Summer is over, which marks the end of the busiest time of year in the real estate market all around the country. In the hottest housing markets of Northern Virginia, however, nothing is slowing down. Inventory is still in hot demand, prices are staying high, and new construction continues at an unbelievable pace.

“Buyers in the DMV [District, Maryland and Virginia] are really savvy and ready to buy,” says Nela Richardson, chief economist of Redfin brokerage in Washington was quoted as saying in the Washington Post. “There’s no learning curve required. But, especially in the fall, they’ve got plenty of time to wait for the right house.” While some buyers who work in the Capital may be leery of buying while they wait out the results of policy decisions, buyers on the upper end of the market are what Richardson calls “less jaded” and more likely to take the plunge when they find a home that suits them.

While it’s still clearly a seller’s market, buyers are getting a little more aggressive with their demands, says the Post. They are less likely to engage in bidding wars over homes, and more content to wait for the next good one to come along. They are willing to pay the listing price on a home that they like, according to Redfin, but they are more likely to be picky and demand that sellers fix every small item noted on an inspection report. 

This trend hasn’t so far affected the burning-hot trend of home sales in Northern Virginia that stretched over the first nine months of 2017. Most homes on the market sell within one to ten days. This is so common, in fact, that the number of homes selling in ten days or less is ten times the amount of the next-closest time bracket. Inventory is moving fast. 

As per the Post: “The price range with the most listings of single-family (detached) homes in Northern Virginia is $600,000 to $800,000. For townhouses, buyers will find the highest number of listings priced between $300,000 and $400,000; for condos, the highest number of listings is between $200,000 and $300,000.” Northern Virginia has about a 2.5 month inventory of homes on the market. Experts say that a “balanced” housing market has a five or six month inventory. 

The takeaway here? The temperature may be dropping, but real estate in Northern Virginia is hot, hot, hot.