This regularly scheduled column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. If you would like to work with Eli and his team in Northern Virginia and the greater D.C. Metro area, you can reach him directly at [email protected].
Question: How does home value appreciation vary in Arlington by property type?
Answer: The Arlington VA housing market has appreciated by an average price of 49% and a median price of 39% over a ten-year period, but that appreciation is not evenly distributed across all property types.
Detached Homes Appreciate Over 60%
Those who spend the most on a home benefit from the highest appreciation rates, with detached home appreciation of 60%+ over the course of a decade, and new detached homes appreciating the most of any property type, at 65%.
Condos Appreciate 1-2% Annually
The worst performing category over ten years in Arlington is the one-bedroom condo, with appreciation close to 1% annually and just 15% over ten years. Two-bedroom condos perform moderately better, with an average annual appreciation closer to 2% at 28% over ten years.
Townhouses are the Goldilocks Property Type
More expensive than condos and less expensive than detached homes, townhouse/semi-detached properties fall right in the middle of cost and ten-year rate of appreciation, coming in at 40% over ten years.
The Cost of Ownership Matters
The data we don’t see in the ten-year appreciation numbers is the difference in the cost of home ownership between the property types. That cost is as much a factor of dollars spent maintaining the home as it is time spent.
While condo fees have a bad reputation for being a waste of money, the long-term cost (money and time) of owning a condo is almost always significantly less than that of a detached home over a ten-year period. So not only does generating higher appreciation cost more upfront (detached homes cost nearly three times more than condos), but it also requires more time and money between your purchase and sale to achieve higher returns.
If you’d like to discuss buying, selling, investing, or renting, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].
We have access to the most pre and off-market listings across the DMV of any brokerage and are happy to share what’s available with anybody who asks.
Below are some of our team’s pre/off-market listings, details and additional listings available by request:
- Virginia Square – 4B/2BA/2,000 sqft – Duplex (1939) – N Lincoln St Arlington VA 22201
- Ballston – 4BR/3.5BA/2,400 sqft – Townhouse (2008) – N George Mason Dr Arlington VA 22203
- Ballston – 1BR/1BA/740 sqft – Condo (2000) – 3835 9th ST N Arlington VA 22203
- Woodbridge – 5BR/3.5BA/3,600 sqft – Detached Single Family (1983) – Cavalier Dr Woodbridge VA 22192
- Williamsburg – 6BR/5.5BA/5,500 sqft – Detached Single Family (2026) – 27th St N Arlington VA 22207
- Yorktown – 6BR/6.5BA/6,000+ sqft – Detached Single Family (2026) – N Greencastle St Arlington VA 22207
Eli and his team believe that your real estate needs should be managed by advisors, not salespeople. Their mission is to guide, educate, and advocate for their clients through real advice, hands-on support, and personalized service.
