Don’t panic – much – but the average sales price for single-family properties that sold in March across Arlington declined slightly from a year before.
The average price of $1,355,179 was down three-quarters of a percent from the $1,365,411 recorded a year earlier, according to figures reported April 10 by Bright MLS, based on data from MarketStats by ShowingTime.
Not only is that down year-over-year, it also is off from the $1,401,633 average single-family-home price recorded in February.
Is it just a one-time blip, or could it signify that a ceiling in housing costs is being reached? Time will tell, but the fact that homes going to market across Arlington garnered on average more than 100 percent of listing price in March suggests there is no correction underway.
Sales for the month also were down, largely due to a tight inventory, with the 176 transactions off 10.7 percent from a year before.
While detached homes saw a drop in average sales prices, the other two legs of the stool posted double-digit increases:
• The average sales price for attached homes (townhouses, rowhouses and condominiums) was $630,895, up 14.6 percent.
• The average sales price in the condo-only sector was $594,209, up 16.7 percent.
(Both of those figures were boosted somewhat by a number of pricey condominium sales during the month.)
Add it all up, and the overall average sales price of $881,925 was up 4.5 percent from $844,318. The median sales price of $717,500 was up 10.4 percent from $650,000.
A total of 56 properties went to closing for more than $1 million during the month, including three for more than $2.5 million.
Total sales volume for the month was $152.6 million, down 9.2 percent from a year before.
Conventional mortgages represented the method of transacting sales in 114 cases, followed by cash (39) and VA-backed loans (13).
Inventory still remains very tight, with the 224 properties on the market at the end of March representing a drop-off of 24 percent from a year before. The number of listings coming to market during the month was down 16 percent.
Where is the market headed? The number of pending sales reported in March was up slightly from a year before, but the number of transactions moving into that category during the month was down about 5.4 percent.
Figures represent most, but not all, homes on the market. All March 2024 figures are preliminary and are subject to revision.
