Scarce Inventory Still Making It Hard To Become NoVA Homebuyer: NVAR

NORTHERN VIRGINIA — The number of home sales across the nation, including in Northern Virginia, slowed compared to April 2021. But in Northern Virginia, home sales grew slightly in April compared to March, according to the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors.

Northern Virginia home sales for April were down 13.05 percent compared to April 2021, but up 5.8 percent from March 2022.

“It continues to be a good time to be a seller despite shrinking sales. Like the nation overall, supply and demand continue to be out of alignment, favoring sellers as prices rise,” NVAR CEO Ryan McLaughlin said in a statement. “That’s even more true in our region. Inventory is significantly scarcer here than nationally, making it that much harder to be a buyer.”

NVAR represents Realtors in Fairfax County, Arlington County, City of Fairfax, City of Falls Church and City of Alexandria.

Rob Traister, a Realtor and Associate Broker with RE/MAX 100, told Patch, said the expectation is that home prices in Northern Virginia will continue to rise, albeit at a slower pace.

Existing housing inventory is sitting longer on the market than it was a few months ago, Traister said. An agent recently sent Traister a "lowball offer" on a listing. The agent explained that his clients decided to submit the lowball offer "because the market has changed," Traister said.

Traister's clients declined the offer and subsequently received better ones.

Similar to Northern Virginia, the inventory of homes for sale remained low across the nation while prices continued to edge up, despite a jump in mortgage rates. In Northern Virginia, the average price for a home in April was $776,162, up 7.72 percent compared to April 2021, according to NVAR's latest data.

The average price of detached homes in Northern Virginia is now nearly $1.1 million.

Homes stayed on the market in April for about 11 days, down from 14 days in April 2021. Nationwide, properties typically remained on the market for 17 days in April, unchanged from March 2022 and April 2021.

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