Homebuyers are out in force across Alexandria, and more sellers in the city are dropping their prices to encourage faster sales, according to new data.
Alexandria saw a total of 625 home showings for the week ending Nov. 2, according to new data from Bright MLS. That’s up 6.1% from the same week a year before and is well above the D.C.-area increase of 3.6% to 23,070 showings during the same period, reflecting “a significant amount of pent-up demand,” according to the report.
“With lower mortgage rates, more inventory and more room for negotiation, some buyers who have been ready — and who are not impacted by the federal government shutdown — have been able to act opportunistically,” Lisa Sturtevant, Bright MLS’s chief economist, wrote.
For the same week, 10.5% of listed homes in Alexandria saw a price reduction, according to Bright MLS data. That’s up from 2.4 percentage points from the same week a year ago.
A number of factors could impact showing totals during what often is a cooler autumn market. Last year’s looming presidential race might have limited home visits for the pre-election week, and the current government shutdown may have disincentivized some prospective buyers while giving others the time to tour homes.
The ongoing government shutdown hasn’t derailed the market in the city or broader region, Sturtevant wrote, but its impacts are being felt.
“The sky isn’t falling, but it is definitely cloudy,” she wrote.
The biggest impacts have been felt within the District of Columbia itself, according to the report. The 2,389 home showings for the week in D.C. represented a year-over-year decline of more than 20%.
“The D.C. region is proving resilient so far, but [D.C.] itself, where federal workers make up a higher share of the workforce, is where we’re seeing the greatest risk,” Sturtevant wrote. “The longer the shutdown lasts, the wider this gap could grow.”
If the shutdown ends soon and federal workers receive back pay, Sturtevant expects a “modest” winter housing market with a “potentially robust” spring rebound. Without resolution, however, the region’s housing market could suffer with fewer sales and softer prices in both the city and suburbs.
Across Alexandria, 36 new listings came on the market in the week ending Nov. 2. That’s an increase of 16.1% from a year before, compared to a regional dip of 2.4% to 1,379 during the same period, but a single week isn’t necessarily indicative of any broader trend.
