May 2018 Loudoun County Market Trends Report: Tight Inventory Continues while Price Growth Stagnates; Condo Sales Hit a Record High

Overview

  • For the 35th consecutive month, Loudoun County’s active listings declined, reaching the lowest recorded May inventory number in over a decade. At the end of May 2018, inventory was 16.9 percent lower than it was at the same point last year. This left 1,214 homes for sale at month’s end, with 2.2 months of supply heading into June.
  • May sales in Loudoun County increased, as the month’s 734 closed sales represented a rise of 5.6 percent over May 2017. In spite of low active listings, sales growth contributed to the continual tightening of inventory. Tightening inventory can in turn suppress sales, keep growth below its potential levels.
  • Townhomes and condos led sales growth by rising 16.4 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively, from May 2017. The 115 condos sold in May were the highest monthly number of closed condo sales on record. Detached home sales continue to decrease and were down 2.5 percent from last year.
  • Slightly more home buyers signed contracts in May 2018 compared to May 2017. New pending sales increased 1.2 percent to 819 and were 6.9 percent greater than the 5-year May average of 766. This may translate to increased sales over the coming months.
  • New listing activity decreased in May versus last year (-5.8 percent) as Loudoun County added 1,035 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 home supply.
  • Overall price growth continued to stagnate in May as median sale prices were identical to last month and May 2017 at $475,000.
  • Loudoun County homes continued to sell faster than last year, with half of the May sales listing for 6 days or less— identical to last month and down slightly from May 2017’s median of 8. This continues as the lowest median DOM is over a decade.
  • Loudoun County home sellers received, on average, 99.1 percent of original list price in May.

For more information, read the full report.