Each week, “Just Reduced” spotlights properties in Arlington County whose price have been cut over the previous week. The market summary is crafted by Arlington Realty, Inc. Maximize your real estate investment with the team by visiting www.arlingtonrealtyinc.com or calling 703-836-6000 today!

Please note: While Arlington Realty, Inc. provides this information for the community, it may not be the listing company of these homes.

As of July 10, there are 132 detached homes, 16 townhouses and 140 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 15 homes experienced a price reduction in the past week, including:

• 1031 23rd Street S., 22202 — NOW: $1,899,500 (Reduced $51,000 on 7/6)
• 1609 N. Jackson Street, 22201 — NOW: $1,795,000 (Reduced $80,000 on 7/5)
• 1615 N. Queen Street #502, 22209 — NOW: $1,255,000 (Reduced $20,000 on 7/7)
• 842 S. Monroe Street, 22204 — NOW: $1,224,000 (Reduced $25,000 on 7/5)
• 5205 6th Place S., 22204 — NOW: $869,999 (Reduced $30,000 on 7/8)
• 4141 N. Henderson Road #318, 22203 — NOW: $578,800 (Reduced $20,000 on 7/6)
• 1401 N. Rhodes Street #203, 22209 — NOW: $405,000 (Reduced $13,000 on 7/8)

Please note that this is solely a selection of Just Reduced properties available in Arlington County. For a complete list of properties within your target budget and specifications, contact Arlington Realty, Inc.

Good Tuesday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Jul 11, 2023.

• 9:30 am: This Amazon Prime Day, save on merch that shows your Arlington pride | 🗣️ Comments
• 10:30 am: Arlington-connected restaurant owners capture RAMMY Awards | 🗣️ Comments
• 11:30 am: Restaurant owner is ‘very frustrated’ with the process to transform historic Green Valley Pharmacy | 🗣️ Comments
• 1:30 pm: Ballston Holiday Inn redevelopment proposal reaches Arlington County Board | 🗣️ Comments
• 3:30 pm: Arlington could buy a property within what was once a secluded Black settlement for 100 years | 🗣️ Comments

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Wednesday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

• 7:30 pm: Free Comedy at B Live with Winston Hodges

☀️ Wednesday’s forecast

Sunny, with a high near 94. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. At night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind around 7 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.”
– Dalai Lama

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.

(Updated at 9:15 a.m. on 7/12/23) A secluded wooded area south of Pimmit Run in North Arlington with a little-known history is up for sale and Arlington County could become the buyer.

The county is considering whether to buy a 6.7-acre parcel near the Chain Bridge Forest neighborhood from the Virginia Dept. of Transportation for $2.88 million. The property, between a curving section of N. Glebe Road and Pimmit Run, includes both developable and protected land.

VDOT originally intended to use it for a connector road from N. Glebe Road to Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road) in Fairfax County, which it never built, the county says. It now is giving Arlington first dibs before turning to private buyers. Should the sale go through, the county would set the land aside for public open space.

The property in question sits within the historic boundaries of a near-forgotten settlement by freed Black people who worked the land from the 1850s to the 1950s, according to the county and Jessica Kaplan, a local expert on and author of a definitive 2018 article about the community.

Kaplan pieced her article together from census data, deeds, wills, maps and claims residents made against the government for property it confiscated during the Civil War.

The settlement grew after John Jackson, a free Black man, bought three acres from white landowner William Walker, who he had known since childhood, shortly before the Civil War broke out, Kaplan writes. She says it is unclear if he sold to Jackson because of their friendship or because white people were not interested because it was a low-lying, flood-prone area.

Despite those issues, Jackson went through with the purchase. Walker’s initial sale sparked a small exodus of Black families — who had either escaped slavery, bought their freedom or were born free — from Fairfax County to what is now Arlington.

In what may be a riff on the problems with the land, residents called it “The Bottom,” Kaplan writes. At its peak, 20 families lived there.

