3Q07 Arlington Sales: 1,831 Reasons Why Arlington Beats the National Trend
November 20th, 2007 Categories: Around Arlington County, Ballston, Buyers, Clarendon, Columbia Pike, Courthouse, Crystal City, East Falls Church, Local Real Esate Sales Numbers & Things, Nauck, Pentagon City, Real Estate News, Rossyln, Sellers, Shirlington, Virginia Square
I haven’t been known to publish much Arlington real estate sales data on this blog. Mostly because I’m still testing the best way to present it. So bear with me while I give you some numbers. Sooner or later I’ll find a format that I like.
And don’t worry– I’m not going to list 1,831 lines of data. But– you know what that number is? It’s a way to get your attention. NVAR released it’s 3Q07 sales data. They publish all sorts of interesting and not so interesting stuff. It depends on your point of view. If you want to see it all– by county for the metropolitan area, by zip code, I encourage you to visit their website to get your number fix.
But, if you don’t have the time and want to know the Arlington sales for 3Q07, stick around.
Note– these numbers does not discriminate between condos, townhomes and single family homes.
1,831 – the number of homes still on the market 9.30.07 – the last day of the quarter.
45 – the average number of days on the market for all Arlington homes sold in the third quarter of 2007.
$571,900 - the average sales price for homes sold in Arlington.
95.9% is the average amount of money a person got in their sold price when compared to their original list price.
11.1% – the average increase– yes, I said increase, in the sales prices for Arlington homes sold in 3Q07 when compared to the 3Q06.
Now, these numbers are put together by economists employed by the Realtors Association. So you would expect a certain spin. Well, the data doesn’t spin. Sometimes my head spins when I have to look at all this data- but the data, in itself, doesn’t spin.
What does have spin– after all, we are in Washington, DC, where everything has spin; where the term spin doctor originated; where people make a very good business out of being Spin Drs, but I digress. What does have spin: the economists’ opinion. And what is their spin? That on a scale of 1–5 where 1 is a total buyer’s market and 5 is a total seller’s market, Arlington is a 3. Yes - it’s right in the middle.
I don’t depend on an economist’s opinion to tell me how the Arlington real estate market is running. After all– I’m in the middle of the market everyday. I know how I feel about the market. So I look at the data– toss is around in my head. Then I agree or disagree.
This month I agree.
Here’s why:
- I’ve been busy all year with people interested in buying Arlington real estate;
- All my appraisals for my sales have come in OVER the sales price;
- I have competed– yes competed– with other buyer agents for the same listing;
- Arlington unemployment is still under 2% (1.9% to be exact). That’s considered a worker’s shortage. So people are moving here with new jobs.
I spend a good amount of time trying to make this chart look pretty and fancy and use colors that match my blog. I just have to post it here. It is all the Arlington zip codes and the percent change of sales of 3Q07 sales when compared to 3Q06 sales.
This chart says that all the zip codes in Arlington, except for Shirlington, have seen an increase in the average sales price when you compare 3Q07 to 3Q06. Why Shirlington? After all– I write about Shirlington all the time and what a great place it is to live. Well I don’t have the answer for that right now- but I’m going to look a little deeper into it. I suspect it may have something to do with Fairlington sales, which make up the largest part of the sales.
Just in case you can’t read the chart- here are the data points:
- 22201: 11.79%
- 22202: 2.9%
- 22203: 2.72%
- 22204: 2.39%
- 22205: 12.65%
- 22206: -4.23%
- 22207: 17.26%
- 22209: 50.76%
- 22213: 3.65%
So– if you are waiting for the prices to drop in Arlington, maybe Arlington isn’t for you. Maybe you aren’t ready to buy. Maybe it’s a lot of things.
But I can tell you this– it isn’t because the real estate market is bad in Arlington. The data doesn’t lie.
Mary - Wow that’s all great real estate market info and good to know that most homes in the areas of Arlington Virginia are seeing values go up. Great post
Mary- This is a great report on Arlington Real estate and why I like your writing so much. You have a strong market in Arlington, and understand why. I’d rate the buy higher too because the Federal government, and the jobs the very large budget provide, are not going anywhere. The people trade places every once in a while-good for real estate- but thats about it…Terry McDonald Charlotte NC
Mary,
For anyone looking into what the real estate market is doing in the Arlington, Va. area, well they have come to the right place. This article is packed with tons of good information for such a broad area, in and around Arlington.
By they way, time spent on the chart was well worth it….the post looks great!
Mary,
I like the way you explain all the Arlington real estate market numbers in detail for your readers. I need to do a better job of that on our site.
Good information presented in an easy to follow format. You definitely have the pulse of the Arlington real estate market.
By the way, 45 days on the market rocks! At least it would in the Dothan real estate market.
Mary - Great job breaking down the Arlington real estate info! I often have a hard time; raw data doesn’t tell all the details. It is the experience of being in the middle of it, day in and day out which gives us the best knowledge. Love your chart! - Paula
Mary,
Even though the average sales price is on the rise - that simply means the buyers are spending more… not that the prices of individual properties are going up. I think that’s a significant point!
Methinks there’s a tiny touch of spin here?
Rob
Rob, you lost me. Don’t the prices of individual properties have to go up if the average sales price goes up and buyers. Sales prices going up means buyers paying more. I’m sorry, but i don’t get your point. Yes, it is an average, but averages are what make sense for this sort of analysis.
Interesting to me that the average Days on Market in Arlington is only 45 days. I’ve heard that the DC market was slow, but that’s not slow to me.
In Alpharetta, GA, where i work, our average Days on Market for residential real estate is around 80 days. We didn’t think that was too bad ;-> until i read your statistics. Who said Housing Slowdown?
Thanks for sharing your numbers,
Kevin
Alpharetta, GA
Rob-
I’m not sure what you mean. But I think you mean that people are buying more expensive properties.
The NVAR numbers do not separate out condos from single family homes. So- and I promise to do this in the next few weeks- if you were to look at the Arlington condo market- I wouldn’t be surprised to see the average price decline- while the single family home and maybe even the townhouse market to be steady or see an increase. This is evident in the 22206 Arlington zip code because that is a condo-heavy market.
The point I’m trying to make with these numbers is this: Arlington is different from the national trend. So before you have made up your mind about whether you should be buying or not, talk to a professional.
Yes- the single family home market in Arlington is a higher-end market. But that’s the whole point. The Washington DC area IS a higher priced market than most of the nation- so because people here make more money, have stable jobs & in general, good credit, the real estate market bucks the national trend.
Arlington, taken by itself is even different than other parts of the local area further out like Loundon County and parts of Fairfax county. Even within our metropolitan area the hyper-local market is different.
Data can be spun in any direction- but these are some basic raw numbers that don’t lie.
I hope I was able to answer your question. If not, please feel free to contact me to discuss further.
Thanks for visiting my blog. I’d love to hear from you on what you think of President Bush’s rate freeze plan.