Days on market are dropping, prices have begun an upsurge and multiple contracts have returned. A walk down memory lane? No, just another market turning from buyer to seller in the last few months in the shadow of the White House.

Arlington County, the first Virginia community across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., is entering the beginning stages of a seller’s market. In December 2007, the average price for a single-family home jumped 21 percent over a year earlier.

The local multiple listings service, Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, reports the days on market have been dropping throughout the year, with the average marketing period lasting around 65 days -- nearly half the amount of time for homes to sell in surrounding communities in the Washington, D.C. area.

By the way, the Capital City itself is leading the way in this recovery with reports from agents of upwards to 70 visitors to open houses and average single family home prices up more than 20 percent.

Arlington is in the beginning stages of a seller’s market only because there’s still plenty of inventory and the number of homes selling is lagging the previous year. The area will also benefit from the nearly 40,000 jobs estimated to open in the region in the coming year, according to George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis.

Published: February 6, 2008

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Mr. Carr has covered real estate since 1989. He is the author of Real Estate Investing Made Simple. Got a personal real estate issue? Post your questions and comments at Anthony’s blog: commonsenserealestate.blogspot.com.