performance

How Many Agents Worked in Arlington Last Year?

elieliresidentialcom Arlington , , 0 Comment
How Many Agents Worked in Arlington Last Year?

Question: How many different real estate agents do business in Arlington in a typical year?

Answer: There were 2,770 real estate transactions in Arlington in 2020 (incredibly close to the 2,782 transactions in 2019!), totaling over $2.16B in total sales volume (up from $1.96B in 2019).

I think most people would assume a few hundred different real estate agents worked on those 2,770 transactions, but in fact there were 2,223 different agents part of those sales (remember, most transactions have two agents involved). In 2019, 2,017 different agents transacted in Arlington so the numbers are very consistent.

I looked over the 2020 Arlington transaction data and pulled out some interesting highlights:

  • 61.4% of the agents who handled an Arlington real estate transaction in 2020 work on just one sale in Arlington (they may have done more business outside of Arlington)
  • Just 3% of agents handled 10 or more transactions in Arlington and .8% handled 20 or more transactions
  •  1,452 different agents represented buyers in Arlington and 19 of them (1.3%) worked with 10 or more buyers in Arlington
  • 1,316 different agents represented sellers in Arlington and 29 of them (2.2%) worked with 10 or more sellers in Arlington
  • Of the 858 agents who handled 2 or more transactions in Arlington, they averaged 4.7 transactions each
  • Only two agents with 5+ transactions averaged $2M+ per transaction, Mark McFadden and Jennifer Thornett
  • Keri Shull and her team once again led Arlington in transactions and sales volume, by a wide margin, participating in roughly 8.4% of the transactions in Arlington and handling about 4% of the total sales volume in Arlington. Keri of course has a great team of agents and staff supporting this activity. Here’s a link to an article I wrote in 2019 explaining how different agents/teams are structured.

Most studies suggest that consumers are less concerned with measures like sales volume and more focused on the strength of communication and trustworthiness of the agent they’re working with, but market expertise and experience are still important factors for most people.

While some may see the low barrier to entry to real estate licensing and high volume of agents as a negative, it also means that you have a lot of choices as a consumer and, with some effort, can make sure that you’re working with somebody who provides the type service you’re looking for.

If you’d like to discuss buying, selling, investing, or renting, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at Eli@EliResidential.com.

10-Year Real Estate Appreciation in Arlington (Interactive Chart)

elieliresidentialcom Arlington, Buyer, Home Owner, Investor , , , , , , 1 Comment
10-Year Real Estate Appreciation in Arlington (Interactive Chart)

Question: Do you have any data available on how Arlington real estate has performed over the last ten years?

Answer: A lot has changed in Arlington since 2010. We’re less reliant on the Federal Government for jobs, you can find something to do after 6PM outside of Clarendon, and $1,000,000 definitely doesn’t go as far as it used to. BUT we still don’t have a Rosslyn-Georgetown Gondola or a boathouse; maybe in 2030…

I thought it would be cool to create an interactive chart for everybody to play around with to show how real estate values in Arlington and different Arlington sub-markets have changed from 2010 to 2020. Click on the image below to get to a page on my website that will allow you to see 2010 vs 2020 price changes based on things like zip code, bedroom count, new builds/resale, and more.

Now stop reading and go vote if you haven’t already!

Arlington Condo Mid-Year Real Estate Review

elieliresidentialcom Arlington, Buyer, Home Owner, Seller , , , , , 0 Comment
Arlington Condo Mid-Year Real Estate Review

Question: How did Arlington’s real estate market perform in the first half of 2020?

Answer: What a wild year it’s been for real estate. After a huge 2019 (SFH/TH review, Condo review), the 2020 market took off in January with prices and competition up sharply. When Coronavirus hit, that momentum tapered off for a couple of months but prices remained steady because of low interest rates and low supply. The Arlington housing supply was down about 400 listings from March-June, but listing activity is surging to historically high levels in July and August, which is traditionally when we see the spring market momentum slow down.

Let’s take a look at how the condo market performed in the first half of 2020 using some awesome charts developed by my new partner, the wonderful Alli Torban. We took a similar look at single-family detached and townhouses last week.

Note that all of the data used in these charts is based on sales that went under contract from January-June in order to provide the most accurate reflection of the market during the first 6 months. I don’t like using the date a home sold/closed for analysis like this because closing date often lags 30-60 days behind agreement of sale (contract). I also removed sales of condos in 900 N Taylor St (The Jefferson), an age-restricted community.

