Ask Eli

This regularly scheduled sponsored 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 Eli@EliResidential.com.

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.

Question: How do County assessed values for property taxes compare to actual market values?

Answer: In January, Arlington announced that residential property tax assessments increased by 3.7% across the county (changes to individual home/land values will vary significantly). This change is meant to align with the increase in market values of Arlington homes, but it falls below actual 2024 market performance for detached and condo properties (good for homeowners paying property taxes).

Tax assessed values remain well below actual market values for most homes in Arlington. In fact, 86.4% of homes sold in 2024 sold for more than their most recent tax assessed value. Nearly the same number of homes sold for 20% or more than their assessed value than those that sold for less than their assessed value.

Homes that sold in 2024 sold for an average of 9.7% (median 9.1%) above their most recent tax assessment.

Those who own homes in the 22205 and 22207 zip codes (most of North Arlington) benefit the most by underassessments, with the average 2024 sale coming in13.2% and 13% over their assessed value, respectively, which translates to under assessments of roughly $1,700 and $2,000 annually. Owners of detached homes and townhouses benefit more from underassessments than condo owners, with a 11.8% average under assessment compared to a 7.1% average difference.

If County assessments were representative of actual market values, the average Arlington homeowner would pay over $1,000 more per year in property taxes, so don’t forget to send the Department of Real Estate Assessments a thank you card!

The following chart shows how much more the average home sold for in 2024 compared to its most recent tax assessed value (note: I’ve done some data clean-up like removing sales of new homes where the assessed value is still based on the original home’s value).

If you believe that the County’s assessment of your home’s value is too high, you have the right to appeal the assessed value; the deadline is March 1 each year

If you’d like to discuss buying, selling, investing, or renting, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].

Upcoming (pre-market) ERG Listings, Details and Additional Listings Available by Request

• National Landing – 1BR+den/1.5BA – condo (2023) – 737 Swann Ave Alexandria VA 22301
• Rosslyn – 2BR/2BA 1,050sqft – condo (2007) – 1800 Wilson Blvd Arlington VA 22201
• Rosslyn – 1BR+den/1BA/900sqft – Condo (2007) – 1800 Wilson Blvd Arlington VA 22201
• Courthouse – 2BR/2BA/1,100sqft – Condo (1992) – 1276 N Wayne St Arlington VA 22201
• Courthouse – 3BR/2BA/1,400sqft – Condo (1992) – 1276 N Wayne St Arlington VA 22201
• Arlington Ridge/Aurora Hills – 3BR/2.5BA/2,450sqft – Detached Single Family (1961) – S Grove St Arlington VA 22202

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to discuss buying, selling, renting, or investing, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at EliResidential.com. Call me directly at (703) 539-2529.

Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Eli Residential channel.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland with RLAH Real Estate, 4040 N Fairfax Dr #10C Arlington VA 22203. (703) 390-9460.

This regularly scheduled sponsored 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 Eli@EliResidential.com.

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.

Question: What design trends have you been seeing in the residential market lately?

Answer: Every year our marketing department does a deep dive into home design trends that multiple local and national design experts say to look for each year. Some of these trends last just a year or two, others take hold for years. Often, these trends reintroduce styles from decades ago (e.g. wallpaper resurgence) with small tweaks.

You can click this link to browse the full 2025 Design Trends e-booklet from RLAH Real Estate. I’ve pulled out a few highlights and personal favorites below…

Colors of the Year

Color trends have recently shifted towards an organic, natural look and all three 2025 Color of the Year selections from Pantone, Benjamin Moore, and Behr reflect that trend.

Return of the Formal Living Room

After years of buyers seeing formal living rooms and saying “what am I supposed to do with this room” we are finally seeing preference shift away from fully open spaces to more use-specific rooms like a formal living room free of TV and full of comfortable, elegant furniture to spend time with friends and family. It’s a room that can have its own unique personality where homeowners can take some design risk.

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This regularly scheduled sponsored 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 Eli@EliResidential.com.

