Home sales fell towards the latter half of 2021, however, the Loudoun County housing market was busy. Lack of inventory was a contributing constraint for home sales. Inventory is at historically low levels. Loudoun’s real estate market is tighter than almost anywhere in Virginia. Sales in Loudoun were 1833 during the fourth quarter which was down 13% from a year ago. There is still strong demand for homes though. Double-digit price growth and declining average days on market reflects the demand.
Sales were down in most local markets in Loudoun County. Towns with the sharpest declines include Aldie zip code 20105 (-35%), as welll as Leesburg zip codes 20176 (-26%) and 20175 (-19%). Lovettsville and Ashburn had increased home sales. Lovettsville zip code 20180 (+7%) and Ashburn zip code 20147 (+2%). Home sales were up in the fourth quarter in Lovettsville zip code 20180 (+7%) and Ashburn zip code 20147 (+2%)
Sales Prices
Home prices continued to rise quickly in Loudoun County despite the slower sales. The median sales price in the 4th quarter was $611,250 which is 11% higher than a year ago. That gain equates to more than $61,000 for the homeowner. For five consecutive quarters, the median price in Loudoun County has risen at a double digit rate. The strongest price growth in the 4th quarter were in Aldie, Purcellville and Ashburn.
Sold Homes
Loudoun County real estate sold volume was approximately $1.2 billion which is 4% lower than a year ago. This the first sold volume decline since the 2nd quarter of 2020. The biggest drops in sold volume occurred in Aldie and Leesburg. Aldie zip code 20105 (-23%) and Leesburg zip code 20176 (-19%) and zip code 20175 (-4%). Other local markets in Loudoun County remained relatively flat.
Days on Market
Some markets in Loudoun County took longer to sell in the 4th quarter, however, other markets sold quickly. The average days on market of 16 days did not change from the same time the previous year. Homes sold in the 4th quarter took 4 days longer than the 3rd quarter which is typical for the season.
Average days on market increased in Purcellville zip code 20132 to 55 days on market. This is more than a month longer than the previous year which was 32 days. Ashburn was the exception to the increased days on market where the days on market dropped by 4 days.
Inventory
The number of active listings in Loudoun County fell in the 4th quarter of 2021. There were 16 fewer listings at the end of the year compared to the previous year. This was a decline of 8%. Inventory levels have been on the decline for a number of years and are just 1/5 of what they were 4 years ago. Most markets in Loudoun experienced falling inventory and supply is still very tight across the county. During the 3rd quarter of 2021, there was less than a 1/2 of a month supply of homes. Some areas were tighter than this such as Sterling who had less than 0.1 months supply in zip code 20165 and Chantilly which had just 3 days of supply in zip codes 20152.
My Thoughts
Inventory is still very tight and we are seeing homes sell very quickly. Homes priced right are experiencing high buyer traffic volumes and multiple offers. We did start to see some contingencies returning, however, competition is fierce again. Interest rates are rising and buyers are understanding what rising rates will do to their buying power, so they are getting more serious about their home buying search.
If you are thinking of selling, now is the time. I can help you navigate finding a home in this market. If nothing else, a free home valuation to determine what you could get for your home might be helpful in making long term decisions. Call me today at 703-963-7407 for a free valuation.
The information above was from the Dulles Association of Realtors.