I’ve seen a positive shift in demand over the past 4-6 weeks and the May data for Arlington and Northern VA confirms that buyers are coming back to the market.
A lot of would-be buyers in Arlington and Northern VA stepped away from the market when DOGE began rapidly announcing cuts to the Federal workforce and spending in mid-February. For the past two months, we’ve seen more headlines about Musk stepping away from DOGE and workers being rehired than headlines about DC-area workforce cuts, which seems to have brought more confidence into the market and brought some of those early spring buyers back into the housing market.
More Homes Went Under Contract
More homes went under contract in Arlington (19%) and Northern VA (4%) in May 2025 than in May 2024. There are a lot more homes for sale and buyers have taken advantage of more choices than they’ve had in years.
And Fewer New Listings Came to Market
After a significant increase in new listing inventory in March and April (year-over-year), the number of new listings that came to the market in Arlington and Northern VA dropped to nearly the same number we had in 2024 (which was a historically low number). I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the narrative that circulated online in February/March that everybody in the DC area was selling their home was, and is, false.
Available Inventory Reverses Course
We still have many more homes for sale in Arlington (+38%) and Northern VA (+51%) compared to May 2024, but after five straight months of monthly increases to the year-over-year change in inventory levels, the trend reversed in May and I believe we’ll see another drop in the June data.
Sold Prices are Up Year-over-Year
The median price of sold homes in Northern VA are higher each month in 2025, despite lower demand and higher supply, hitting a 7% increase in March and most recently 4.6% in May, year-over-year.
But Unsold Home Prices are Down
Only tracking the price of sold homes doesn’t provide a full and transparent picture of actual market conditions because closed sales only account for the properties that buyers choose to purchase, not the properties that aren’t selling…and there are a lot more of those than usual. However, even the pricing on unsold inventory (active listings) isn’t terribly concerning, with the median price of active listings down just 1.1% in May, year-over-year.
If you’d like to discuss buying, selling, investing, or renting, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].
Upcoming (pre-market) ERG Listings, Details and Additional Listings Available by Request
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Reston – 4BR/3.5BA/3,000 sqft – End-unit townhouse (1993) – Hollow Timber Ct Reston VA 20194
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Falls Church City – 4BR/4.5BA/3,000+ sqft – End-unit townhouse (1995) – Rees Pl Falls Church VA 22046
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Rosslyn – 3BR/2.5A/2,400 sqft – Condo (2022) – 1781 N Pierce St Arlington VA 22209
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Arlington Ridge/Aurora Hills – 3BR/2.5BA/2,450sqft – Detached Single Family (1961) – S Grove St Arlington VA 22202
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Lorton – 3BR/1.5BA/1,120 sqft – Townhouse (1981) – Sheffield Village Ln Lorton VA 22079