“Whether [leasees] or owners, they found relative safety in numbers and in the secluded, timber-lined hollow of The Bottom,” she said. “The Bottom remained their home through challenging times: war, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, segregation, and suburbanization.”

Residents eked out a living farming, tending livestock and quarrying stone, she said. During the Civil War, men helped build nearby Fort Marcy and Fort Ethan Allen while women sold baked goods and did laundry for soldiers. Some of the Union soldiers, however, raided their farms and burned the land for fuel.

With paltry government repayments for confiscated property, the families built back after the war, Kaplan wrote. They farmed, quarried stone and worked for nearby white families. Their children walked three miles to attend the closest school for Black children, then called Sumner School.

The enclave dwindled to non-existence in the 1950s as residents died, moved to other Black neighborhoods in Arlington such as Halls Hill, or left the area. Economic pressures were compounded by access: Arlington County abandoned a road running along The Bottom’s west side and circumvented it with the new N. Glebe Road to Chain Bridge.

Investors ended up owning all the land comprising The Bottom, eventually selling to the U.S. government. Kaplan says the community “became the anchor for an overpass of the George Washington Memorial Parkway.”  Read More

Summer is here and perhaps you’ve noticed the shining sun and all it has to offer!

Solar energy is a renewable energy source and an alternative to fossil fuels. Homeowners with suitable roofs and minimal tree canopy can take advantage of the benefits of lowered energy bills and greener homes by going solar!

Arlington homeowners have multiple options when it comes to rooftop solar, including the Capital Area Solar Switch program, run by Solar United Neighbors, and Solarize NOVA, managed by the Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP). In addition to these options, homeowners can reach out directly to a solar vendor for quotes and installation.

Capital Area Solar Switch provides a co-op-like program, where participants sign up and receive a solar installation offer that is lower than market value. This is possible through bulk-purchasing, in which the cost per install is lowered due to high demand. The program requires a $150 refundable deposit before working with the installer.

With Solarize, interested homeowners can sign up for a free solar assessment and, if their home appears eligible for rooftop PV, they will be connected to a pre-vetted installer for inspection and an installation contract. The price model is established before the program opens, meaning the vendors have already been verified, selected, and have agreed upon a fair price.

Review these programs and learn about County permitting requirements here.

There are financial incentives available through the Inflation Reduction Act. Learn more about how tax credits can help offset the cost of solar.

Redevelopment plans for a Holiday Inn and office building in Ballston are headed to the Arlington County Board for approval.

The developers, Hoffman & Associates and Snell Properties, intend to replace the hotel (4600 Fairfax Drive) and Arlington Center Building (4610 Fairfax Drive) with a seven-story, 432-unit apartment building and two five-story, 15-unit buildings.

The development duo also propose building a new private road and alley for parking and loading activity, as well as new sidewalks and streetscapes along them.

The site is located west of N. Glebe Road, along N. Fairfax Drive, just before it becomes an on- and off-ramp to I-66. It is five blocks from the Ballston Metro station and two blocks from a proposed western entrance, currently in an early design phase.

“This site has a lot of surface parking, structured parking, an office building, the Holiday Inn, and a disconnected relationship to our neighbors to the south,” Cathy Puskar, a land use attorney for the developers, told the Planning Commission last week. “It’s been here quite a long time… so we are very eager to move forward with that.”

Hoffman and Snell have cleared nearly every step in the public review process. On Saturday, the Arlington County Board is set to review their request for easements in order to build on the site.

Much has changed since the initial submission more than a year ago.

“This project went through a substantial evolution as we went through the [Site Plan Review Committee] process,” Arlington County planner Adam Watson said during the Planning Commission meeting.

In response to public feedback, the layout changed and a bicycle and pedestrian path was widened to 12 feet and moved.

The 5-story buildings are now to the west of the 7-story building, rather than to its south. Watson says this creates a better height transition from the tall George Washington University building at 950 N. Glebe Road to the single-family homes west of the 4600 Fairfax Drive site.

