If you've driven through Herndon this summer and noticed more yard signs than you remember from a couple of years ago, you're not imagining it. I've been watching the 20170 zip code closely all year, and this Herndon VA 20170 market update will tell you the truth about where things stand, because the headlines and the reality on the ground aren't always the same.

Every so often, a listing comes along that reminds me why I love this part of Virginia so much, and 5119 Old Auburn Rd in Warrenton is exactly that kind of property. I have shown a lot of homes on large lots over the years, but it is rare to find one that gives you true privacy and acreage while still keeping you close enough to town that your commute does not turn into a second job. This one does both, and I put together a full video walkthrough below so you can see it for yourself.

I had a buyer ask me last week if she needed to waive her appraisal contingency to compete. My answer was no, not necessarily, and the data backs that up. I just got my hands on the latest contract trends report from Cardinal Title Group, pulling from 194 contracts written between August 4th and 12th across the DMV, and it gives a real, current snapshot of contingencies in Northern Virginia that I think a lot of buyers and sellers need to see.

I had two conversations last week that tell you everything you need to know about where this market stands right now. One was with a couple in Great Falls paying cash for a $2.3 million rebuild, no financing contingency, no blinking at the price. The other was with a young couple trying to buy their first place in Sterling, watching their pre-approval shrink every time rates ticked up another eighth of a point. Same market. Same week. Two completely different realities.

That's not a coincidence, and it's not just a Northern Virginia thing, though we're feeling it as sharply as almost anywhere in the country. CNBC reported this week on what economists are calling the K-shaped economy showing up in housing, and if you've been out here working with buyers and sellers like I have, you already knew it before it had a name. Luxury home sales are up 6.2% year over year nationally. Starter homes, the ones first-time buyers actually need, are sitting longer, taking price cuts, and drawing fewer offers. Two lines on a chart, moving in opposite directions.

Freddie Mac released its numbers on Thursday and the headline is the kind that makes people pause before they call me back about that house in Ashburn. The average rate on the 30 year fixed mortgage climbed to 6.69%, up from 6.66% the week before, and that's the highest it's been in over a year. If you've been sitting on the sidelines waiting for rates to drop before you make a move, I want to talk you through what's actually happening, because the headline and the reality on the ground in Fairfax and Loudoun counties are two different conversations.

My daughter Chloe was born in April 1996 with Cerebral Palsy. From the day she arrived, her health was a series of battles. We spent more time in and out of hospitals than I can count, learning to read monitors, memorizing medication schedules, and becoming fluent in a language of specialists and therapies that no parent expects to need. Chloe passed away when she was five years old (June 17, 2001). Those five years were some of the hardest and most beautiful of my life, and I would not trade a single day of being her mom.

But here's something I don't talk about enough. During those years, my husband and I used respite care, and it saved us. Not just as parents, but as a couple, and as people. Caring for a medically complex child is a full-body, full-heart, full-time job. There is no clocking out. Respite gave us a few hours here and there to remember who we were outside of the hospital rooms and the caregiving. It let us show up for Chloe as better, steadier, more present parents because we weren't running on empty every single day. That's not a luxury. That's survival, and it's also love.

I got a text last week from a client who's been sitting on the fence since spring. She'd seen a headline about home prices falling and wanted to know if she should wait another few months to buy in Ashburn. I get some version of this question almost every week right now, so let's talk about what's actually happening, because the national numbers everyone's reading are not the same story as what I'm seeing on the ground here in Fairfax and Loudoun.

Realtor.com just published its latest housing trends data, and it paints a picture of a market that's cooling seasonally, not falling apart. Nationally, the median list price came in at $428,950 in July, down 2.4% from a year ago. That's the ninth straight month of annual price declines nationwide. Sounds dramatic if you only read the headline. But dig one layer deeper and the story gets a lot more interesting, and a lot more relevant to what buyers and sellers in the Northern Virginia housing market should actually be doing right now.

Welcome to a rare offering of space, privacy, and craftsmanship on nearly 8 flat, treed acres, positioned on the DC side of Warrenton for an easy commute without sacrificing the countryside's space and serenity. With underbrush cleared throughout the wooded lot, this property offers usability alongside its natural beauty — including ATV trails, abundant wildlife, and privacy — all just minutes from town. Spanning 8,083 total finished square feet across three levels, this custom home offers 6 bedrooms, 6 full baths, and 1 half bath, with effortless flow between formal and everyday living spaces.

