According to the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors, November saw home sales in Northern Virginia rise over the month of November 2015. That is inclusive of the counties of Fairfax and Arlington, and the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax and Clifton. NVAR Chairman Virgil Frizzell released a press statement on the phenomenon: “More local buyers and sellers reached agreements this November, resulting in a 25 percent rise in home sales compared to last year, perhaps because of a sense of urgency,” Frizzell wrote. “The changing political landscape and likely increases in interest rates may have spurred this decisiveness. Also, strong employment and pent-up demand were factors.”

It’s clear that the imminent change in presidential administrations have people thinking about the housing market. Presidents come and go, and the market fluctuates. This means that the interim between the election and Inauguration Day, there can be a bum rush on home buying and selling. Last month, in the Northern Virginia market, 1,542 closings took place. Additionally, the amount of days homes stayed on the market decreased by seven percent.

The CEO of NVAR, Ryan Conrad, said that he believes Northern Virginia buyers have confidence in the market regardless of who sits in the Oval Office. “The half of a percentage point increase of interest rates right after the election could be the first other increases to come. Savvy buyers want more house for their dollar once they decide to let go of their current home and mortgage.” According to Conrad, the increase in sales is simply a matter of anticipated higher interest. Buyers naturally want to spend less money. 

Genevieve Concannon of Advon Real Estate in Falls Church said that some of her clients already sold their homes to incoming Cabinet members. Uncertainty after elections is part and parcel of life in Northern Virginia, living so close to the Capitol, she posits. And this year, in particular, people saw things as particularly up in the air. “It did seem that home buyers were asking the predominant question: ‘what is going to happen after the election?’,” she said. “Buyers have been hamstrung all year by low inventory, she explained, but they “dethroned uncertainty by empowering themselves with strong offers on homes to help move the market forward.”

Concannon said that the luxury market has been on the decline, with most buyers look for homes in the median-to-high end of the housing market.