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.

In two weeks, on Tuesday, March 11 from 5:30-7:30 p.m., ARLnow is hosting a public, educational panel discussion that I’ll be moderating focused on new construction (process, financing, challenges, options, etc) and remodeling/adding-on to an existing home.

The panel will be highly educational and informative for anybody who is curious about the topics, but especially for anybody who is struggling with the decision many local homeowners face trying to decide whether to improve and expand their current home or move to a larger existing or new home.

This is a 100% educational event — you will not be marketed to or contacted afterwards unless you request follow-up.

The panelists are some of the top local professionals in the business:

• Matt Rzepkowski, President/Owner of MR Custom Homes (new construction expert)
• Chad Hackmann, Regional Partner/Owner Alair Homes Arlington (remodeling/expansion expert)
• Tripp DeFalco, President/Owner of DeFalco Home Design (architect)
• Brad Pace, Wealth Management Mortgage Banker and Construction Builder Specialist with US Bank (lending expert)

The event will be hosted at the Arlington Central Library Auditorium, is free, and will include a panel discussion, moderated by me, followed by an audience Q&A session, and a chance to talk to the panelists individually afterwards or schedule a follow-up meeting.

You can RSVP using this link or clicking on the graphic below.

Feel free to share the invitation with anybody you think might find it useful. If you have questions or are interested in the discussion, but unable to attend, feel free to email me at [email protected].

If you’d like to discuss buying, selling, investing, or renting, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].

Upcoming (pre-market) ERG Listings, Details and Additional Listings Available by Request

• Williamsburg – 6 BR/6.5 BA/6,000 sq. ft. – Detached Single Family (2025) – 6580 Williamsburg Boulevard, Arlington VA, 22213
• Courthouse – 1 BR+den/1.5 BA/850 sq. ft. – Condo (2007) – 2220 N. Fairfax Drive #308, Arlington VA, 22201
• Cherrydale – 2 BR/2 BA/1,150 sq. ft. – Condo (2013) – 2101 N. Monroe Street, Arlington VA, 22207
• Stonegate/Alexandria West – 4 BR/3.5 BA/2,800 sq. ft. – Townhouse (built in 1999) – Lambert Street, Alexandria VA ,22311
• Arlington Ridge/Aurora Hills – 3 BR/2.5 BA/2,450 sq. ft. – Detached Single Family (1961) – S. Grove Street, Arlington VA, 22202
• Island Creek/Kingstowne – 3 BR/3.5 BA/2,185 sq. ft. – Townhouse (built in 2017) – Parrish Glebe Road, Alexandria VA, 22315

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to discuss buying, selling, renting, or investing, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at EliResidential.com. Call me directly at (703) 539-2529.

Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Eli Residential channel.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland with RLAH Real Estate, 4040 N Fairfax Dr #10C Arlington VA 22203. (703) 390-9460. 

This regularly scheduled sponsored 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 Eli@EliResidential.com.

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.

Question: I have seen multiple posts online that the D.C. area market is getting flooded with inventory and is crashing, is that accurate?

Answer: I was planning to do a lovely post this week on 2025 design trends (maybe next week?), but social media exploded over the weekend with posts about the D.C. area market being flooded with homes for sale and crashing due to the DOGE/Trump government cuts. After about 20 different people texted me about it, I figured I’d use this week’s column to correct the misinformation hitting so many of your newsfeeds.

Short Answer: The D.C. area market is not currently showing signs of a crash or being flooded with unseasonably high numbers of homes for sale.

For a longer response, I’ll share and respond to a handful of the posts/stats that have gotten the most exposure on social media…

“Everything is being put on the market”

The post screenshot below kicked off the frenzy (11M views in 36 hours) of people-on-the-internet making false claims of a D.C. area market crash/inventory flood. One would think that somebody by the name of Darth Powell (64,000 followers) whose bio states they are a “housing market savant” would surely know what they’re talking about, right? Sadly, no.

