Fairfax city, VA housing market

What this means

• Valuation. Prices are 25% above what local incomes have historically supported (this area's pre-2020 price-to-income ratio).
• Prices. Home values are up 2.7% over the past year (U.S.: +1.2%).
• Supply. There are 0% more homes for sale than the 2017-19 norm, so buyers have more to choose from than before the pandemic.
• Negotiating. Buyer leverage is low (1/100; U.S.: 54) (as of Apr 2019): homes typically sell at or above asking (100.5% of list); 0% of listings had a price cut (U.S.: 26%) (as of Sep 2018).
• Affordability. A mortgage on the typical home takes 43% of the median household income (U.S.: 35%); it takes about $188k a year to keep the payment at 30% of gross pay. That includes about $1,445 a year for home insurance (U.S.: $1,790).
• Buy vs. rent. Buying costs about $2,134/mo more than renting a typical home (mortgage payment vs. typical rent).
• Disaster risk. FEMA expects about $68 a year in natural-disaster damage per $100k of building value (U.S.: $155), mostly from flooding.