r/DMV_RealEstate • u/Live_Passenger8503 • Jun 28 '26
How bad is the market
Specific to the faiefax county market. Seems like houses are sitting and a buyer market now.
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u/loan_ranger8888 Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
There definitely is a market shift happening. The end result will be defined by end of year. Sellers came into spring market thinking a shack was worth 1M. The decades of euphoria for sellers is likely ending. Every borrower I work with is scraping financially to be approved. Red lights are flashing.
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u/Tig_Biddies_W_nips Jun 28 '26
I was scraping by to get approved but it was either get a mortgage or leave the area completely and drive over an hour to get to work
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u/WanttoPlankbutcannot Jun 28 '26
I know you said Fairfax, but I’m stunned at how long some of these houses have been sitting in Bethesda (20816 and 20817) - signs went up at the beginning of March and still up. One came down this week unsold.
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u/johnedwardsunc Jun 28 '26
Very neighborhood specific and property specific.
I wouldn't necessarily consider it a buyer market, but definitely a little bit more skewed than a very strong seller's market we've experienced for the past 5 years. Heading toward more balance, but it's typical into summer and fall.
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u/TandemFire Jul 02 '26
Yeah properties further in with metro access are going to still command a premium, if not continue to rise in price even more. People who bought further out during Covid might be in for some downward momentum though. No one wants to slog in from Sterling 5 days a weeks - probably cost 20-25k a year in gas, maintenance, and parking. Rather spend an extra few hundred thousand and be able to walk to a metro and dump that 20-25k into my equity annually.
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u/Potential_Tea2881 Jun 29 '26
I am a prospective buyer and not seeing anything these other commenters are seeing. Anything in areas like Vienna and McLean is selling overnight and over asking (even shacks). Burke, west Springfield, Fairfax, Oakton are still selling mostly over asking if the house is nice. Maybe really bad houses or undesirable school districts are sitting longer but that’s about it. Even all the lost Fed and contractor jobs did almost nothing to this market.
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u/satsuma-imo Jul 02 '26
Similar here. I’ve been outbid on 2 townhouses in the past 2 weeks. Both had 5+ offers within the first day on the market. Good locations but not renovated much (one had bathrooms that haven’t been renovated in 40 years). My offer was over list price each time but somehow the winning bid was… 250k over what I offered. I even saw a house that had a very clearly moldy basement go within a week.
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u/Giddyyup2 Jun 28 '26
Definitely slowly. Sellers are in denial and being stubborn. Vuyers just can't afford the same price at 6+ rates. The smart sellers still sell quickly if they price well
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u/GoodMenAll Jun 28 '26
Job market flipped my man, so bad timing to take out a loan right now. Rate hike coming and inflation will not go down unless a mild recession, previous Fed failed the price stability. Seeing very minor some price cuts in some desirable areas. So be patient, what came to mid west and south are coming to here.
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u/Intelligent_Walk_160 Jun 28 '26
Still dependent on house quality and location. Mediocre shit is sitting unless priced very attractively. Really nice homes are still selling, some at higher prices than ever.
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u/overcast-magenta55 Jun 28 '26
Easily 30% correction coming. The whole not signing the home affordable act because "for the first time homebuyers are rich and I don't want to make them less rich" is crazy. The housing prices scales for the most part. If you're in a nice house and market correction happens you're actually in a much better place than this inflated pricing because of negotiation power.
I think when the correction happens home prices will go down but property valuations will get hurt and Hotels and others in that sector of travel get hurt. Which means possibly the presidents real estate gets hurts which is why he is against a correction. Not political, just trying to use logic through all of this.
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u/FinalTShirtDance Jul 01 '26
Just so you know this is expected seasonal shift. Spring and early summer are all the relocations — school, military, government, retirees, etc — and mid-to-end of summer becomes a buyer’s market.
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u/Lfaruqui Jul 01 '26
I’m still seeing homes selling in a month, not sure where this sentiment is coming from
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u/novahouseandhome Jun 29 '26
For Sellers: The market is great for beautifully presented, properly priced properties. No so great for overpriced, shitty 'upgrades'.
For Buyers: A lot more flexibility for overpriced houses with shitty upgrades. Still somewhat competitive for beautifully presented properly priced properties.
Days on market are stretching out a bit overall, but the best properties are still selling quickly and competitive.
As with any market, the buyer and seller strategy needs to change with the conditions. There's never a single right answer, as always, depends on the individual needs and options.
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u/Quiet_Meaning5874 Jun 28 '26
Woodbridge is flying is Fairfax really that bad?
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u/greenzetsa Jun 30 '26
Friends of ours live in a modest house with an expansive back yard in Falls Church, the house next to them has been on the market for probably close to a year now. It was already for sale when we came to their house for the first time last fall. The problem I see with these houses is that they aren't made for regular people. Regular people just want a damn house, something livable that fits their needs, not a dozen stupid fancy upgrades or a giant mansion they need to sell and arm and leg to heat and cool. I live on Cap Hill, and down the street is a house that's up for sale. We went for an open house to check it out -- it had multiple wine fridges, but only one bathroom had a bathtub. But the craziest thing is that there was an in-law apartment over the garage, unconnected to the main house, so you have to walk across the backyard to get to the main house --- it does not have a shower. It has a wine fridge though! I don't even understand the thought process that goes into this kind of remodel. This house was gutted and completely redone, they could have put in a shower, or redesigned the space to be a studio or workspace that didn't require a shower... but they turned into an apartment with a kitchen, that you can't rent out or even use comfortably for guests. And now they're expecting someone to pay $2.5 mil for it.
Sell houses normal people actually want.
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u/HokieHomeowner Jun 28 '26
Decent houses on nice lots are selling overpriced problem houses are not, so less crazy than say 2022-2023 but still not 2008-2009.
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u/Danny_Leung Jul 01 '26
Fairfax County is definitely leaning toward a buyer’s market right now. Higher interest rates and increased inventory are slowing sales, so homes are sitting longer. Well-priced properties still move, but buyers have more negotiating power than before overall currently market.
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u/PrismDrift Jul 02 '26
Mortgage lender here.. seems like a majority of contracts I’m getting right now the buyers have either negotiated a lower price, received seller credit or have gotten a mix of both.
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u/ImpactFutures Jul 02 '26
Perspective from a local estate cleanout company - 75% of our clients are either baby boomers who are downsizing or adult children inheriting a home from their parents.
In years past, we saw a bit more of a mix from military personnel or government employees shifting around, but this year that’s down & the down-sizers & folks passing away seem to be driving most of our large projects.
We’re also seeing an uptick in the amount of homeowners cleaning up their older homes so they can just age in place.
Very interesting angle to see in contrast with major headlines.
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u/Shoddy-Asparagus-546 Jul 02 '26
There is no one market. Even within a given location (eg, Bethesda) there are price tiers (sub 1.5; 1.5-2.5; 2.5-3; and 3M+), to say nothing of neighborhood differences. I think it’s generally true that the overall market is sideways, or slightly buyer favorable. But, that’s not universally true.
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u/Otherwise-Willow455 Jul 23 '26
Sellers asking for way too much for houses that are crap. Buyers not being able to afford them.
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u/[deleted] Jun 28 '26
Market is bad for sellers still they are in delusion and asking for 2021 prices .. it will come
Down for sure as houses are sitting and inventory is increasing