Typical seasonal cooling combined with high purchase costs and a lack of inventory are challenging buyers across Northern Virginia, but some Arlington communities remain abuzz with activity.
That’s according to the monthly T3 Home-Demand Index, which looks at buyer interest all the way down to the ZIP code level.
The most recent report was issued Dec. 11 by Bright MLS, and gave three Arlington ZIP codes – 22206, 22201 and 22202 – high marks for overall buyer activity
The open-ended scorecard gauges buyer-interest conditions as High with any total above 130; Moderate from 110-129; Steady from 90-109; and Slow from 70-89. Any score less than 70 suggests the market of available homes is limited.
For the month, Arlington scored 98 on the survey, down from 104 a month before but higher than the 90 two months ago.
That compared to an overall score of 56 for the metro area, down from 58 a year ago.
By ZIP code, the Arlington pack was led by 22206 (145) and 22201 (121), followed by 22202 (118), 22209 (99), 22204 (98), 22203 (86), 22207 (75), 22205 (74) and 22213 (33).
Alexandria, which in mid-summer had briefly risen above Arlington to lead the field, was second in the new report at 74. Prince George’s County was third at 65.
Also on the list, Falls Church came in at 61, the District of Columbia at 57, Fairfax County at 53, Montgomery County at 50, Loudoun County at 49, the city of Fairfax at 47 and Frederick County at 40.
“While demand for entry-level single-family homes rose slightly in November, buyer interest in all other types of homes across the Washington metro area decreased,” said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist of Bright MLS.
For the year, demand peaked in October then fell through September, when it bottomed out before rebounding slightly in October and November.
For full data all the way to the ZIP-code level across the region, see the Website at homedemandindex.com.
