March NoVa home sales down 4.9% from 2021

Northern Virginia saw fewer home sales last month compared with March 2021 due to low inventory and higher rates, according to a Northern Virginia Association of Realtors report published Friday.

The market saw a 4.9% decline in home sales over March 2021, not far off from the 4.5% drop nationwide.

“I expect that rapid price increases in homes will soften with escalating inflation and mortgage rates, but it’s unlikely that homes will lose value in our market. This means that affordability will continue to be a challenge,” NVAR CEO Ryan McLaughlin said in a statement.

In Northern Virginia, sales of existing home stock declined for the third month in a row. Housing inventory was down almost 22% in the region from last year. The region had a 0.56-month supply of unsold inventory.

Existing home sales declined in March, the second consecutive month of declines nationally, according to the National Association of Realtors. Inventory declined by 9.5% from a year ago. The U.S. has a two-month supply of unsold inventory.

Homes in the region sold in 14 days on average in March, down 30% compared with March 2021. The median home prices rose 9.2% to $650,000.

Nationally, houses were on the market for 17 days in March, down from 18 days in March 2021. The median existing home price nationally rose 15% from the same month last year to $375,300.