After looking at the market in Arlington Ridge earlier this week, I got interested how other neighborhoods in South Arlington have been performing over the past year. One neighborhood in particular that I wanted to look at was the Nauck neighborhood.

The Nauck neighborhood of Arlington VA has a rich history. Here’s a bit of it:

Nauck is a community within Arlington County, Virginia bounded by the Army-Navy Country Club (East), South 16th Road (North), Four Mile Run (South), and South Walter Reed Drive (West).

This community was initially settled in 1844 by a free black man, Levi Jones.  Nauck began its gradual growth into an African American community when former residents of Freedman’s Village began moving into the area after the Civil War. In 1669 John Alexander purchased 46 acres with was eventually sold to Anthony Fraser during the 1800’s.

His daughter, who married J.E. Sickles, inherited the property.  It is said that a member of the Fraser-Sickles family who did not believe in slavery freed his slaves and gave them land as well as money to construct homes on the land. That area became known as Green Valley.  (The names “Nauck” and “Green Valley” are used interchangeably.)Free blacks, Levi and Sarah Ann Jones, were among the first African Americans to establish themselves in what is now known as Nauck. 

They were landowners prior to the Civil War and they built their home in 1844.  The local community began to grow as the Jones family began selling some of their property to other black families. The Nauck community is named for John D. Nauck, Jr. a resident of Washington, D.C. who brought 46 acres of land in 1874 and began subdividing it.  Prior to that time, the area was known as Green Valley; named for the Green Valley Manor which sat at 23rd and Ridge Road and overlooked the current site of the Army Navy Country Club.  Residents of the Nauck community continued to refer to the area as Green Valley well into the middle of the 20th century.

(Source: http://www.ncaarlington.org/about.htm )

So what’s been happening more recently? I took a look at the past year of home sales in the Nauck neighborhood, and compared them to the previous year.

Here’s what I found:

Over the past year, the Nauck neighborhood has seen a modest increase in home prices of 5%. The number of homes sold, average days on the market before sale, and typical home sold in the neighborhood were nearly identical to the previous year. Unlike Arlington Ridge, which experienced strong growth in a lot of areas, the Nauck neighborhood is a more stagnant market.

Current inventory bears this out:

Current Inventory:

15 single family homes are currently listed for sale in Arlington Ridge, and there are 6 pending sales. That gives us 150 days of inventory currently on the market. This is indicative of a modestly strong seller’s market, but when you look a little closer at the inventory, current inventory is heavily weighted with homes listed for $700,000 and higher. In fact, only 4 of the homes are listed for less than $700,000, and 3 homes are listed for $1,000,000 or more.

In this neighborhood, homes at the higher end of the price range tend to stay on the market a bit longer. If you split the inventory into 3 categories, it give a clearer picture as to what’s currently on the market:

• Homes Listed for less than $600,000: 4 Active Listings / 3 Pending Sales= 80 days of inventory
• Homes Listed for $600,000-$900,000: 7 Active Listings / 3 Pending Sales = 140 days of inventory
• Homes Listed for $900,000-$1,300,000: 4 Active listings / 0 pending sales = 240 days of inventory

In terms of market conditions, an inventory of 4 months or less is a sellers market, 5 to 7 months is a balanced market, and 8 or more is a seller’s market.

So according to the current market conditions in Nauck, the lower end of the market is a strong seller’s market, the middle price range is a balanced market, and the upper end of the price range is a buyers market.

What that means for home sellers:

It’s a great time to sell on the lower end of the price range, with few single family homes for sale and a quick average sale timeframe in the low end of the market. If your home falls into the higher end of the price range, now may not be the best time to sell. For homes that fall in the middle of the price range for this neighborhood, the qualities of your property will determine whether now is the ideal time to sell or not. If you’re curious about your home, feel free to get in touch – 703-928-7109

What that means for home buyers:

Now is an ideal time to buy in Nauck if you’re looking for a high-end home. It’s a buyer’s market, which for Arlington is a rarity.

If you’re looking for something on the lower or middle end of the price range you need to be pre-approved, and willing to put an offer on a home very quickly. There will be competition for any quality property that hits the market in Nauck, and a good Realtor® can mean the difference between getting the home you want, and losing out to another buyer.