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Home sales in Arlington were down slightly year-on-year in September, but according to new data they were at the upper end of the 10-year range last September.
Meanwhile, the average single-family home appreciation slowed significantly while it reversed in the townhouse and condominium markets.
Whether these limp sales prices are a temporary spike or a sign that the Arlington market may have finally reached a point where housing costs are too far out of reach for many remains the million dollar question.
The 242 properties that closed last month were 11.7 percent down from 274 last September. It is worth noting, however, that the property market has moved from the early stages of COVID between late summer and late autumn last year. caught up on lockdowns that lead to above-average sales figures.
If you look back on September sales for the previous decade, the numbers for 2020 look good. Sales ranged from 190 (in 2019) to 254 (2015).
Both average ($ 645,000) and average sales prices ($ 725,956) were included for the month, but that was in part because fewer single-family homes were part of total sales. Single-family homes accounted for 33 percent of transactions in September, compared with 42 percent in the previous year.
Even so, the average sales prices were relatively flat on one leg of the home sales stool, on the other two:
• The average single-family home sales price increased 1.6 percent to $ 1,174,898.
• The median sales price for townhouses (townhouses, townhouses, and condos) was $ 504,256, down 10.8 percent.
• The average condominium price alone was $ 457,673, down 11 percent. A total of 41 properties changed hands for more than $ 1 million, including a trio for at least $ 2.5 million.
When you add it all up, total revenue for the month was $ 176.2 million, 21.7 percent less than last year’s $ 225 million.
Homes that closed in September spent an average of 30 days between listing and ratification of the sale, up from 21 the previous year, and fetching 97.8 percent of the original list price, up from 100.2 percent. Both of these indicate that the local market’s engine is still purring well, but is no longer overheating.
(Turn those frowns on your head, prospective home sellers: The number of outstanding contracts recorded in September rose 18 percent year over year, suggesting a few stronger months of sales.)
Of the homes sold in September, conventional mortgages were the method of closing the deal in 174 cases, followed by cash (43) and VA-backed loans (14).
Inventories remain relatively small – the 540 properties in the market at the end of the month equate to 2.5 months of supply, a number that, while moving towards equilibrium with buyers, is still leaning towards sellers.
The numbers represent most, but not all, of sales during the period. The figures for September 2021 are preliminary and can be revised.