NOVA Still Up There

Northern Virginia bore the brunt of the real estate market slowdown locally last year, but its prices remained the highest in the region.

The median sale price for a single-family house or townhouse in Northern Virginia last year was $495,000, up less than 1 percent from 2005, according to a Washington Post analysis of government records. Condominium sales were tallied separately. The median sale price is the point at which half the properties were more expensive and half were less.

Large townhouses are typical of new development in Northern Virginia. The median sale price for a single-family home in the region last year was $495,000. (By Tracy A. Woodward — The Washington Post)

Two of the 13 jurisdictions included in The Post’s analysis registered median price drops in 2006: Arlington and Fairfax counties.

Nonetheless, Prince William County is the only jurisdiction reviewed where the median price is less than $500,000 — Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun all have median prices well above that point.

Sale prices of condominiums declined in Northern Virginia, falling about 1 percent to $305,000. Regionwide, including the District and suburban Maryland, the median sale price for condos rose 1 percent to $285,299.

 Read the story here.