As the spring real estate market begins to hit its stride across Northern Virginia, most sellers are holding steady in their asking prices.
Four of the five major localities across Northern Virginia are seeing relatively few homeowners cut their asking prices in a bid to spur interest. That’s according to new data from the Bright MLS multiple-listing service.
Based on the week ending March 31:
• Arlington saw price cuts among 4.8 percent of homes on the market.
• Fairfax County recorded cuts on 3.9 percent of properties.
• Loudoun County saw cuts on 3.5 percent of homes.
• Prince William County saw reductions on 4 percent of abodes.
The exception was Alexandria, which saw weekly reductions on 6.3 percent of properties, above the D.C. region’s overall figure of 5.4 percent.
In Bright MLS parlance, the Washington region includes the District of Columbia; Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun counties and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church in Virginia; and Montgomery, Prince George’s and Frederick counties in Maryland. It does not include Prince William County.
Cutting listing prices can be a tool to show prospective purchasers that the seller is motivated, but they also can lead to a bevy of lowball offers from buyers and investors circling the waters in search of deals.
In smaller communities across the region, the percentage of homes showing cuts can be more pronounced because of the modest number of properties on the market at any one time. In the smallish city of Falls Church for the week ending March 31, for instance, cuts were recorded in 12.5 percent of properties, but that worked out to one home of the eight on the market during the week.
For more data, see the Website at brightmls.com/marketupdate.