Average and median price continued to rise, but not by nearly as much as last year. The total condos transacted in the first six months of 2020 dropped significantly to 484 from a previous 5-year low of 614, established in 2019.

The Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor, made up of 2201, 22203, and 22209 is by far the busiest condo market in Arlington and 22204 offers the most affordable options, by a significant margin.

The volume of one- and two-bedroom condo sales was nearly equal during the first six months, but I’ve seen a shift over the last few years in buyer demand over the last few years towards two-bedrooms.

Studios/efficiencies (no separate bedroom) are very difficult to come by in Arlington with very few being delivered over the last 20 years. The Eclipse in Crystal City and Trafalgar Flats along Columbia Pike were notable for delivering an unusually high number of studios in the last 20 years.

The demand for larger condos with three-bedrooms has increased significantly over the last 3-5 years as owners of large homes have looked to downsize. However, the market is severely undersupplied with units that meet the needs of these buyers, with just 18 three-bedroom condos selling in the first half of the year.

One of the measures I like taking to gauge market competition is the percentage of condos going under contract within the first week and how much buyers are paying relative to the asking price within that window. An incredible 36% of condo contracts were accepted within the first week this year and the average buyer paid 1.5% more than the asking price to secure a home that just hit the market.

The key takeaways are that good condos sell very quickly and if you love a unit that has just hit the market, be prepared to pay the asking price or more to secure it because if you don’t, there’s a good chance somebody else will.

As the chart above showed, this is a fast-paced market and it got even faster in 2020 with the median days on market for condos remaining at six days and the average dropping to just two weeks.

I took a similar look at single-family detached and townhouses last week. If you’d like to discuss buying or selling strategies, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at Eli@EliResidential.com.

Arlington Single-Family & Townhouse Mid-Year Real Estate Review

elieliresidentialcom Arlington, Buyer, Home Owner, Investor, Seller , , , 1 Comment
Arlington Single-Family & Townhouse Mid-Year Real Estate Review

Answer: What a wild year it’s been for real estate. After a huge 2019 (SFH/TH review, Condo review), the 2020 market took off in January with prices and competition up sharply. When Coronavirus hit, that momentum tapered off for a couple of months but prices remained steady because of low interest rates and low supply. The Arlington housing supply was down about 400 listings from March-June, but listing activity is surging to historically high levels in July and August, which is traditionally when we see the spring market momentum slow down.

Let’s take a look at how the single-family detached (SFD) and townhouse (TH) market performed in the first half of 2020 using some awesome charts developed by my new partner, the wonderful Alli Torban. We will take a similar look at condos next week.

Note that all of the data used in these charts is based on sales that went under contract from January-June in order to provide the most accurate reflection of the market during the first 6 months. I don’t like using the date a home sold/closed for analysis like this because closing date often lags 30-60 days behind agreement of sale (contract).

Average and median price continued to rise, but not by nearly as much as last year. The total homes transacted in the first six months dropped significantly to 710 from a previous 5-year low of 838, established in 2019.

22207 (most of North Arlington) remains the most expensive place to buy a SFD or TH and 22204 and 22206 (most of South Arlington) remain the most affordable, although we’ve seen strong appreciation in those markets over the last three years.

For new Amazon HQ2 employees hoping to find a SFD or TH to buy within walking distance of your office, your 22202 zip code offers some of the fewest purchase opportunities in the County, so you’ll want to act quickly if you find something you like.

The cost of going from a 4BR homes to a 5BR home is significant in Arlington. This is because most new (read: expensive) homes being built have at least five bedrooms and Arlington’s older housing stock mostly floats between two and four bedrooms. Finding a house with five or more bedrooms under $1M in Arlington is a difficult task.

One of the measures I like taking to gauge market competition is the percentage of homes going under contract within the first week and how much buyers are paying relative to the asking price within that window. An incredible 41% of SFD/TH contracts were accepted within the first week this year and the average buyer paid 2% more than the asking price to secure a home that just hit the market.

The key takeaways are that good homes sell very quickly and if you love a house that has just hit the market, be prepared to pay the asking price or more to secure it because if you don’t, there’s a good chance somebody else will.

As the chart above showed, this is a fast-paced market and it got even faster in 2020 with the median days on market for SFD/TH remaining at seven days and the average dropping below three weeks.

Next week I will have condo data for you. If you’d like to discuss buying or selling strategies, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at Eli@EliResidential.com.