If you have been thinking about selling your home this year, you’re probably already aware that throughout our region, it’s a hot sellers’ market! Here at D.C. Region Real Estate News, we give you a monthly rundown of the numbers so you can keep track of the market from Prince William and Fairfax to Montgomery and Prince Georges counties, as well as D.C. But today we wanted to take an even closer look, so we decided drill down on the numbers in Alexandria City and add some historical context.
In 2020, the average Alexandria sale price was 13.5 percent higher than in 2019, according to MarketStats by ShowingTime, which uses data from Bright MLS. That alone is a good indication that the market’s moving up. But get this: The average Alexandria sale price of $664,881 last year was a whopping 31.5 percent higher than in 2006 at the height of the real estate boom.
But what does that really mean for homeowners in Alexandria? How long will this trend continue? Should you sell? We can’t answer how long this will last—and no one really knows—but we can tell you where we are and how we’ve gotten here over the past several years.
For Alexandria homeowners, these upward trends are a welcome sight. In fact, 10 out of the past 11 years have resulted in higher average sale prices than the previous year. Before that, it was kind of rough going for sellers looking for a return on their home investments in the mid-2000s.
Though now about 15 years ago, it doesn’t seem that long ago. We were at the end of a surge that had Alexandria average home prices peak at $505,503 in 2006. In 2007, prices eased back about a half percent. The following year, average sale prices dropped an ominous 6.66 percent, and in 2009 they dropped an additional 8.67 percent, bottoming out at $428,538.
Alexandria prices began to rebound in 2010 with a price jump of nearly 6 percent, but it took three additional years to surpass the 2006 high, when average Alexandria sale prices hit $517,859 in 2013. Aside from a nominal drop of 1.43 percent in 2016, prices continued on a steady climb to top out (so far) at the 2020 average.
For homeowners contemplating selling, it might be the time to consider. We don’t know if or how long this surge will continue, but many homeowners—particularly those who have owned for a decade or so—might look at this as an opportunity to get in the game when the returns are good.
With interest rates remaining low, the incentive for buyers to jump into the market continues as well, increasing demand. In fact, interest rates once again dipped below 3 percent in late April prompting more refinances as well as incentivizing buyers. Forbes reports on that here. For consumers and homeowners, keeping an eye on things like inflation can often give hints as to where we might be heading. Forbes suggests here that commodity prices could signal future inflation, though the jury is still out.
Either up or down, it’s a good idea to be cautious about any predictions of future economic performance—as they are just predictions. The only way to be certain of the future is when it becomes the past—and not a minute sooner.
Still, the numbers right now show that, yes, sellers are likely in a good position as we make our way into the busy home selling season of the summer. Right now, average home prices are as high as they’ve ever been in Alexandria. If you’re thinking about jumping into the game—for the time being—you just could be in the driver’s seat.
Christopher Prawdzik and his wife Angela Logomasini are licensed Realtors® with Samson Properties in Alexandria and are members of the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® Top Producer’s Club. Operating as D.C. Region Real Estate, they serve the Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland real estate market and offer comprehensive real estate services, including 4½% full-service listings.
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