Northern Virginia single-family home guideHouse prices, HOAs and what you get, county by county

In the 12 months to October 29, 2026, the City of Falls Church had the highest median house price ($1,600,000), followed by Arlington County and the City of Alexandria; at the other end, the City of Manassas Park came in at a $480,000 median. Across Northern Virginia the median was $935,000. Areas with fewer than 30 sales are in the chart, marked by their count.★

1. Northern Virginia13,079 sales$935,000
2. City of Falls Church65 sales$1,600,000
3. Arlington County946 sales$1,347,000
4. City of Alexandria308 sales$1,272,500
5. Loudoun County2,394 sales$1,050,000
6. Fairfax County6,207 sales$980,000
7. City of Fairfax169 sales$809,000
8. Prince William County2,755 sales$730,000
9. City of Manassas160 sales$611,000
10. City of Manassas Park75 sales$480,000

1. Northern Virginia13,079 sales$95/month
2. City of Fairfax169 sales$170/month
3. Loudoun County2,394 sales$117/month
4. Prince William County2,755 sales$104/month
5. City of Manassas160 sales$79/month
6. Fairfax County6,207 sales$58/month
7. City of Manassas Park75 sales$35/month
8. Too few to showArlington County, City of Alexandria, City of Falls Church

1. Northern Virginia13,079 sales45%
2. Loudoun County2,394 sales75%
3. Prince William County2,755 sales60%
4. Fairfax County6,207 sales38%
5. City of Manassas Park75 sales32%
6. City of Manassas160 sales26%
7. City of Fairfax169 sales15%
8. City of Alexandria308 sales4%
9. Arlington County946 sales1%
10. City of Falls Church65 sales0%

Medians, closed house sales from October 29, 2025 to October 29, 2026 (Bright MLS). The HOA median counts only houses that have an HOA fee. The gold bar is all of Northern Virginia.

Whether a house comes with an HOA depends mostly on where it is. 75% of the houses sold in Loudoun had one and 60% in Prince William, against 38% in Fairfax County and 9 of 946 in Arlington. Across Northern Virginia, houses with an HOA sold for a median $962,000, and houses without one for $900,000.★

Closed house sales from October 29, 2025 to October 29, 2026 (Bright MLS); a house has an HOA when the listing says so.

Most house HOA fees pay for the shared parts of a community: trash, snow removal and the common areas. Fewer than half include a pool or a management company, and very few cover anything on the house itself.★

• Common areas77%
• Trash67%
• Snow removal63%
• Pool48%
• Management company45%
• Savings for big repairs (reserves)34%
• Roads27%
• Clubhouse or rec center21%
• Insurance (common areas)8%
• Security gate8%
• Internet7%
• Lawn care6%

Share of house sales with an HOA fee that list each item, October 29, 2025 to October 29, 2026; 4,042 fees listed what they cover. Bright MLS, "HOA Fee Includes". The resale certificate shows exactly what one community's fee covers.

Price and HOA by the year it was built

Houses built in 2010 or later sold for the highest median, $1,403,000; houses built before 1970 for the lowest, $850,000. HOA dues follow the age of the community: a median $151 a month for houses built in 2010 or later, against $52 for those built before 1970.

670 of the 13,079 houses sold in the last 12 months were new construction (5%). New houses sold for a median $2,017,646, resales for $915,000. Most new houses sold in Fairfax County (281), Loudoun County (189), Arlington County (110).★

Closed sales from October 29, 2025 to October 29, 2026 marked New Construction in Bright MLS. A builder's price often leaves out the upgrades, the lot premium and the HOA's first-year fees; ask for them in writing.

The surprises new owners tell me about are rarely the price. They are the everyday parts of owning a house.

1. Everything outside is yours

   Roof, gutters, siding, driveway, trees and the yard are yours to keep up. Without an HOA, nobody shares those costs, so plan a yearly budget for upkeep on top of the mortgage.

2. An HOA, or not

   45% of the houses sold had an HOA: 75% in Loudoun, 60% in Prince William, 38% in Fairfax County and almost none in Arlington. With one you pay dues and follow its rules; without one you set your own.

