March 2018 Loudoun County Market Trends Report

Sales Rise Despite Persistent Low Inventory

The following analysis of the Loudoun County, Virginia housing market has been prepared by George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis. It was prepared for the Dulles Area Association of REALTORS® by analyzing Bright MLS housing data from MarketStats by ShowingTime.

 Overview

  • For the 33rd consecutive month, Loudoun County’s active listings declined, reaching the lowest recorded March inventory number in over a decade. At the end of March 2018, inventory was 19.1 percent lower than the same point last year. This left 1,022 homes for sale at month’s end, with 1.9 months of supply heading into April.
  • March sales in Loudoun County rebounded, as March’s 547 closed sales represented an increase of 9.0 percent over March 2017. The county was one of the only jurisdictions in the region to see a year-over-year increase in sales despite constrained inventory.
  • Fewer home buyers signed contracts in March 2018 compared to last year. New pending sales decreased 2.4 percent to 763, but they were still 6.0 percent greater than the 5-year March average of 720.
  • New listing activity decreased in March versus last year (-8.0 percent) as Loudoun County added 1,053 new homes to the market. The erratic change in new listings from month to month signals little long term relief from the market’s consistently low supply of homes.
  • The rate of price growth is accelerating as median sale prices rose 9.4 percent compared to last year, reaching $476,000; the third highest monthly median price on record.
  • Loudoun County homes continued to sell faster than last year, with half of the March sales listing for 7 days or less—down from March 2017’s median of 8.
  • Loudoun County home sellers received, on average, 98.7 percent of original list price in March.

For more information, read the full report.