Two men allegedly tried to rob a mail carrier in Arlington this past Friday afternoon.
Arlington County police were dispatched to N. Columbus Street just north of Route 50 — in the Arlington Forest neighborhood — around 12:45 p.m. on Sept. 5, for reports of an attempted robbery by two men, one of whom implied having a gun.
GrillMarX's ribbon cutting in Falls Church (staff photo by Katie Taranto)
A family-owned steakhouse and raw bar from Maryland hosted a ribbon cutting at its first Virginia restaurant yesterday (Monday) in Falls Church.
Olney-based GrillMarX is now open in the Little City, serving hand-cut steaks, hearty entrees and Virginia wines at 510 S. Washington Street. The new two-level restaurant hosted its grand opening on the ground floor of 455 at Tinner Hill apartments.
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
Summer 2026 was slowest summer market since 2016
Showing activity is down significantly
Listing supply (homes for sale) is up significantly
It is still a seller’s market, just more balanced
Too early to accurately observe impact on prices
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.
Orangetheory's previous spot on Columbia Pike (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A national boxing gym franchise appears to be planning a new location on Columbia Pike.
Title Boxing Club is laying the groundwork for a possible location at Centro Arlington, in the retail bay where Orangetheory Fitness closed last year. The business applied for a commercial builders’ permit there last month.
Pentagon MMA has brought a special honor home to Arlington from the birthplace of Muay Thai.
The Arlington Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu Academy is now officially a certified and registered Muay Thai Gym Partner through the Sports Authority of Thailand and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand, making Pentagon MMA the only Muay Thai academy on the East Coast to have earned this distinction.
Committed-affordable housing in Ballston (courtesy of AHC)
A major affordable housing provider plans to transition near-all of its Arlington properties to new management firms by the end of the year.
Affordable Homes & Communities (AHC) has hired two new management groups to oversee its D.C.-area properties, including 23 apartment buildings in Arlington. The nonprofit, which has faced complaints of poor living conditions at some of its Arlington communities, says it hopes to improve residents’ experiences.
Join us for the LLT 5K Run/Walk, a community-powered fundraiser supporting Empower Latina and our mission to uplift, empower, and create opportunities for Latina women and girls. Whether you run, walk, or cheer from the sidelines, your participation helps make a meaningful impact. Lace up, show up, and empower Latina!
Police on scene at Gunston Middle School after threat found in 2023 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Should Arlington Public Schools bring back school resource officers? Candidates running for School Board have starkly different opinions.
School Board candidate James “Vell” Rives IV used the Sept. 2 Arlington County Civic Federation candidate forum to press for a return of resource officers, known as SROs, which were removed from county schools four years ago.
Voting at Arlington Central Library on Nov. 7, 2023 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Two nonprofits are preparing for a survey of Arlington voters’ experiences with ranked-choice voting shortly after polls close in November.
The goal is to “have the survey in the field immediately after the election, so opinions are fresh,” said Sally Hudson, executive director of Ranked Choice Virginia.
Entering Arlington on I-395 from D.C. (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)
Acquisition for Ballston Company — “Safran Defense and Space Inc., the Arlington-based unit of French aerospace manufacturing giant Safran SA, is beefing up its ties to the U.S. defense sector with its first-ever acquisition. The company, whose U.S. headquarters is in Ballston, has acquired Attollo Engineering, a Camarillo, California, company.” [WBJ]
Results from Local Tech Fund — “A county-backed fund in Arlington is seeing some return on investment as it enters its third year. The Arlington Innovation Fund… granted funding to startups in early 2024: Nine firms received non-dilutive funding ranging from $25,000 to $50,000. Since then, companies have collectively raised $25 million after participating in what’s called the Catalyst Grant Program.” [Technically]
Arlington Then and Now — ” I can remember walking on the North Scott Street bridge over I-66, on my way to the Metro, and wondering why there was no traffic on the highway (I-66 in Arlington had not yet been opened). At that time the Ballston Metro was the end of the line.” [FCNP]
Substance Abuse in N. Va. — “Inova Health on Wednesday released new data finding nearly half of adults in Northern Virginia are either personally impacted by substance use or know someone who is, with even higher numbers among millennials.” [FFXnow]
It’s Tuesday — Expect sunny skies and a high of around 76 degrees with a northeast wind blowing at 6 to 9 mph. By Tuesday night, the sky will be mostly cloudy with a low temperature near 59 degrees. [NWS]
Expect sunny skies and a high of around 76 degrees with a northeast wind blowing at 6 to 9 mph. By Tuesday night, the sky will be mostly cloudy with a low temperature near 59 degrees, and the northeast wind will continue at approximately 6 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
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O'Connell brothers Jayse Brefczynski, left, and Landon Brefczynski, behind, attempt to overtake a Langley High School runner (staff photo by Dave Facinoli)
The Brefczynski brothers — Jayse, a junior, and Landon, a freshman — posted breakout performances in high-school cross-country competition during an early-season fall meet.