I’m in the numbers every week, so you don’t have to be. Here I’ll show you what homes are selling for, what buyers are doing, and where the market’s heading in Northern Virginia.

 


Selling Your Home in Northern Virginia: What You Need to Know Right Now

If you're thinking about selling your home in Northern Virginia, the spring 2026 market is sending a clear message: serious buyers are out there, inventory is climbing, and the days of simply putting a sign in the yard and waiting for offers are over. This market is shifting. It still rewards sellers — but only the ones who come in prepared, priced right, and marketed aggressively from day one.

The short answer: Yes, it is a good time to sell in Northern Virginia — but the market has shifted and preparation matters more than it has in years. Across Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Arlington, and Alexandria, homes are selling in 16 to 23 days with median prices ranging from…

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By Chris Colgan, The Colgan Team at Real Broker | May 2026

Overview

Tens of billions of dollars are being poured into one region of the United States right now, but most people have no idea this is happening. Northern Virginia is being completely rebuilt while turning into the literal backbone of the U.S. economy. After 22 years selling in this region, this is the most consolidated stack of growth I've ever seen. Here's what's here, what's coming, and how it affects prices. (0:00)

Key Takeaways

  • Data Center Alley: Loudoun and Prince William counties host the world's largest concentration of data centers. The Virginia data center industry generates $40 billion in economic impact and over 112,000 jobs per NVTC's March 2026 report.
    • …

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By Chris Colgan, The Colgan Team at Real Broker | May 2026

Overview

If "suburb" means giving up city life, you have not seen these five spots in Northern Virginia. One has a historic downtown that's older than the United States itself. One just ranked number one for schools in the entire state of Virginia. And one is the most affordable walkable downtown on the list by a wide margin. These are five DC suburbs that don't really feel suburban at all. (0:00)

Key Takeaways

  • Mosaic District (Merrifield): Built in 2012, runs 31 acres of real walkable district energy with farmers markets, Caboose Commons, Angelika Film Center, and Orange Line Metro. Pricing mid-$600,000s to low-$700,000s.
  • Reston Town Center: The only NoVA town center…

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By Chris Colgan, The Colgan Team at Real Broker | May 2026

Overview

Thousands of buyers close on homes in Northern Virginia every year thinking the math works. Then month six hits and they are suddenly looking at $6,000 to $8,000 a month just to keep the lights on. After 22 years working with Northern Virginia families, this is exactly what those costs are and how to plan for them before you write an offer. (0:00)

Key Takeaways

  • The mortgage payment is just the start. Property taxes, insurance, utilities, HOA, and Virginia's nation-leading vehicle property tax all add up fast.
  • Most buyers underestimate true monthly carrying costs by $2,000 to $4,000 per month.
  • Fairfax County's real property tax rate is $1.1225 per $100 of…

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By Chris Colgan, The Colgan Team at Real Broker | April 2026

Overview

A lot of people think living in Northern Virginia means crazy prices, traffic, or chaos. And honestly, yeah, for some areas, that is actually real. But there are small towns with nice downtowns, mountain views, and home prices that will surprise you in a good way. Even Clint Eastwood filmed in one of these towns. After 22 years selling real estate across the region, these are five small towns near Northern Virginia that most buyers completely overlook, but really shouldn't. (0:00)

Key Takeaways

  • Winchester: About 1.5 hours west of D.C., median home values in the upper $300,000s, ranked by Forbes as one of the best places to retire in 2025
  • Culpeper: Historic…

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Northern Virginia luxury real estate operates as three completely separate markets, not one. The $1.5M to $2.5M entry tier is broad and lifestyle-driven, spread across Arlington, Alexandria, Vienna, and McLean. The $2.5M to $5M core tier narrows to two distinct buyer profiles split between McLean and Great Falls. And above $5 million, one neighborhood, McLean, controls the majority of the market while the rest of Northern Virginia barely registers. If you're buying or selling at any price point and treating this as one market, you're already working with the wrong strategy.

I'm Chris Colgan, a Northern Virginia native who has spent over 20 years and more than $1 billion in closed transactions working these exact markets. I pulled this breakdown…

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Spring finally showed up — and so did sellers, buyers, and some numbers that tell a very different story depending on which county you're watching.

I'm Chris Colgan, Northern Virginia realtor and founder of Real Nova Network. Every month I pull the Bright MLS data across the counties I've worked in my entire career — Fairfax, Arlington, Loudoun, Prince William, Fauquier, Alexandria, and beyond — and translate what it actually means for people buying, selling, and living here. April 2026 had some genuinely interesting crosscurrents worth unpacking.

The headline: the D.C. metro market is healing faster than the headlines suggest, but it is not healing evenly. Some counties are in outright seller's market territory. Others are quietly giving buyers…

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Northern Virginia locals might have noticed that some for-sale houses in the area sit on the market for what feels like ages, whereas others are sold in a flash. At first, it might seem like a pricing issue. Yet, contradictorily, I’ve seen places set at a reasonable price linger far too long on the property market, while overpriced houses receive multiple offers in a mere handful of days.

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With my decades of experience helping folks in Northern Virginia’s real estate sector, I want to tell you the real reasons behind this strange phenomenon. If you’re thinking of selling your home, this insight might save you a few months of market frustration.

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Complicated Home Showings


Oftentimes, sellers shoot themselves in the foot before a…

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If you grew up in Manassas or have spent any time near the Sudley Road corridor, you know the Mathis Shopping Center. It's been a fixture in that part of the city for decades. But according to Inside NoVA, that's all about to change — and in a big way.

On Monday, April 21st, Manassas city officials presented a final master plan to the City Council for the redevelopment of the Mathis Shopping Center property. What's being proposed isn't just a facelift. It's a ground-up reimagining of 14.9 acres sitting between Mathis Avenue, Sudley Road, and Portner Avenue — right on the edge of downtown Manassas.

The City Already Owns It

This one is worth understanding from the jump: Manassas purchased this property in 2024 for $16 million. That means the city…

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If you've been wondering whether Virginia is actually an affordable state to own a home — or whether your housing costs are eating too much of your paycheck — a new national study has some answers worth paying attention to.

According to WalletHub's recent analysis of housing costs across all 50 states, Virginia homeowners spend approximately 24.95% of their monthly household income on housing costs — placing the state at #19 nationally among the most expensive states for homeowners. That puts Virginia squarely in the middle of the pack: not as brutal as Hawaii (50%), California (43%), or Massachusetts (34%), but also not as affordable as Iowa, Kansas, or West Virginia.

For renters, Virginia actually looks considerably better. The state ranked #44…

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