“Competition is fierce as outsized demand for all types of residential housing—especially for single-family homes—has resulted in multiple offers, more cash offers and more buyers waiving home inspections,” said Northern Virginia Association of Realtors (NVAR) CEO Ryan McLaughlin. “Realtors continue to help clients navigate pandemic-related market realities including the fact that growth in new listings locally is still not enough to close the gap on buyer demand.”
Nationally, the median existing-home price for all housing types in April was $341,600, up 19.1% from April 2020. Although not as large of an increase as nationally, Northern Virginia homes sold this April at a median price of $640,000, a 7.3% jump over April 2020, according to the NVAR's report. In Northern Virginia, properties typically remained on the market for 14 days compared with 17 days nationally in April.
Northern Virginia’s number of new listings in April was up 76% (3,714 vs 2,111) compared to the same month last year, according to the report. A notable difference from the national market is that overall inventory increased last month in Northern Virginia, up 2.3% above last year, while nationally inventory decreased by 20.3% year over year. Despite the big difference, the brisk pace of sales could not keep up with demand locally or nationally. The National Association of Realtors expects more inventory to hit the market later in 2021 as pandemic worries lessen and as fewer homeowners in mortgage forbearance bring about more supply.
In Northern Virginia, the average sales price to list price ratio was 102% in April, meaning that on average homes were selling above asking prices. All-cash buyers were not uncommon, representing more than double the number of transactions in April compared to the same month last year. The full report is available courtesy of NVAR.