Now, the proposed path separates the 7-story and 5-story buildings. Watson says this furthers county plans to add a “West Ballston Connection” linking with the Bluemont Junction, Custis and Ballston Pond trails at Fairfax Drive.

Watson said the project now delivers “a much improved streetscape, especially along Fairfax Drive” and less impervious surface area. It preserves more trees to increase the buffer between the development and the single-family homes nearby, he said.

“We really loved that first version… but we are very proud of where we are today,” Puskar said. “Despite some painful cuts and changes, we listened, and this is why we have such a good plan in front of you today.”

While the developers directed the bulk of residential traffix to Fairfax Drive — as opposed to the smaller private road south of the site, to allay concerns about traffic flow — some residents still have misgivings, Planning Commissioner Jim Lantelme said.

Climate Change, Energy and Environment Commission representative Mark Greenwood praised the project’s use of electricity rather than gas, but suggested the developers replace the gas stoves with induction ones, while adding more parking for electric vehicles.

This regularly scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Eli Residential channel. Enjoy!

Question: How was the market for single-family homes in Arlington during the first half of the year?

Answer: All it took was 7% interest rates to stabilize prices… which is exactly what the Fed’s goal was and the Arlington single-family home market is a great example of it working. Coming into the year, there were signs that prices would fall in 2023 if rates remained high, but due to a historic supply squeeze, prices remained stable despite a significant drop in demand (the drop in supply was more significant than the drop in demand).

The data below is based on sales of single-family homes in Arlington during the first six months of the past five years.

Competition Eases, Prices Stabilize

The Arlington single-family market will always be competitive, but the intensity of the last two years has softened and brought some stability to prices:

• The average home price increased by 2.3% to over $1,360,000 and the median price increased by 1.7% to $1,220,000. If you remove new construction sales from the data, the average sale price actual decreased by .6% to just over $1,241,000.
• Over the past five years, the average home price in Arlington has increased by nearly 27%
• On average, homes are selling for just over their original asking price in 2023.
• 14% of homes sold in the first half of 2023 sold for $2M+ and only 32% sold for $1M or less
• If you remove 2020 sales numbers (COVID lockdown), there were 26% fewer sales in the first half of 2023 than the 5yr average. That is almost exclusively due to low supply, not low demand.
• 68% of sales in 2023 were at or above the asking price, less than 2021 and 2022 but just above 2019 and 2020
• 64% of homes sold within 10 days on the market, last year it was 74%
• Homes that went under contract within one week on market sold for an average of 3.9% over the asking price, in 2022 the average was 6.8% and in 2019 it was 2%.

Zip Code Prices All Over the Place

There was no consistency in average price change across Arlington zip codes:

• Note: 22213 only has 8 sales in 2023 so the data isn’t very reliable, I considered not including it
• 22201 led the way with an 8.9% year-over-year increase
• After massive growth in 2021 and 2022, the 22205 zip code had the worst performance, down 8.5% from last year. However, this is not a reflection of actual home values dropping in 22205 by that much, but mostly the make-up of the data set.
• 22204, the zip code I now call home, remains the only zip code for a third year in a row with an average home price below $1M
• 22207, the best bellwether for Arlington single-family market conditions, continued its steady appreciation clocking in at 4.2% over 2022 to an average of $1,609,000. Without new construction sales, the average price increased by 1.8% to $1,455,000.

Looking Forward

There is no relief in sight for interest rates, with many rates returning to the 7%+ mark as of last week. Expect a noticeably less competitive, more balanced real estate market in the second half of the year. Buyers will have a better chance at finding value and sellers should level expectations.

The big question is when will rates come down (many expect to see 4-5% in the next 12-18 months) and what will that do to prices. If inventory remains low, which it’s likely to do for years to come, I think that we’ll see another surge in demand and prices when rates break through 5.5-6%. If that coincides with Q1/Q2 of 2024, expect that surge to be amplified. Until then, I expect prices to remain relatively flat with competition light to moderate, depending on the season.

