Just Listed in Arlington

Just Listed highlights Arlington properties that just came on the market within the past week. This feature is written and sponsored by Team Cathell, “Your Orange Line Specialists.”

It doesn’t seem like it when you look outside, but Arlington’s Spring real estate market is already here.

Eager buyers snatched up 42 homes this week with ratified contracts, several in bidding wars. Some 14 of those homes sold within seven days on the market and sellers listed 38 homes.

Inventory remains very low, and lack of good options is probably holding back a lot of buyers.

Mortgage rates fluctuated based on bond market activity this week but ended up unchanged at 4.5% for a 30-year fixed rate with no points. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) this week report that the number of home sales in 2018 was down nearly 11% from 2017, but home prices still inched upward.

Going into 2019, the biggest factor to affect our housing market will be affordability, according to Freddie Mac. Affordability is a combination of:

Rising mortgage rates which erode a buyer’s purchasing power
Rising home prices which results from buyer pressure due to low inventory
Lack of wage growth to equal or surpass inflation rate

Basically, buyers are getting squeezed by rising home prices, rising mortgage rates and stagnant income. Freddie Mac expects 2019 to see a slight increase in the number of home sales and number of loan applications for purchase. But that’s based on sustained economic growth at its current pace. Everything will change if our economy starts to slow in 2019.

Click here to see all the fresh new inventory in MRIS and call Team Cathell (703-975-2500) when you find a home you like.