Prices Spike Up, Breaking 2021 Highs
March Prices Increased 7% from February: March was a strong month in Northern Virginia home prices much like we experience seasonally in our region (March 2021 was up 6.8% by comparison). The median home price in Northern Virginia increased $40,000 from February ($575,000) to March ($615,000). This breaks the former high mark of $603,000 set in May/June-2021. All major sub-markets across Northern Virginia moved up together in March breaking former price highs, except in Arlington. Arlington was down 1.5% and still sits 10% below its May-2021 high. Prince William led the March move in our region, up 13% from $460,000 to $520,000 ($60,000 in a single month). Loudoun and Fairfax were not far behind at 8.8% ($55,000) and 7.3% ($45,000), respectively.

March activity represents contracts written in February. While overall inventory remains low, during the recent 4 weeks we have noticed a decline in home showings possibly caused by the fast-rising interest rates (now at 5%) combined with more homes coming to market. In Northern Virginia, new listings increased 43% over February from 3,352 to 4,776. It will be interesting to see how the recent March price spike performs against April & May activity (contracts written in March & April).

Detached Homes Continue to Lead in Rising Values (Breaking $1.1 million)
All Product Classes Moved Up in Price: As the saying goes, "all ships rise with the tide". The March rise in prices occurred across all product classes (detached, townhouse and condo). In Fairfax County as an example, the average price of a detached home increased by $90,000 (9%) in just one month. The average price now sits at $1,119,228 compared to $1,029,954 last month. Prices in Fairfax and Loudoun have prompted a reaction among many buyers and may be part of the recent price surge in Prince William. The average price of a detached home in Prince William is only $696,000 by comparison. Some buyers are pivoting to Prince William where they see 40%+ lower prices than Fairfax and Loudoun and trade-offs worth pursuing.

Interestingly, condos moved the strongest in March (12%) after often being the lagging product for much of the past two years. Possibly, we will see a sustained return of buyers to the condo market where the negative impacts of the pandemic were apparent. During the pandemic, many buyers avoided the high resident density of condos causing values to consequently lag.