Every year there’s a palpable shift in the energy surrounding the real estate market. More emails start coming through, my calls from one agent to another, but the most telling sign is when you start seeing houses pop up for sale and then quickly go under contract.
Well, it’s that time again. For me, I felt the shift about a week and a half ago when all of a sudden, I realized “oh, that’s new…”, “oh, that’s under contract already…” and so it begins.
We generally start to see an influx in inventory around the March/April timeframe, so here’s how the market looks right now:
- A total of 341 properties are under contract as of this morning, of them 170 sold in 30 days or less (49.85%).
- There are 502 active properties for sale (31 in a 55+ condo community, so really only 471), of which 148 have recently come on the market (30 days or less)
- Of the 502 active, there are 9 foreclosures and 24 short sales (6.5% of the inventory, consistent for Arlington County)
Things you should know heading into March/April:
- More properties will hit the market for sale
- They will sell quickly if priced correctly
- Generally, this is when you start to see an increase in pricing, because people may see multiple offers
- The real estate “busy season” peaks from March-June, then will get quiet again over the summer
If you’re thinking of selling, find out what your home is worth or search properties for sale
It does seem like we’ve finally entered Real Estate Season. I’ve noticed traffic to the closing costs tool on our website has increased almost 20% since winter. I hope it’s a successful season for you!