Four Arlington schools will be distributing cellphone storage pouches to students this year as part of an effort to restrict mobile phone use on campus.
The pilot program will kick off in mid-September at Wakefield High School, H-B Woodlawn (middle school only), Swanson Middle School and Thomas Jefferson Middle School, APS announced in an email to parents Thursday.
Amazon and Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream have partnered to serve free banana splits outside HQ2 this afternoon (Friday).
From noon to 2 p.m. today at Metropolitan Park, 510 14th Street S., the community is invited to celebrate National Banana Split Day with a free scoop of chocolate, vanilla or strawberry ice cream and customized toppings. This is in addition to the free bananas passersby can ordinarily snag near HQ2.
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 has the local real estate market performed so far this year?
Answer: After a year where market conditions softened in favor of buyers, the Northern VA real estate market became more favorable for sellers in the first quarter of 2026, while the Washington DC condo market continued to reel.
What is in this article:
Northern VA & Arlington Inventory is Being Absorbed Faster
After four straight quarters of double-digit decreases in year-over-year absorption, the Northern VA and Arlington markets saw a ~8% increase in absorption rate.
What this means: Demand increased in Q1
Northern VA & Arlington New Listing Volume is Declining
After a promising trend of six straight quarters of year-over-year increases in the number of homes listed for sale in Northern VA, new listing activity fell by ~1% each of the previous two quarters.
What this means: Sellers have less competition, buyers have fewer choices
Washington DC Condo Absorption is Plummeting
The absorption rate for DC condos has declined year-over-year for 16 quarters straight and 23 out of the past 26 quarters.
What this means: It is difficult to find buyers for DC condos
Washington DC Condo Inventory Declined Slightly
Total inventory declined by 3.4% year-over-year, the first quarterly drop since Q4 2023. Still, there were great than 2x more condos for sale in DC in Q1 2026 than Q1 2020
What this means: Motivated sellers must compete aggressively with each other for buyers
Washington DC Condos Keep Getting Cheaper
The average price of a DC condo listed for sale is 9.4% less than it was in Q1 2025 and ~9% less than it was ten years ago.
What this means: Even lowering the price won’t guarantee a buyer
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:
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.
Jury Duty Questionnaires Going Out — “The Arlington Circuit Court, which includes the City of Falls Church, will soon begin its annual juror qualification process. Juror questionnaires will be mailed in late August to approximately 35,000 randomly selected residents of Arlington County and Falls Church City. These questionnaires are used to qualify residents for jury duty which begins Jan. 1, 2025, and ends Dec. 31, 2025.” [Arlington County]
Rosslyn Office Building Sells — “Brookfield Corp. sold an I.M. Pei-designed office tower across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., for $143 million to the building’s largest tenant… the energy company Venture Global LNG.” [CoStar]
Flyover Planned Today — From AlertDC: “The US Military will conduct a flyover in the area of the Washington Navy Yard on Friday, August 23rd, 2024 at 10:00am.”
Modest Job Growth in Arlington — “Year-over-year employment increased in 300 of the 369 largest U.S. counties in new data. And while Arlington and Fairfax counties were among those rising, their rates of growth were less than that of the nation as a whole. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Aug. 21 reported that, for the quarter ending in March, Arlington recorded total employment of 175,200 and Fairfax 628,400 – increases of 1.1 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.” [Gazette Leader]
New Heart Monitors for ACFD — From the Arlington County Fire Department: “ACFD becomes first fire department in Virginia to acquire new LIFEPAK 35 cardiac monitors. Training on the new devices is on-going, with the devices set to hit the field shortly.” [Twitter]
Shirlington Bus Station Feedback — From Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services: “Share your feels on the Shirlington Bus Station and they could be used for expansion planning. Comments about the actual buses need to be sent directly to those transit agencies.” [Twitter, Arlington County]
More Funding for F.C. Company — “Falls Church’s Retension Pharmaceuticals Inc. has secured millions of dollars in funding to help get a new therapy for high blood pressure through clinical trials and to patients. The company said Wednesday it closed a $10.4 million Series A round to fuel a study for its lead drug candidate, designed to address hypertension — or high blood pressure — that’s resistant to other treatments.” [Washington Business Journal]
It’s Friday — Expect a sunny day with temperatures reaching up to 84 degrees and light, variable winds. As night falls on Friday, the skies will be mostly clear with temperatures dropping to around 61 degrees, accompanied by a south wind blowing at 3 to 5 mph. [NWS]
The League of Women Voters of Arlington and Alexandria City, in partnership with Arlington County Public Library, invites you to an open discussion on managing local government in a changing environment.
Join Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz and Alexandria City Manager Jim Parajon for a conversation about how local governments are adapting to shifts in federal funding and changes at the state level. The discussion will explore how these evolving conditions may impact local priorities, services, and decision-making in our communities.
Good Thursday 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 22, 2024.
Here is what’s going on Friday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
Expect a sunny day with temperatures reaching up to 84 degrees and light, variable winds. As night falls on Friday, the skies will be mostly clear with temperatures dropping to around 61 degrees, accompanied by a south wind blowing at 3 to 5 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
– Nelson Mandela
The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.
The Women’s Crawl is coming to Falls Church on May 9, 2026!
Hosted by the team behind the Shrinks on Tap Podcast and presented by Expand Psychology, this one-of-a-kind event is more than a night out—it’s a movement.
Willemssen led the Knights to five state championships
Suzy Willemssen’s highly-successful tenure as the head girls softball coach at Bishop O’Connell High School has ended after six seasons.
Renovations are in the works at the Costco in Pentagon City, possibly including a multimillion-dollar overhaul of the food court.
At a minimum, a store representative told ARLnow, the wholesale retailer is expanding its bakery. A permit application at 1200 S. Fern Street refers to new bakery equipment, as well as a “revised sushi layout” and possible plans for a new deli, new rotisserie, new coolers for meat and produce and “an expansion to the existing electrical mezzanine.”
In tender memory of a former student, Montessori Public School of Arlington is receiving two “buddy benches” meant to comfort kids and encourage friendships.
Lola Adeyiga, 6, was “the most full of life, outgoing, kind, friendly, smart” kid, her mother Lindsay Adeyiga shared with ARLnow.
Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services has been on a scatalogical mission: to keep anything other than human waste and toilet paper out of county sewers.
The campaign has included flyers, social media posts and — most recently — a temporary art installation that made its big debut at the Arlington County Fair.
As students begin returning to Arlington Public Schools this coming Monday, Aug. 26, new initiatives are meant to encourage safer driving around schools this year.
Variable message boards sharing safety messaging and raising awareness about the start of the school year will appear along roads in Arlington in coming days. Ten new speed cameras have also been installed near select schools, operating when school zone lights are flashing at the beginning and end of the school day.
