Question: I’ve noticed a lot fewer homes being listed lately, will that continue for the rest of the year?
Answer: I hope everybody had a great holiday weekend! For those in the market to purchase, you’ll want to quickly shift out of vacation mode and into house-hunting mode this week because you’ll see a lot more homes being listed for sale in the coming week(s) than you have over the last couple of months.
Historically, September comes in just behind March and June for new listing activity, with much of that front-loaded in the week or two following Labor Day weekend. This follows a similar trend on the demand side where we see peak demand from roughly mid-March to early June, with a slowdown during the summer vacation months, followed by a brief spike in buying activity following Labor Day weekend with dwindling buyer interest through the remainder of the year.
However, the seasonal increase in September demand generally lags the pace of new inventory and thus results in the most average available listings for sale in September and October, before falling rapidly in November and December because the volume of new inventory drops by over 50%. For buyers, that means that the next 4-8 weeks will be your last chance at a wide variety of homes for sale until March.
Projected Surge in Available Inventory
As of 10 AM Monday, September 5, there are 369 homes listed for sale in Arlington and a whopping 42 homes in Coming Soon status, 34 of which are scheduled to hit the market within the next week. The homes in Coming Soon status will boost total inventory by nearly 10% and there are sure to be plenty of homes listed for sale over the next week that are not showing in Coming Soon.
Given the decreasing absorption rates (demand) we’re seeing in the market, I would expect that by next week we will see an increase in available inventory of well over 10% when you take the net of homes listed for sales and homes that go under contract during the same one-week period.
Effect on the Market
I expect historical trends for monthly listing activity to play out along similar patterns as those charted above. With demand steadily decreasing from earlier this year because of normal seasonal trends and massive shifts in demand due to interest rates and other factors, the next 4-8 weeks will be an interesting period to observe our market.
How much of the new inventory will be absorbed? The absorption rate (ratio of homes going under contract to homes for sale) in Arlington fell 61% from 1.17 (more homes going under contract than coming to market) in February to .46 in July (and will certainly drop further when August data is released).
How will sellers with sitting inventory react? The average days on the market for the 369 homes currently for sale in Arlington is 86 days and the median is 53 days. In the last 7 days, sellers have reduced their asking price on 31 homes.
I’m looking forward to providing insights to you over the coming months on how everything plays out!
If you’d like to discuss buying, selling, investing, or renting, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].
If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to discuss buying, selling, renting, or investing, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at EliResidential.com. Call me directly at (703) 539-2529.
Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Ask Eli, Live With Jean playlist.
Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland with RLAH Real Estate, 4040 N Fairfax Dr #10C Arlington VA 22203. (703) 390-9460.
