Number of Northern Virginia homes sold in August rises nearly 13 percent

The Northern Virginia Association of Realtors said on Thursday that the number of homes sold in its region during August rose 13 percent from same month the year before.

A total of 2,052 homes sold in August 2013, an increase of 12.8 percent  from  sales of 1,818 in August 2012.

The NVAR region includes Fairfax and Arlington counties, the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church and the towns of Vienna, Herndon and Clifton.

The average sales price in the region in August rose only 1.5 percent to $533,379. The August 2012 average was $525,480.

The median price of homes sold in the region increased 3.64 percent to $470,000. The median price is the point at which half the sales are higher and half are lower.

Home sales for less than $500,000 made up 54 percent of total homes sales in August. Nearly 6 percent of homes sold were priced at $1 million or more..

Active listings decreased by 1.4 percent in August. There were 3,305 active listings in August 2013, compared with 3,352 homes available the year before.

The average time on the market for homes sold in August 2013 was 29 days, down from an average of 44 days in August 2012.

The number of new pending home sales in Northern Virginia in August increased by about 2 percent to 1,771 compared with 1,739 new contracts pending in August 2012.

Although inventory remains scarce, the number of listings has been steadily climbing each month since the beginning of the year.