What Darth Powell is suggesting is that the visual of so many listings in Coming Soon status suggests that everybody is suddenly putting their home up for sale.

For context, the reason a seller would enter their home into the MLS in Coming Soon status is because they get the benefits of massive marketing exposure (reaches all agents in the MLS and syndicates to all consumer-facing sites like Zillow) without accruing “days on market” before they are ready to “go Active” and start showing the home and hosting Open Houses (note: the MLS restricts and enforces a ban on showings while in Coming Soon status).

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This regularly scheduled sponsored 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 Eli@EliResidential.com.

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.

Question: Are the current and future cuts to government jobs and contracts by Trump/Elon Musk/DOGE negatively effecting real estate values and demand?

Answer: With recent announcements of government workforce and contract cuts, led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Elon Musk, and the Trump administration, many are wondering how these changes impact the local D.C.-area real estate market. While uncertainty looms, making forecasting difficult, here’s what I’m seeing on the ground and what it could mean for buyers and sellers in 2025 and beyond.

I’m not going to rehash what’s happening in the federal workforce and contractor space because it’s 90% of the news cycle and you can find more detailed and current information across many news outlets, but personally, I’ve followed the excellent coverage of Arlington-based Axios.

Market Remains Strong…

I’ll cut to the chase — so far, in most sub-markets, my team and I have not seen many signals of demand dropping enough to have a measurably negative effect on real estate values. We have been involved in (on the buy and list side), and been privy to, numerous sales with competing offers, escalating prices, and stripped down/out contingencies that have all become the norm during the Q1/Q2 market. These examples have shown up across the Greater D.C. Area, in different property types (single-family detached, townhouse, and condo), and at various price levels (more on this later).

…Despite Less Market Demand & Intensity

During Q1 of each year, I look closely at the intensity of competition, not just the existence of competition. I define intensity by the percentage of properly marketed and priced homes that are getting multiple offers, the number of offers coming in (this is critical, especially for forecasting the Q2/Q3 market), and how much contract prices are escalating over prior year pricing. The structure of the real estate industry makes this difficult to measure accurately early in the year because it’s more anecdotal than scientific, but I get a feel for it by late-January/early-February and this year market intensity is down from this time last year (and the last five years). It’s hard to say how much of this can be attributed to persistently high interest rates vs the federal workforce cuts.

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This regularly scheduled sponsored 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 Eli@EliResidential.com.

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.

Question: How did Arlington’s single-family detached market perform in 2024?

Answer: Starting this week, you can find some of my upcoming pre-market listings at the end of my article. For more information about these listings or more pre-market listings, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].

With even less available inventory in 2024 than in 2023, low supply levels drove the average price of a single-family detached (SFD) home in Arlington up by 6.8% to an average price of more than $1,450,000 while the median price increased by 5% to nearly $1,280,000. Despite the strong gains, this is the first time since 2019 that condo prices outpaced SFD prices. Last week we did a deep dive into the 2024 condo market, so this week we’ll dive into Arlington’s 2024 SFD market…

The data below looks at Arlington’s SFD market last year and the trends over the past five years. Most real estate data sets look at numbers based on the year a home sold/settled, but I prefer to look at data based on when a home went under contract because it gives a more accurate reflection of what was happening in the marketplace at the time the deal was agreed to. In past analysis, I have used “net” prices (sold price less seller closing cost credits), but due to MLS data changes, this data does not net out closing cost credits.

Supply Down, Prices Up

The available supply of SFD homes in Arlington continues sinking to new lows since 2022, putting immense upwards pressure on prices, despite lower demand. The result is an increase of 25.6% and 28% in the average and median price, respectively, of SFD homes in Arlington over the past five years.

