Fewer sales and lower prices resulted in a nearly 16% year-over-year decline in the total value of home transactions across Arlington in September, according to new data.
A total of 175 properties went to closing during the month, down 5% from 184 in September 2025, based on figures reported Oct. 12 by MarketStats by ShowingTime.
The average sales price of all properties that sold during the month dropped 10.4% to $883,455, with double-digit year-over-year declines found in all three segments of the market:
The average sales price of single-family homes was down 15.4% to $1,534,451
The average sales price of attached homes — townhouses, rowhouses and condominiums — was down 13.1% to $586,098
The average sales price of condominiums was down 15.9% to $421,094
The sales figures represent typical seasonal cooling from summer to fall, coupled with the impacts of mortgage-interest rates stubbornly holding above 7%.
That softness may continue, as the number of pending sales reported at the end of September totaled 180, down 9% from a year before. Pending sales typically convert to consummated transactions within a month or two of posting.
Among homes that sold during September, sellers on average received 98.7% of their listing price, up from 97% a year before, and homes spent an average 33 days on the market between listing and ratified sales contract, an improvement from the 36 days required a year before.
Prospective purchasers have more to choose from, with the 582 listings on the market at the end of September up from 475 a year before.
The month’s sales volume in Arlington was $155.15 million, down 15.8% from $184.2 million a year before.
September 2026 Arlington home-sales data (courtesy MarketStats by ShowingTime)
Home sales in the city of Falls Church totaled 10 in September, up from seven a year before. The average price of a single-family home that went to closing was $1,365,000 compared to $887,250 a year before, although given the small number of transactions, large swings are not unusual.
A total of 35 homes were on the market at the end of the month, compared to 53 a year before. Falls Church’s 12 pending sales at the end of September compared to 21 a year before.
All figures represent most, but not all, homes on the market. September 2026 figures are preliminary and are subject to revision.
Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist for the Bright MLS multiple-listing service, said Arlington’s relatively anemic September sales figures were emblematic of a larger regional trend:
“Buyer traffic in the DC area has dropped off considerably. The number of pending sales in September was down 17.1% year-over-year while showings were down by 16.9%. Pending sales and showings were down across virtually all local jurisdictions in the DMV.”
“It is higher rates, and not federal government cuts, that is quelling the D.C. area housing market. Inventory is climbing with active listings above pre-pandemic levels. With cooler demand, there may be local markets this fall where prices fall below last year’s levels, though significant price drops are not expected.”
A general increase in sales prices year-over-year across the region was due largely to a greater percentage of more expensive single-family homes in the overall sales mix, Sturtevant said.
September’s data arrived as those in Virginia’s real-estate industry hunkered down for the cooler market conditions that autumn typically brings.
A monthly online “flash survey” of members of the Virginia Realtors trade organization, conducted Sept. 23-30, found that only 6% of respondents described buyer activity in their area as “high” or “very high,” while 59% rated it “low” or “very low.”
A total of 511 Virginia Realtors members responded to the survey, including 373 who participated in a home sales transaction in the past month.
The organization’s monthly Buyer Activity Index, which in April hit a 2026 peak of 55 on a 0-to-100 scale, declined to a yearlong low of 24 in September. And only 4% of respondents expect strong buyer activity in three months’ time.
Among respondents to the survey, 44% said they expected prices in their areas to be lower at the end of the year than they were in late September, with 20% expecting prices to rise and 33% expecting relatively little change.
In other real-estate news:
Per-square-foot prices down in inner core: Prices on a per-square-foot basis were down in the region’s inner core in September, but outlying areas saw increases.
Average sales prices on a per-square-foot basis were down in D.C. ($483 from $509 a year before) as well as in Arlington ($486 vs. $500), Falls Church ($528 vs. $545) and Alexandria ($479 vs. $500).
Prices also were down in Fairfax County ($367 vs. $371) and Fairfax City ($353 vs. $365).
But per-square-foot prices were up in Loudoun County ($301 vs. $296 a year before) and Prince William County ($255 vs. $246).
For the Mid-Atlantic as a whole, September’s average per-square-foot sales price of $254 was up slightly from $252, according to data reported by MarketStats by ShowingTime.
September 2026 regional home-sales data (courtesy Bright MLS)
Year-to-date sales up 2.1% in major local jurisdictions: Home sales for the first nine months of 2026 were up 2.1% from the same period in 2025, according to data reported by MarketStats by ShowingTime.
A total of 20,691 properties changed hands during the January-through-September market in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties and the city of Alexandria. That’s up from 20,174 during the first nine months of 2025.
Two jurisdictions posted increases, with three others showing declines:
Home sales across Fairfax County were 9,374, up 3.4% from 9,069
Sales in Prince William County stood at 4,081, up 9.4% from 3,769
Transactions in Loudoun County totaled 3,850, down 4.2% from 4,019
Sales in Arlington were 1,782, down 0.2% from 1,786
Transactions in Alexandria were 1,522, down 0.9% from 1,536
Across the entire Mid-Atlantic region covered by MarketStats by ShowingTime and Bright MLS, the region’s multiple-listing service, year-to-date sales totaled 168,157, up 0.2% from 167,762.
Philadelphia County, Pa., had the most sales during the nine months, with its 10,164 down 3.1% from the year before. Fairfax County was second, followed by Montgomery County, Md. (7,372); Montgomery County, Pa. (6,457); and Baltimore County, Md. (6,140).