The “Thaw” in Action: What Agents Are Seeing as Spring Heats Up

Despite the icy landscape outside our windows this week, our Corcoran McEnearney agents report that the spring housing market is definitely heating up.

In our early-January “Thaw Year” outlook, we framed 2026 as a market that may feel more navigable than the lock-in years: more listings, more normal negotiation, and a clearer advantage for people who show up prepared (instead of just hoping the market will be kind).

A few weeks later, we started asking the people in the field every day: What are you actually seeing as spring ramps up?

The answer, so far, is delightfully…nuanced. Several conversations point to a real uptick in buyer activity, sometimes intense activity, but with a big asterisk: the homes that are priced right and presented well are getting the love. The rest? Buyers are still picky, and the market is not handing out easy wins the way it did a couple of years ago.

Some neighborhoods feel like someone hit the “play” button

Francesca Keith, an agent in Arlington, describes the past week as a switch-flip moment. “Buyers really woke up…and were out in droves,” she says. In her own five showings around Arlington, she saw the kind of traffic pattern agents remember from peak years: back-to-back appointments, agents overlapping at the door, and buyers waiting their turn.

Even more telling: the offers.

Francesca shared one Arlington listing where her team wrote alongside 11 offers, and it went well over list price. On another property for a different buyer, there were six offers.

That doesn’t mean every home will sell like it’s 2021. It means this: the best homes in the best micro-markets are still capable of triggering real competition…fast!

January demand is real – and strategy can amplify it

Joan Reimann, based out of our McLean office and working in Virginia, DC, and Maryland, put a sharper point on what many agents count on every year: pent-up demand. She says they advised their clients to wait until the first of the year to list, “knowing that January is always a strong market for pent-up demand.” Buyers, she notes, often come out in droves right after the holidays with a New Year’s resolution to buy a home.

In this case, the timing strategy paid off, and Joan shared standout numbers from an Oak Hill listing: 39 agent showings, 40+ groups through the open house, and 8 offers in hand after three days on market – all over list price. She also lays out a clear “recipe” for similar results, and it echoes what we’re hearing elsewhere:

A local agent who knows the nuances of timing, pricing, and buyer mentality
Proper preparation means move-in ready, key repairs/updates completed (“There is no substitute for a clean and well-maintained home,” Joan advises.)
Pricing grounded in closed comps because buyers are savvy, and overpricing can be a deal killer
Professional photography, drone images, and floor plans = a strong online presentation to guarantee an in-person showing
Promotion is a multi-pronged marketing mix of print, digital, email, and social media to drive maximum traffic

More buyers are returning…and first-time buyers are sniffing around again

On the lending side, we’re hearing a similar story about demand returning but with different reasons behind it.

James Gaudiosi, SVP, Sales Manager and Senior Loan Officer with Atlantic Coast Mortgage, says first-time buyers are eager to jump back in after years of feeling outmatched by cash contracts, big down payments, and punishing interest rates. He’s seeing “a renewed sense of optimism,” fueled by more favorable rate conditions than recent years, plus the growing visibility of local and federal grant programs and low- or no-down payment options.

These lending observations show that when first-time buyers feel like they have a path to homeownership (not just a dream), they re-enter. And when they re-enter in meaningful numbers, the spring market gets louder.

The most interesting shift: Buyers are talking less about rates – and more about certainty

Eric Boutcher, VP and Sales Manager with The Boutcher Group at Atlantic Coast Mortgage, puts a finer point on what may be changing underneath the surface. Yes, he says, declining rates can stimulate activity. But he’s seeing buyers move away from rate obsession as the main storyline. “The market does not need low rates to function – the market needs stability and strategy,” he asserts.

He notes that while rates still move day-to-day, that movement has been confined to a narrower range than what we experienced over the last several years. The buyers who are winning today, he says, are the ones who’ve built a clear plan with a team of experts and are ready to move quickly and decisively when the right home shows up, even if rates wiggle a little that week.

That lines up with what we emphasized in January: the advantage shifts toward people who are prepared, realistic, and decisive when the right home appears.

Sellers: “Turnkey” is having a moment, and preparation is no longer optional

If the buyer story is “activity is up,” the seller story is “the bar is higher.”

Bob Johnson, an Arlington agent who also works in DC, says buyer activity has increased over the past month – welcome news after a slower stretch – but he also sees a clear preference shaping outcomes: many buyers want turnkey homes, with repairs made and renovations done.

That preference matters because it changes the seller checklist. Bob’s advice is blunt in a helpful way: sellers should plan early and focus on preparations that provide the best return on investment. A strong agent, he notes, can help you rank-order those preparations and decide how far down the list to go.

He also flags two common seller mistakes that show up again and again: setting a higher-than-warranted list price, and being reluctant to properly prepare the home. In today’s market, those two choices can combine into a painful pattern: the home sits, momentum fades, and the final sales price ends up lower than it might have been with smart pricing and smart prep from day one.