A referral is one thing. Trust is another. When a dear past client asked if I'd talk to her good friend about selling a home in Chantilly, I said yes without hesitation, but I also knew this wasn't a done deal. This seller was interviewing multiple agents, and she had every right to be picky about who she let into one of the biggest financial decisions of her life.

9826 Burke Pond Lane, Burke, VA 22015

I have been selling homes in Northern Virginia for over two decades, and every once in a while a listing comes along that genuinely surprises me. Not because it's flashy or over the top, but because it solves a problem that a lot of buyers don't even know they have until they're standing in the middle of it going, "oh — this is exactly what I needed."

9826 Burke Pond Lane is that home.

A few weeks ago, I was going through my sales records for a year-end report, and I stopped cold at one number. 158. That's how many homes I've sold in Herndon alone. Not Northern Virginia broadly. Not the DMV in general. Herndon, the town I've called home since 2001, the town where I walk my dog past houses I've helped buy and sell more times than I can count.

I want to tell you why that number means more to me than any award or ranking ever could.

If you want to know what a neighborhood is really like, don't ask the listing agent who sold one house there. Ask the one who's sold thirty.

I've personally handled more than 30 closings in Hastings Hunt over the years, and at this point I could probably walk you through the floor plan differences between a Rock Ridge Road colonial and a Powells Tavern Place model with my eyes closed. That kind of repetition isn't an accident. Hastings Hunt is one of the most consistently active neighborhoods I work in, and once you understand why, it makes sense that buyers keep circling back to it.

Here's a question I get from almost every seller in Herndon and Reston at some point during our listing prep: "Do I really need to pay for an inspection before I even have a buyer?" My answer is almost always yes, and I want to explain why, because it's not the answer sellers expect to hear from their agent.

People ask me all the time how a real estate agent in Northern Virginia ends up owning four vacation homes on the Outer Banks. The honest answer is my family fell in love with this stretch of coastline years ago and never really left. What started as one property grew into a small portfolio, and now I get to share these homes with families making their own memories, just as we made ours.

A buyer's agent calls you two days before closing and asks if you'll cover $12,000 in closing costs. Do you say yes because you're scared the deal will fall apart, or do you know enough about seller concessions to negotiate from a place of strength instead of panic?

That phone call is happening more often in Northern Virginia right now than it did three or four years ago, and I want you to understand exactly what's going on before it happens to you.

If you've looked at Zillow lately and seen Herndon's median home price down 7% from last year, I want you to hang on before you panic or celebrate, because that number is telling you way less than it looks.

If you're waiting for the "right time" to sell, I have some news. Fall isn't the consolation prize you might think it is.

I've been selling homes in this market since 2012, and every year I hear the same thing from sellers who almost missed their window: "I thought spring was the only time to list." It's not. What I'm seeing right now, heading into fall 2026, tells a different story. If you're thinking about selling your home this fall, the conditions are genuinely worth paying attention to.

I get this question almost every week from a buyer who's narrowed things down to two spots on a map and can't figure out why they're so different in price for what looks like the same house. Loudoun County vs Fairfax County isn't really a question with one right answer. It's a question about what kind of life you want to build, and the numbers only tell part of the story.

I've sold homes in both counties for over a decade, and I still tell clients the same thing. These aren't competing versions of the same place. They're genuinely different counties with different personalities, and the right one depends entirely on what you're optimizing for.

Standing on the front porch of a Herndon colonial last week, our buyer turned and said, "I love it, but I want to sleep on it." Three other offers were rumored. Her hands were shaking a little.

We told her what we tell every client in moments like this: you do not have to decide today.

Here's something I hear more often than you'd think: someone moves to Northern Virginia, buys a house with the agent their company's relocation program assigned them, and six months later they're calling me to ask why they ended up in a neighborhood that doesn't work for their commute, their kids' school situation, or their lifestyle. They didn't get bad service, necessarily. They just didn't get local knowledge.

There's a real difference between a relocation agent and a local agent, and if you're moving to the NoVA area, it's worth understanding before you sign a buyer's agreement.