September home sales up in Loudoun, Fairfax

Home sales were a mixed bag in the Northern Virginia region in September, according to the Long & Foster Real Estate Market Minute Report, with some localities seeing more sales and others fewer.

Loudoun County saw the biggest increase, racking up 17% more home sales than last September, and Fairfax County saw a 13% year-over-year increase. Arlington County and the city of Alexandria, however, saw decreases in September sales, with a 13% drop in Arlington and a 10% decline in Alexandria.

Sales in Prince William County increased by 8% compared with September 2018.

Arlington’s median sale price rose 15% to $590,000 last month, up from $515,000 a year ago, a boost likely helped by Amazon.com Inc.’s forthcoming East Coast HQ2 headquarters and low interest rates, said Larry “Boomer” Foster, president of Long & Foster Real Estate. He noted that more people are refinancing or buying homes so as not to miss out on low rates.

Inventory of homes in Arlington and Alexandria also continue to shrink, with only about 300 new listings each in September. In all five localities, house inventory fell considerably from September 2018, with Alexandria seeing a 54% decrease and Arlington at 52%.