Spring Curb Appeal Could Expand NoVA's Inventory Of Homes For Sale

NORTHERN VIRGINIA — Homeowners in Northern Virginia who are thinking about selling should seriously consider putting their house on the market now, according to a top local Realtor.

The inventory of homes for sale in Northern Virginia is at historically low levels. The available housing inventory in January was down by more than 46 percent from the same time in 2021, the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors said in its latest report.

“Less inventory for buyers means less seller competition and higher prices,” Rob Traister, a Realtor and Associate Broker with RE/MAX 100, told Patch. “Buyers are paying well over asking and waiving most or all of the normal contingencies.”

With warmer weather on the horizon, Northern Virginia will start to see more homes come onto the market, creating more competition among sellers. Curb appeal is better when things start blooming and turning green, so a lot of sellers wait until spring to list, he said.

For homebuyers, Traister, who is licensed in Virginia and Maryland, is telling them to get their financing in order and to find out if their lenders can do a full underwrite on a property, so they can close faster when they find a house they like. Sometimes closing sooner is more attractive to a seller than getting a higher price.

Sellers who need time to find a new home often request a rent-back period after the transaction closes. Buyers who have the flexibility to accommodate those requests — and many let the seller stay free of charge for that period — make their offers more attractive, according to Traister.

SEE ALSO: NoVA Housing Forecast: Will 2022 Bring Another Sellers' Market?

Despite a severe shortage in available housing, the number of closings has remained in line with previous years, Traister said.

In January, 1,172 homes were sold in Northern Virginia, slightly lower than the number of homes sold in January 2021, but higher than the 1,065 homes old in January 2020 — prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — and above the 1,128 closed transactions in 2019, according to NVAR data.

“There’s a perception that January and February are slower than other months, but I've been busier since the beginning of the year than I was during the same period in previous years,” Traister said. “Homes available when inventory is at its lowest sell briskly, and that's what we've seen since the start of the year. Sellers would do well to list as soon as possible to take advantage of the continued lack of inventory.”

But intense market activity over the past two years has resulted in a smaller number of available homes, creating pricing conditions that continue to favor home sellers, according to NVAR.

“This ‘early spring’ market definitely presents more of a challenge for buyers than last year,” Heather Embrey, NVAR president-elect and associate broker with Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate Premier in Falls Church, said in February. “With 46 percent fewer active listings in January compared to last year, sellers are still holding all of the cards.”

The January median home sale price in Northern Virginia was $571,000, an increase of 3.2 percent compared to the median sale price of $553,500 in January 2021.

“These are unprecedented times with so many atypical factors shaping the market,” said Ryan McLaughlin, CEO of NVAR. “We continue to have a strong sellers’ market, which is presenting challenges for first-time homebuyer since they are competing with resellers who often have a lot of equity to use to buy a new home.”

The Federal Reserve is considering hiking interest rates at a faster pace than was originally planned. Rising interest rates may push some potential buyers out of the market, but it will spur others to lock in before rates increase again.

“I do expect an increase in inventory, but not enough to catch up to or outpace demand,” Traister said. "Until the demand for housing is outpaced by supply, this sellers’ market is likely to continue into the foreseeable future."