The Northern VA housing market continues to have far more buyers looking for a home than sellers listing their houses. Considering the basic concept of supply and demand, this means home prices will naturally rise.

Why is this true?

When there are more buyers looking to buy real estate than there is available real estate for sale, prices rise. And that’s exactly the case in today’s Northern VA housing market. Therefore, knowing what’s happening with the inventory of homes for sale and the demand for housing is crucial for today’s buyers and sellers.

Real Estate Demand Is High and Supply Is Low

The most recent buyer and seller activity data from the National Association of Realtors confirms that nation wide buyer traffic heavily outweighs available listings today. The map below shows there are far darker green on the left active buyers map and much lighter greens on the right listing map.

Supply and demand are impacting Northern VA real estate in the same way. In many, not all, communities the active buyers who are ready, willing, and able to buy a home far exceeds the number of available homes. This creates competition for a home and the buyer willing to pay more and remove all contingencies will win the contract! The only two things that could slow this dow is more inventory of homes, which is not expected, or increasing interest rates. (That is a blog article for a another day)

What Home Sellers Need to Know:

The current supply of homes is struggling to keep pace with demand across Northern VA. In fact, the inventory of homes for sale recently hit an all-time low. That gives you an incredible advantage when you sell your house. With so few listings, it’s likely more potential buyers will view your house – especially if you work with an agent to price and market it correctly. This will give you the best chance to receive multiple offers and to push buyers into a bidding war for your house. And that dynamic can drive the sale price of your home up.

What Home Buyers Need to Know:

As a home buyer with fewer options available, you are going to face more competition and will need to be strategic to win. First and most important, make sure you have a trusted professional on your side with a signed buyer broker agreement. Your real estate agent will help you understand your local market and work with you to act quickly on the best properties. Even when it’s challenging to find a home, you can still succeed as a buyer if you have a trusted advisor on your side who is responsive and knows the current market.

Bottom Line

If you are a homebuyer, seller, or both in Northern VA, knowledge truly is power. Let’s connect today so you can better understand what’s happening in the Northern VA market and achieve your homebuying and selling goal this year!