Washington, DC
The District continued to set itself apart from the rest of the Metro area, with both median sales price and sales volume improving over last year. Sales price increased almost 3% YoY to reach $565,000 for the month. Sales volume in DC jumped 10% YoY with 695 closings, with the strongest growth among detached, single-family sales. 125 detached homes closed in December, while 272 townhomes and 298 condos sold as well, each improving 7.1% and 10.4% YoY, respectively.

Fairfax County, VA
Fairfax County followed the general Metro trend of rising median sales price, while sales volume regressed slightly. 1,024 homes sold in December, down 5.8% from last year, while median sales price improved 5.2% to $494,500. Most of the sales for December were detached, single-family homes with 533 closings, down 4.3% YoY. Townhome sales diminished the most with only 282 closings, a 12% decrease over last December. Condo closings remained virtually unchanged at 209.

Arlington County, VA
December proved to be even more of a challenge for Arlington County – both median sales price and sales volume fell short of last year’s levels. Median sales price for the county dipped only slightly to $553,000, a 2% decrease YoY. The lack of growth can be seen more clearly when looking at sales volume, as only 188 homes sold (-16%). Closings across all property types failed to improve, with townhome sales struggling to most. Only 20 townhomes closed last month, down 31% compared to last December. Detached, single-family homes and condos decreased as well, 14.7% ad 13.3%, respectively.

The lack of inventory in the market is affecting buyers and sellers alike with abnormally low sales volume and minimal price growth. I believe in 2018 we will see these trends revert back to typical market behavior due to an expected influx in inventory for the Spring. A combination of patient homeowners, who have been waiting to list their homes until Spring, and a surge of new construction deliveries will alleviate the constricted supply.