Two of four Arlington teams competing in the Northern Virginia Swimming League will compete in new divisions this summer.
The biggest change involves the Donaldson Run Thunderbolts. After competing in the league’s highest Division 1 the past six years, the team drops to Division 3 for the upcoming summer campaign after finishing 0-5 in Division 1 last year.
A Middle Eastern bakery, restaurant and market is expected to replace a deli and cafe in Cherrydale within the next few months.
Habibi’s Kitchen and Market plans to open this spring at 3907 Langston Blvd, offering Middle Eastern cuisine, fresh bread and local produce, owner Hassan Almaala told ARLnow. It’ll be a sister establishment to Almaala Farms, a longtime Union Market stall offering Middle Eastern bites and produce from the Almaala family farm on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
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: It seems like listings lingered on the market longer than usual this summer. Is that reflected in the market data?
Answer: The summer real estate market is usually slower than spring, but since late June, this summer has felt unusually slow compared with past summer markets. I analyzed Arlington homes listed for sale in July and August, going back to 2016, and found that we did indeed experience a historically slow summer market.
5-Bullet Cliff Notes
Slowest Summer Since 2016
Fewer homes listed in July and August went under contract within the first ten days on market (my preferred measure of market pace) than any summer since 2016.
The condo market experienced the brunt of that slowness, with the percentage of condos under contract within ten days falling 17.9 points below the trailing ten-year average. Arlington’s detached/townhouse/duplex market, one of the most robust sub-markets in the country, was not spared either; falling 6.7 points below the trailing ten-year average.
Lingering Inventory
The clearest sign of a summer slowdown is the amount of inventory that remained unresolved at the end of August. 53% of the listings entered in July and August were still active, compared with about 31% in 2025 and 27% from 2023-2025.
Even among July listings, which had at least a full month to attract a buyer, 36% remained active: more than twice the recent three-year rate. As of Aug 30, ~25% of all active summer listings had accumulated at least 30 days on market, and 9% accumulated at least 60 days.
Showings Down, Active Inventory Up
Showing data shows that we have fewer buyers in the market, not simply more indecisive/deliberate buyers. In the week ending August 23, showings in Arlington were down 7.9% from the prior week and 26.4% from the same week last year.
There are also a lot more homes for buyers to choose from, with active listings (homes listed for sale) up 2% from the week prior and 21.5% from the same week last year. Buyers will take longer to make decisions when they have more choices.
The Arlington trends are consistent with other Northern VA/DC Metro markets as well. In the DC Metro, weekly showings dropped to five-year lows in late June and remained there during most weeks of the summer. At the same time, the week ending August 23 delivered the most new listings to the market of any year since 2021, for the same week.
Total active listings in the DC Metro have been above the same week in the prior year since the second week of January 2025.
Backers of ranked-choice voting (RCV) believe this fall’s congressional races may bolster their case for changing the format of statewide elections.
If Virginia voters approve the congressional redistricting constitutional amendment on April 21, crowded ballots in many parts of the state could lead to future representatives being selected by an unusually small sliver of the overall electorate.
Looking for a fall activity that gets you moving and builds real confidence? EvolveAll Martial Arts and Training Studio is offer free classes for youth and adults during it’s upcoming Intro Week, September 14-19.
EvolveAll, Arlington’s martial arts and fitness community off Columbia Pike, is once again opening its doors for a full week of free trial classes — and youth classes are one of the highlights. Kids ages 5-15 will get to try hands-on martial arts instruction designed to build discipline, focus, and self-defense skills in a supportive, age-appropriate environment.
Those taking day trips through Arlington’s 55+ travel program could see significantly higher costs kick in later this year.
The Department of Parks and Recreation has proposed increasing fees for the excursions to pay for higher transportation costs.
We’ve made the reservation. You’re invited.
Spend an evening discovering exceptional wines, live acoustic music, and community at Rosslyn’s newest event: Rosslyn Reserved. Enjoy a tasting experience with a sommelier from Screwtop Wine Bar, savory bites from local Charcuterie business, Graze Craze, and more!
A proposal for a new behavioral health center on S. Carlin Springs Road is facing pushback on environmental impacts and effects on the surrounding neighborhood.
Misgivings about the 146-bed, 131,000-square-foot development proposal from VHC Health and Lifepoint Health made their way into discussions at the March 26 meeting of the county’s Forestry & Natural Resources Commission.
Cherry Blossom 5K Closures — ACPD will close portions of S. Joyce Street and Army Navy Drive on Saturday, April 11 for the Cherry Blossom 5K starting and finishing at Virginia Highlands Park. Closures begin as early as 4 a.m. and run until 1 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to use Metro’s Pentagon City station. [Arlington County]
O’Connell Star in Capital Classic — Bishop O’Connell senior point guard Darius Bivins was selected to play in the 53rd annual Capital Classic at Capital One Arena this past weekend, the longest-running high school basketball all-star game in the nation. Bivins has offers from Texas Tech, Cincinnati, Miami, Rutgers and VCU. [WTOP]
Car Fire on I-395 — “The left two lanes of I-395N between Glebe and Washington Blvd. are blocked due to this car fire. The fire is now out courtesy of @ArlingtonVaFD.” [Dave Statter/X]
Redistricting Poll Tight — A slim majority of Va. voters (52%) favors the redistricting referendum ahead of the April 21 vote, but opponents are more motivated to turn out, according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll. Among voters who participated in the last three general elections, 53% oppose the measure. [Washington Post]
ACA Enrollment Drops — About 33,000 Virginians have dropped their ACA health insurance since federal subsidies expired, the largest first-quarter decline on record, according to State Health Exchange Director Keven Patchett. An estimated 100,000 Virginians who relied on the subsidies are expected to be affected. [Virginia Mercury]
It’s Monday — Expect sunny skies today with a high near 63 degrees and northwest winds at 6–10 mph, gusting to 22 mph. Clear tonight with a low around 42. [NWS]
Today’s Morning Notes are brought to you by Industrious. ARLnow has been in an Industrious office for years and we love the convenience — you get to focus on your work rather than worrying about brewing your own coffee or keeping the copy machine stocked. Industrious has several Metro-accessible coworking locations in Arlington.
Good Friday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
The following articles were published earlier today — Apr 3, 2026.
Since it’s Friday, we’ve also compiled a list of the most-read articles of the week, below.
Here is what’s going on Saturday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
Here are the events planned for Sunday:
Expect mostly sunny weather with a slight chance of showers after 2 p.m., reaching a high near 85°F with a southwest wind at 6 to 10 mph. Saturday night will be partly cloudy, with a low around 64°F and a south wind at 10 to 15 mph, gusting up to 24 mph. There’s a slight chance of showers before 8 p.m. and a 30% chance of showers after 2 a.m. See more from Weather.gov.
“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”
– Theodore Roosevelt
The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.
We hope you have a great weekend, Arlington! If you have something to say about an issue of local note not covered today, feel free to post it as a letter to the editor on our new forum. 👋
This reporting was supported by the ARLnow Press Club. Join to support in-depth local journalism — and get an exclusive early morning email with a preview of that day’s planned news coverage.
By the time of his death in late 1995 at age 96, Edmund Campbell had been lionized as a civic leader and statesman whose legacy extended well beyond Arlington into state and national affairs.
Multiple blowout victories have made the start to the 2026 high-school baseball season uniquely significant for the Bishop O’Connell Knights this spring.
The private-school squad, led by a number of players who have committed to play the sport at Division I colleges, hasn’t opened a season with so many lopsided wins in many years.
