05/19/2026
Here's a summary of the April Northern Virginia market data...back by popular demand! Ok, well not really. More like I haven't had the time since early February to put this together as the market has been hectic! March and April embodied all of the characteristics of an intense spring market. It's been the classic story of insufficient inventory and heated buyer demand in the those two months, in particular. I myself have had 8 transactions since March.
The single statistic from April that speaks the loudest to me is the median days on market (DOM) of properties. In April, it was 8 days overall - down from 36 days in January. In Arlington County, median DOM in April was 7 days v. 44 days in January! Why the remarkable difference? More sales demand and less inventory. This was especially apparent in April, the month that is historically the peak spring market month every year. This April, pending sales were up +9.3% compared to April 2025 with new listings only increasing by +7.1% compared to a year ago. Active listings were up even more modestly at only +5.3% year over year.
In spite of some expectations that we'd see a burst of inventory due to workforce impacts in the DMV during 2025, that never fully materialized. In fact, inventory is down, including in Arlington County which experienced a decrease of -.33 months to 2.18 months of inventory and Fairfax County with just 1.74 months of inventory. These numbers are well below what we would need to enable the market to be even close to balanced between buyers and sellers. Because of the inventory imbalance, the median sales price continues to rise, at +4.1% year to date compared to 2025.
All of this being said, the data shows that it's the single family home sector that is the most challenging for buyers and most bountiful for sellers. And it is the condominium sector that shows the greatest opportunity for buyers. There are 3.85 months of condo inventory (up .61 months compared to a year ago) versus just around 2 months of single family home and townhome options for buyers. Relatedly, the median sales price for condominiums has decreased by -1.3% year over year. More inventory = more options for buyers = more days on market and lower closed prices.
I anticipate we'll see slightly more balanced numbers in May and even more so in June. However, it will remain a sellers' market except for properties that are over-priced and in lesser condition.
See full report here - https://image.m.brightmls.com/lib/fe2b11747364047b741278/m/1/6032547d-90d3-47d9-94ce-f6d2ae0dd160.pdf.