3. Older houses need a closer look

   4,002 of the houses sold in the last 12 months were built before 1970. A home inspection, and a look at the roof, the heating and cooling, the wiring and the drains, matters more the older the house.

4. The lot comes with rules too

   What you can add, from a fence to a backyard cottage, depends on the county's zoning and setbacks, and on the HOA if there is one. Virginia's disclosure statement tells buyers to check the lot lines and zoning themselves.

5. Room to grow

   More rooms, a yard and no shared walls are why most people move up to a house. They also mean higher utility and insurance bills than a townhouse of the same age.

The Northern Virginia median house price was $925,000 from October 29, 2024 to October 28, 2025, and $935,000 from October 29, 2025 to October 29, 2026, a change of +1.1%.★ Pick an area to see its line; a step with fewer than 10 sales is left out.

Median price of closed house sales in each three-month step: October 29 to January 28, January 29 to April 28, April 29 to July 28 and July 29 to October 28 (the last step ends October 29, 2026). Bright MLS. Across Northern Virginia the steps ran from $885,000 to $970,000.

These communities had the most houses sold from October 29, 2025 to October 29, 2026.★ Tap a name to open its prices and HOA in the lookup at the top. Every town and community with 10 or more sales is in the lookup: 53 towns and 586 communities.

Communities as named in Bright MLS (Subdivision/Neighborhood); towns are the mailing city. A dash means no HOA fee, or fewer than 10 listed. Built (on wider screens) is the median year built of the houses sold. A community uses the latest 12 months when it had 10 or more sales then, otherwise the full two years, October 29, 2024 to October 29, 2026; the lookup says which.

These are the steps I walk every house buyer through.

1. Know the whole monthly cost first

   Price, property tax, insurance and the HOA fee together decide what you can afford, and lenders count the HOA fee too. The budget tool starts at the median house ($935,000); the qualify page checks eight loan types.

2. Find out if there is an HOA

   45% of Northern Virginia houses sold had one. The listing says so; if it does, everything below about the resale certificate applies.

3. Read the resale certificate

   When a home is in an HOA, the seller orders a resale certificate from the association and gives it to you. It holds the rules, the fee and any special assessments, the budget and reserves, and pending lawsuits. Virginia's Resale Disclosure Act covers HOAs as well as condos (Va. Code § 55.1-2307).

4. Watch the cancel clock

   You can cancel within 3 days of ratification if you had the certificate before, or within 3 days of getting it if it comes after, unless the contract sets another period; if it never comes, any time before settlement. Many Loudoun and Prince William homes have two associations: the clock then runs from the last certificate (Va. Code § 55.1-2312).

5. Do your own checks

   Virginia's residential property disclosure statement says the seller makes no promises about the condition, and points buyers to a home inspection, a survey and the county's zoning rules (Va. Code § 55.1-703). Put the inspection in the offer.

6. Compare like with like

   Use the lookup at the top for the community's median, then ask your agent for the actual recent sales of the same model.

Va. Code § 55.1-2307, § 55.1-2309, § 55.1-2312 and § 55.1-703, read at law.lis.virginia.gov on October 30, 2026. The contract can set a different cancel period; your contract and a real estate attorney have the final word.

Book a buyer call with Ahmed

Selling a house comes down to a fair price for your community, clean paperwork and knowing your take-home number.

1. Order the resale certificate before you list

   If your house is in an HOA, you or your agent ask the association for the resale certificate in writing. It must arrive within 14 days (Va. Code § 55.1-2309), and the buyer's cancel clock runs from when they get it, so ordering early keeps the contract on track.

2. Price against your own community

   Buyers compare your house with the last sales in the same community. The home value tool gives a range from the closed sales nearest you, and the lookup at the top shows your community's median.

3. Know your net

   The seller net sheet lists every line: payoff, commission, Virginia's grantor tax, the HOA's resale fees and the dues split at settlement.

4. Pick your month

   Some months sell faster and closer to the asking price. Best month to list shows them from Bright MLS.

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