• The average price of a SFD home increased by 6.8% to over $1.45M. Removing new construction from the data, the average SFD resale price increased by 6.8% to nearly $1.33M.
• The median price of a SFD home increased by 5% to over $1.28M
• The average buyer paid 0.4% over the seller’s original asking price across all SFD homes, but for homes purchased within the first ten days on market (59% of all sales), the average buyer paid 4.2% over the seller’s original asking price
• New builds sold for an average of $2.365M, 8.3% more than last year, but just a bit higher than in 2022
• Just 6% of SFD homes sold for less than $800,000 and many of them will be torn down and replaced with a new home
• 17% of homes sold for over $2M, while just 14% sold for $1.6M-$2M
• In 2020, almost half of the homes sold were $800k-$1.2M, in 2024 just over 1/3 fell within that range
• Homes with 3-5 bedrooms make up more than 84% of the homes sold

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This regularly scheduled sponsored 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 Eli@EliResidential.com.

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.

Question: How did Arlington’s condo market perform in 2024?

Answer: The condo market is usually pretty stable, without much appreciation, but as we closed out 2023, I was observing signs of upward price pressure in the condo market which turned into uncharacteristically strong price appreciation for Arlington condos in 2024. By the time I ran my mid-year condo market review in July, prices were up double-digits in many sub-markets. As is usually the case, things cooled off a bit in the second half of the year, but the strong gains mostly held with the average price of an Arlington condo 9.7% higher in 2024 than in 2023. Let’s dig into the 2024 condo market performance…

The data below looks at Arlington’s condo market, specifically multi-family condos, last year and the trends over the past five years. Most real estate data sets look at numbers based on the year a home sold/settled, but I prefer to look at data based on when a home went under contract because it gives a more accurate reflection of what was happening in the marketplace at the time the deal was agreed to. In past analysis, I have used “net” prices (sold price less seller closing cost credits), but due to MLS data changes, this data does not net out closing cost credits.

Condo Market Up Big, Two-Bedrooms Lead

A ton of condo inventory was unleashed into the market from 2020-2022 during the COVID years and it took a while for it to be absorbed, but by the end of 2023, inventory levels had dropped well below the ten-year average, setting up a strong year in 2024.

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This regularly scheduled sponsored 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 Eli@EliResidential.com.

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.

Question: How did the D.C. area market perform last year?

Answer: Most of the D.C. area housing market put forth a strong performance in 2024, which meant good times for sellers and harder time for buyers. One of the few exceptions was the Washington, D.C. condo market, which saw lower demand, increasing inventory, and downward pricing pressure.

D.C. Area Appreciation Almost Double National Appreciation

The average sold price of homes in the Greater D.C. Area increased by 6.7% in 2024, compared to the National average of 3.8% (lower by some sources), led by another year of strong price growth of detached single-family homes.

Over the past ten years, homes in the Greater D.C. Area have appreciated by an average of 4.6% with the last annual decrease coming in 2009.

Historically Low Numbers of Homes Traded Hands

Fewer homes have traded hands in the past two years than any other 24-month period in the last thirty years, despite the population and housing supply increasing significantly during that period. The number of homes sold in 2023 and 2024 are 24% and 22% lower than the ten-year average from 2013-2022.

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This regularly scheduled sponsored 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 Eli@EliResidential.com.

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.

It’s always fun taking a look back at the most expensive homes sold in the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) region each year (see 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020) so let’s jump right into some amazing real estate that changed hands in 2024 (Note: this includes what is entered into the MLS, it’s certainly possible (likely) that expensive homes have traded hands privately outside of the MLS).

The most expensive home sold in 2024 was a $25,500,000 McLean home built in 2022, perched above the Potomac River. It edged out, this incredible home in Washington, D.C., along Foxhall Road, that sold for an even $25,000,000.

Top 5 Most Expensive Sales in Arlington

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This regularly scheduled sponsored 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 Eli@EliResidential.com.

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.

On Tuesday, January 14, I’ll be hosting another Ask Eli Home Buyer Workshop with my business partner Jean Ropp and local Loan Officer, Matt Ropp, with Atlantic Coast Mortgage. Food and drinks will be provided!