If you’d like to discuss buying, selling, investing, or renting, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to discuss buying, selling, renting, or investing, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at EliResidential.com. Call me directly at (703) 539-2529.

Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Eli Residential channel.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland with RLAH Real Estate, 4040 N Fairfax Dr #10C A

(Updated at 12:40 p.m.) As historic Green Valley Pharmacy moves closer to being transformed into a restaurant, the owner of the new business remains “very frustrated” with the years-long redevelopment process.

Last month, the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) held its regular meeting, during which the board reviewed updated plans for the former pharmacy. The building at 2415 Shirlington Road is being transformed into a burger and pita restaurant called “Halal Spot,” as ARLnow first reported in 2021.

The board’s discussion in June centered on a proposed pergola and bioretention planters. While the planter plans were approved at the meeting, the pergola was deferred due to having not the most updated plans. At the meeting, a restaurant spokesperson said they intended to resubmit plans with a sloped awning and the pergola no longer covering the window.The window is original to the historic building and “reflective of the storefront nature of the property,” as was noted at the meeting.

The Board asked the project representative to re-submit updated plans.

Since the pharmacy building is protected in the Arlington County local historic district, any proposed exterior alterations must be approved by the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board’s design review process.

County historic preservation planner Serena Bolliger has confirmed to ARLnow that the pergola is the last element that needs to be approved for the Certificate of Appropriateness (CoA) permit but the civil engineering plan remains under review.

Restaurant owner Nasir Ahmad told ARLnow that this is his understanding as well, and aims to re-submit civil engineering plans this month. If that does happen and everything gets approved, the hope is that exterio construction can begin by mid-September. The build-out should take about six months, Ahmad said, meaning Halal Spot could open by early spring 2024.

But Ahmad remains frustrated with how long it’s taken to this point, even if it appears that approvals are finally wrapping up.

Read More

No Arlington-specific restaurant walked away from Sunday’s RAMMY Awards with new hardware for the display case, but it was not a total shutout for the county’s food scene.

As in years past, the big winners were mostly D.C. restaurants. But unlike last year, when Ruthie’s All-Day was honored as Casual Restaurant of the Year, no Arlington-only eatery was singled out.

This was the 41st annual edition of the regional awards program, organized by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington and held at the Washington Convention Center.

There were three winners with Arlington connections.

RASA — a growing, local fast casual Indian restaurant chain with a location in Crystal City — won for Favorite Fast Bites. Co-founders Sahil Rahman and Rahul Vinod took the stage before a large crowd of local restaurant industry figures to accept the award, thanking their team and their fathers, who are also restaurant owners.

Kevin Tien, who won for Chef of the Year for his now-closed D.C. restaurant Moon Rabbit, operates hot chicken eatery Hot Lola’s, with locations in Ballston and Rosslyn.

Rose Previte, who won for Restaurateur of the Year, will soon have an Arlington restaurant. Best known for Compass Rose and Maydan in D.C., Previte’s company No White Plates is building out Kirby Club, which has an existing location in the Mosaic District, in the former Iota Club space in Clarendon. The Middle Eastern concept, which in Clarendon was formerly to be called Tawle, is expected to open in the coming months.

Among those receiving RAMMY nominations this year but not making it to the podium were Snjezana Jaksic of Ambar Clarendon (Manager of the Year); Bridie McCulla of Liberty Restaurant Group (Pastry Chef of the Year); Bar Ivy in Clarendon (New Restaurant of the Year); and Ruthie’s All Day (Favorite Gathering Place).

Favorite Gathering Place and Favorite Fast Bites, which RASA won, were among the five categories for which members of the dining public — rather than a select panel — voted both the nominees and the winners this year, for the first time.

One notable backdrop for this year’s award ceremony is the July 1 implementation of D.C.’s new tipped-minimum wage law, which will raise the base pay of tipped restaurant staff significantly over the next few years. That has prompted some District restaurants to impose surcharges on customers and has also led to some speculation that Arlington could see an influx of new restaurants that would have otherwise opened across the river.