The Arlington County Fire Department came to the rescue of a trapped toucan this weekend after the bird got stuck behind a Pentagon City dishwasher.
Chester the toucan — a TikTok star with over 830,000 followers — has since recovered and is “back to being his normal chaotic self,” his owner, Maria Stagliano, told ARLnow.
A new one-stop shop for Filipino breakfast sandwiches and baked goods opened over the weekend in Pentagon City.
Gwenie’s Pastries x Lapu Lapu, owned and operated by acclaimed culinary sibling duo Stella and Javier Fernandez, offers breakfast and baked goods under one roof at 1417 S. Fern Street. It is the first brick-and-mortar location in Virginia for both Maryland-based businesses.
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.
Efforts to combat retail theft in Pentagon City led to the arrest of more than a dozen suspects in a single day last month.
The Arlington County Police Department’s “focused enforcement” effort on Aug. 22 resulted in 15 suspects being taken into custody, with charges ranging from petit larceny and receiving stolen property to narcotics violations.
There’s something a little bit magical about picking up a foil for the first time — or drawing back a bow and watching your arrow fly true. It’s why fencing and archery have such a hold on kids and adults alike: real focus, real skill, and a thrill you don’t get from the usual sports lineup.
This fall, Nova Fencing & Archery Club in Bailey’s Crossroads is opening registration for both, with beginner classes for every age starting the week of September 12th. Fencing welcomes ages 7 to 12 and teens and adults 13 and up. Explore Archery, coached by USA Archery certified instructors, welcomes ages 8 to 12 and meets Tuesdays or Saturdays. And for our youngest fencers, ages 4 to 6, ABC’s of Fencing meets on Saturdays. All classes run eight sessions for $195, equipment provided, no experience needed — yes, even for grown-ups who’ve never held a sword or a bow before.
They had not met in 42 years. But when the 2025 football season kicked off the night of Aug. 28, the Washington-Liberty Generals used a balanced attack to defeat the Bishop O’Connell Knights in high-school action.
W-L won 55-22 in what served as the season-opener for both squads.
Join us as Signature Theatre joins MoCA Arlington to create a space for mingling, art-making, and discovery! Guests can move through the galleries and enjoy a range of programmed activities, including:
Vintage rack hosted by local sellers — Nicole Lanteri Designs + Thrifted To Be Here
Shop curated selections of vintage art, homewares, clothing and jewelry. A mix of styles, eras + price points!
After more than a decade, the redevelopment of Ballston’s Central United Methodist Church site is about to conclude.
The reopening of Kinhaven School in Ballston on Tuesday will represent “the last piece of the puzzle,” the Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen said during an Aug. 27 online program sponsored by the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance (NVAHA).
D.C. Retrocession History — “On this date & the following day in 1846–Virginia held a referendum on the retrocession of their former territory—out of then-square DC, seceding back to Virginia Arlington wisely voted no. Alexandria (sadly then home to an intense trade in enslaved people at its port) voted yes.” [DC Council via Maureen Coffey/Bluesky]
Sign Prompts Big Donation — “Robert Johnson, the co-founder of Black Entertainment Television, has donated $500,000 to GOP Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears’ campaign for governor after she was targeted by a racist sign at a recent campaign rally, according to her campaign.” [Politico]
New Airport K-9 — “Welcome to our newest addition, K9 Stone!! Stone is a 6-year-old, Shepherd/Malinois mix, making #MWAAPD his new home from SEPTA. K9 Stone and his handler, Cpl. Latson, are passionate about serving their airport community at IAD and DCA!” [MWAA Police/X]
Future of N. Va. Economy — “Facing imminent severe economic headwinds in the region, the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, alongside elected officials from across Northern Virginia this past week, confirmed a unified call to action aimed at safeguarding and reinventing the region’s economy for a more diversified and equitable future.” [FCNP]
It’s Tuesday — Expect a mostly sunny day with temperatures reaching a high near 78 degrees and a mild north wind around 6 mph. As for Tuesday night, the skies will be mostly clear with temperatures dropping to a low around 58 degrees. [NWS]
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 — Aug 29, 2025.
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 skies with a high of approximately 77 degrees and a gentle north wind around 6 mph. As for Saturday night, it will be mostly clear with temperatures dipping to around 57 degrees and a light north breeze. See more from Weather.gov.
“The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it is possible.”
– Charles Kingsleigh
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! Feel free to discuss the most-read stories of the week, the upcoming weekend events or anything else of local interest in the comments. 👋
The weekend is here and so is a new episode of the ARLnow podcast.
In the latest episode, Vernon, Dan and Lene — and a special guest, Charnita Fox from the Animal Welfare League of Arlington — discuss a few notable local news stories in Arlington from the past week, including:
An entire professional broadcast studio is going up for auction because of about $70,000 in unpaid debt at Arlington Independent Media, an official says.
Hundreds of professional-grade items — including camcorders, cameras, MacBooks, iPads, microphones, audio mixers, audio recorders, turntables, lighting kits, TVs, desks, chairs, broadcasting equipment and a 360-degree photo booth kit — are up for bidding over the next few weeks.
