no sales during the month of townhouses with four or more bedrooms.

The average sales price for condominiums in October was $399,428.

Average sales price also varied by location. In North Arlington's 22207 ZIP Code area, the average price was $801,130, up nearly 7 percent from a year ago. That ZIP code has the largest concentration of single-family homes, so its average price is not diluted by large numbers of less-pricey condominiums.

The average sales price in 22201, also in North Arlington, was $540,488. In South Arlington communities, the average sales price in the 22204 ZIP code was $482,736, and in the 22206 ZIP code, it was $384,777.

It took an average of 75 days for a home to go from listing to ratified contract, which is three times longer than a year ago. At the market's peak, the average number of days on the market contracted to as little as 14.

For sellers, the silver lining was the more than a third of homes sold within a month of listing, and more than half sold within two months. Historically, across Virginia, the average number of days on the market has been about 90.

A total of 374 properties came onto the Arlington market for sale during the month, bringing the number of active listings to nearly 1,200. Slightly under half those properties were single-family homes and townhouses, with the remainder being condominiums.

Figures include most, but not all, homes on the market. Figures are preliminary and are subject to revision.