The workshop is a free and will cover:

• New laws affecting buyer agent representation and commission
• How to use data and strategy to maximize your home purchase
• How to use market trends to your advantage
• The latest on interest rates and mortgage programs/products
• Common mistakes to avoid and some tips for success

Who is it for?

• Any buyer type from first-time buyer to experienced buyers
• Ready to purchase now or planning 12+ months out
• Home buyers in Northern Virginia, D.C., or the Maryland Suburbs
• You or anybody you know who would benefit

Where and When?

• Tuesday, January 14 from 6-7:30 p.m.
• Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street), Bluemont Room

Registration is now open and space is limited. Click the graphic below to RSVP.

Bring your appetite and your home buying questions! I’d love to see you there. Feel free to email me at [email protected] with any questions about the event.

If you’d like to discuss buying, selling, investing, or renting, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to discuss buying, selling, renting, or investing, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at EliResidential.com. Call me directly at (703) 539-2529.

Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Eli Residential channel.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland with RLAH Real Estate, 4040 N Fairfax Dr #10C Arlington VA 22203. (703) 390-9460. 

This regularly scheduled sponsored 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 Eli@EliResidential.com.

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.

Merry Christmas and Hanukkah Eve! I’m grateful for another year with the opportunity to connect with you each week about real estate. The ARLnow community is wonderful and unique — thank you to Scott and the ARLnow team for building and supporting a platform that is a true community benefit.

Every year I like to reflect on what I’m most grateful for about living and working in Arlington. I also love to hear from you on the same. Here’s my list:

Diversity of Great Food

Arlington itself offers wonderfully diverse cuisines and when you add neighboring jurisdictions of Washington, D.C., Annandale, Alexandria, and Falls Church to the mix we have access to delicious international cuisine from every corner of the world within 20-30 minutes.

Passionate Neighbors

While we lack agreement on topics like Missing Middle, we do not lack passion. I appreciate how passionate both sides of the Missing Middle policy are and trust that in the long run, that passion will result in a great next generation housing policy for Arlington.

Airports

I don’t travel often, but when I do I’m grateful for our nearby national and international airports that are easily accessible by multiple modes of public and private transportation.

Parks and Recreation

No matter where you live in Arlington, you have access to an incredible network of trails, parks, and rec centers for endless outdoor enjoyment that costs nothing. Arlington’s trails and parks have given me so much joy over the years with family and friends.

Schools

Being an educator has become extraordinarily difficult and complex and I’m grateful for all the hardworking teachers, staff, and administrators who work hard, oftentimes thankless, hours keeping the Arlington Public Schools among the best in the country for our kids.

Jobs and Small Businesses

The robust and diverse job market in Arlington keeps unemployment low and the economy thriving. I’m especially thankful for all the entrepreneurs and risk-takers who fill every nook and cranny of Arlington with small businesses despite the daily challenges.

The ERG Team

I get to work with an amazingly talented and uplifting team:

• Tonya Nelson (Director of Everything): Where would I be without Tonya? She allows me to be a father, husband, and friend and keeps the ship straight every day of the week. Thanks and gratitude will never be enough.
• Val Connolly (Agent): We’ve worked as colleagues and partners for a decade and she’s now building a great business around her new home in Loudoun County.
• Jean Ropp (Agent): Amazing mother of two beautiful little boys and still works her tail off for clients with endless smiles and positivity.
• Carolanne Korolowicz (Agent): A new mother and 6t  generation Arlingtonian, I learn something interesting from her about Arlington and its history every time we talk.
• Brian Wyatt (Retired): Brian and I got to spend seven years working together from the very earliest days of ERG. It was a great journey together, enjoy retirement!

If you’d like to discuss buying, selling, investing, or renting, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to discuss buying, selling, renting, or investing, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at EliResidential.com. Call me directly at (703) 539-2529.

Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Eli Residential channel.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland with RLAH Real Estate, 4040 N Fairfax Dr #10C Arlington VA 22203. (703) 390-9460.