News

Flyover Planned This Morning — From AlertDC: “The US Military will be conducting a Flyover at Arlington National Cemetery on Friday January 5, 2024 at 9:10 AM.”

Protest at Blinken’s House — “Pro-Palestinian protesters targeted Secretary of State Antony Blinken with ‘fake blood’ outside his suburban Virginia home on Thursday. Activists surrounded his SUV as it rolled through the gates of his house in [Arlington, near the McLean border] and spilled red paint on the driveway as he left for work. The demonstrators shouted ‘shame on you’ and ‘war criminal’ and told the U.S. to stop the ‘genocide’ Gaza.” ACPD responded to the scene to assist the Diplomatic Security Service around 7:30 a.m. Thursday. [Daily Mail]


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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 Arlington single-family home market performed in the first half of 2026?

Answer: Arlington’s single-family detached (SFD) market got busier and more competitive in the first half of 2026, yet prices increased at their slowest pace since 2023.

More Competition, Modest Appreciation (Resale Market)

Note: this data is for resales of single-family detached (SFD) homes; I have a separate analysis of the new construction market further down.

  • The average and median price increased 3.5% and 1.9%, respectively
  • Over the past five years, the average and median price increased 13.9% and 11.1%, respectively
  • The average and median price of a home increased to $1.44M and $1.299M, respectively
  • Demand and competition rose to the highest levels since 2022, with 66% of homes selling within the first ten days on market and 68% of homes selling at or above the original asking price
  • The average buyer paid 1.3% more than the original asking price, compared to 2025 when the average buyer paid 0.3% less than the original asking price
  • Buyers of homes that went under contract within the first week on market paid an average of 4.7% over the asking price

Dig Deeper: Performance Varied by Size, Price Point

The appreciation gap between the average price (3.5%) and median price (1.9%) matters. The average is more sensitive to expensive sales. In 2026, 15.7% of closed resales sold for $2M or more, up from 12.7% in 2025. At the other end of the market, only 21.7% sold below $1M, down from 24.4%. That shift toward higher-priced homes helped lift the average faster than the median.

Average and median prices are useful, but neither tells us whether gains were shared evenly across the market. To test that, I divided the closed resale market into four sold-price quartiles for each year. Each quartile represents one-fourth of that year’s sales, from the least expensive 25% to the most expensive 25%. (more…)


News

Arlington School Board Vice Chair David Priddy says he will not be seeking another term.

He was elected in 2020 along with Cristina Diaz-Torres, who currently serves as the School Board Chair and last month announced that she too would step down after one term. Both of their terms expire at the end of this year, meaning two seats are up for election this year.


Around Town

Fast-casual Korean restaurant Rice Crook has quietly closed its location inside Ballston Quarter Market.

The restaurant, a creation of noted local chef Scott Chung that was known for its customizable rice bowls, moved into the food hall at 4238 Wilson Blvd in 2019. Now, all that remains is a sign above its former stall.


Around Town

The Unleashed by Petco store near Ballston is closing this month.

The smaller-format chain pet store — which also offered pet vaccinations, dog training and a self-serve washing station — has been in business at 3902 Wilson Blvd for just over 10 years.


News

A driver ran into the back of a stopped Arlington police cruiser in Courthouse yesterday afternoon.

The crash, which happened two blocks from police headquarters — next to the construction site that was formerly a Wendy’s — happened around 2:30 p.m.


News

Sushi Spot Coming to Courthouse — “Restaurateur Nick Cordero, part of the father-son duo behind Don Tito, Bronson Bierhall and Taco Rock, plans to open a new sushi restaurant in Arlington, steps from the Court House Metro station. Saki, an omakase-style Japanese restaurant, is slated to open in late 2024 in about 4,500 square feet at the Commodore, a 20-story multifamily building being developed at 2025 15th St. N.” [Washington Business Journal]

Dem Primary Keeps Pledge — “Those participating in the springtime Arlington County Democratic Committee School Board caucus will be required to pledge their support to the Democratic ticket in November. The statement, which is largely symbolic as there is little real mechanism to enforce it, long has been part of local Democrats’ caucus process… the local party attempted to remove signing the statement as a requirement for participating in its nominating caucuses, but the Democratic Party of Virginia insisted it remain.” [Gazette Leader]