Arlington Va Real Estate is Recession Resistant

Like a sturdy oak tree, the Arlington real estate market remains healthy through this economic storm.  Prices on average are maintaining their position only taking a modest dip in most cases.  Demand remains strong and housing supply has never gotten out of balance.

As a Realtor you can hardly walk across the street without someone asking you how the market is doing.  Most expect to hear the worst, but when I describe the Arlington Va real estate market, people often look at me in disbelief.  They certainly don’t expect for me to tell them that our biggest challenge is finding homes for all the buyers we are working with.

So why is it that Arlington real estate has remained a blue chip investment during the worst economic conditions this country has seen since the great depression?  My theory includes three reasons:

1. Arlington Condos
2. Northern Virginia Traffic
3. Government Supported Jobs

During the peak of the real estate market I had some friends and clients decide to move out to Ashburn.  They wanted a bigger yard and a newer home.  Ashburn had the luxury of land and they could hardly build homes fast enough to keep up with demand.  That was until the demand for new homes across the country disappeared.  Builders were left with homes they couldn’t sell and the housing market was flooded with inventory in Ashburn and surrounding areas.

In contrast, when the housing market was building steam, Arlington didn’t have the land available for new sprawling neighborhoods.  The only option was to build upwards in the form of new condos in Arlington Va.  When home buying activity began to decline, developers converted these would-be condominiums into rental apartments.  The quantity of homes for sale in Arlington remained in balance.

You can argue that demand for homes in Arlington has actually grown.  Rising fuel prices and worsening traffic are making it less and less appealing to purchase a home that requires a substantial commute.  With the majority of jobs still drawing commuters into DC every day, buyers are often putting Arlington at the top of their home buying wish-list.  Arlington is not only within close proximity to DC, it provides a number of commuting options in and out of the city.  The most popular of those commuting options is obviously the metro rail.

The purpose of many jobs in Northern Virginia is to support the national government either directly or indirectly.  Because these jobs are less volatile in trying economic times, many local jobs were sheltered from the devastating bouts of unemployment.   In December 2009 the (not seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Arlington was only at 4% while the unemployment rate climbed to 10.6% for the U.S.  More people in Arlington kept their jobs and are therefore able to continue making their mortgage payments.   The result is fewer foreclosure properties dragging down the real estate market in Arlington.  Even with the few foreclosure properties that we have sold in Arlington, we are usually able to price them around market value without having to make major price cuts.

Everything is not rainbows and sunshine in Arlington.  There are homes that have been affected by the challenging economy.  The area is not impervious to the national economic challenges, but it has proven to be resistant.  The ideas above are my personal theories based on what I am seeing while living and working in Arlington Virginia.  I would love to hear any additional theories you might have yourself.

Below is a list of the most recent homes to come on the market in Arlington.  Please let us know if you would like to explore the Arlington community as your next residence.

Showing properties 1 - 5 of 500+. See more city of Arlington real estate.
(all data current as of 9/2/2010)

1. $729,900 : 41 Oakland St, Arlington
   
   3 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths

   Size: 2,640 sq ft

   Lot size: 1,672 sq ft
2. $899,000 : 2457 Wakefield Ct N, Arlington
   
   3 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths

   Size: n/a

   Lot size: 2,538 sq ft
3. $325,000 : 1211 Eads St S #1509, Arlington
   
   1 beds, 1 full bath

   Size: 830 sq ft

   Lot size: n/a
4. $694,995 : 1809 Kentucky St, Arlington
   
   3 beds, 1 full bath

   Size: 1,572 sq ft

   Lot size: 9,360 sq ft
5. $675,000 : 1806 Columbia Pike, Arlington
   
   3 beds, 1 full bath

   Size: 1,800 sq ft

   Lot size: 5,482 sq ft

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

Get More Northern Virginia News In Your Inbox!

Never miss important Northern Virginia real estate news or changing market conditions! Subscribe via RSS or email delivery!