And here’s where Bob adds an important reality-check to balance the “hot start” language: “We are not in the markets of 2+ years ago where many listings were under contract the first weekend…often for over list price.” He describes the broader environment as having taken “a step or two toward buyers and a more balanced market.”

Loudoun County: Busy across price points, with supply building into spring

Susan Thomas and Joe O’Hara of the Susan & Joe Team in our Leesburg office say that with interest rates easing, buyers are starting to feel “that spark of opportunity they haven’t felt in years.” Even with cold weather, they report that people are out touring homes and “packing open houses” across pretty much every price point.

They also point to a clear inventory signal: as of January 27, 2026 in Loudoun County, Bright MLS is showing 97 coming soon listings and 330 active listings (including some carryover from late last year). Their read is that supply is building as spring approaches, just as a motivated pool of buyers is gearing up.

Overall, they believe we’re moving toward a more balanced market where buyers and sellers both have a fair shot – and that this is the healthy direction Loudoun County has needed.

A “weird” late 2025, then a pickup – and now spring momentum

Alex Irmer of Alexandria’s Irmer Group expects the spring market “should be a good one” and, importantly, a reset. He describes the end of 2025 as an “odd market,” because the typical pickup after the summer break moving into early fall didn’t happen: homes stalled, and buyers backed out. Then, the six-week federal government shutdown really threw a wrench into the cogs.

What surprised him was what came next. Shortly after, he saw a pickup in activity going into the holidays – more showings on listings that had been in limbo – followed by renewed buyer interest in January as “the talk” of rates started pulling people back out.

Today, Alex says he’s seeing a noticeable increase in coming soon and active listings already, and even among his own clients, many are gearing up for February, March, and April timelines. “People want to make a move,” he says, and as other agents have observed, he’s already hearing agents talk about multiple offers.

His caution is the same one we’ve heard elsewhere: pricing will still be key. He believes people may get fooled into thinking we’re entering a hot seller’s market, but he doesn’t think that’s the right read. The goal, he says, is still balance: pricing well enough to attract buyers, without scaring them off.

Jillian Carmical from our Middleburg office is seeing a different kind of “market friction” that has less to do with buyer desire and more to do with life uncertainty. She reports that a significant portion of her database is made up of immigrants, and ongoing questions around visas, job security, and immigration timelines have led many to pause major decisions and remain renters for now. She’s also working with potential downsizers who feel pinned by their current low interest rates – known in the real estate industry as the “lock-in effect” – yet staying in Loudoun County, even with cash, can mean higher taxes and carrying costs as retirement approaches. Some clients have explored options like West Virginia, North Carolina, or Lake Anna, VA, but those moves can pull them too far from family.

On the seller side, she’s also seeing homeowners hesitate because of deferred maintenance and aging systems (roof, HVAC, water heater, appliances); rather than sell now, they’re spreading improvements over the next year or two and reassessing later. And she notes another renter segment choosing to sit tight: federal government employees on temporary assignments who aren’t sure how long they’ll remain in the area, and so buying feels premature.

Broker View: The listing pipeline is building, and terms are normalizing (mostly)

To zoom out beyond individual showings and open houses, we also asked brokers what they’re seeing come across their desks.

Evan Lacopo, EVP and Managing Broker for Alexandria, says he’s signing more listing agreements each week, suggesting new inventory is building week-over-week. He also says price reductions are stabilizing, while list-to-sale ratios are not necessarily tightening across the board. In terms of contingencies, Evan describes inspections as mostly back to normal, while still waived selectively in more competitive situations. And by property type, he’s seeing competition strongest for single-family homes, followed by townhomes, with condos trailing behind.

Alanna Nichols, Managing Broker for Ashburn, Leesburg, Middleburg, and Purcellville, echoes that listing agreements are picking up, and says she’s still signing some price adjustments but “not many at this point.” She’s also seeing buyers return to home inspections and, in her markets, well and septic inspections, noting that it’s “evening out” but still not fully back to pre-COVID norms. She adds that seller subsidies are showing up on some contracts, but they’re not the standard; more “a few here and there” than a broad trend.

So which is it: Hot market, balanced market, or both?

Based on what we’ve gathered so far: BOTH.

The market can be balanced overall while still producing very hot outcomes for homes that hit the sweet spot of:

the right neighborhood,
the right condition/presentation, and
the right price.

That’s consistent with what our earlier January post laid out: longer days on market regionally can give buyers more breathing room, but “the best homes will still attract attention, even in a calmer market.” In short, the spring-market version plays out like this:

FOR BUYERS: You may have more leverage in general, but you still need a plan for the listings that everyone wants. And you definitely need a team that can help you move quickly and cleanly when the right one appears.

FOR SELLERS: You may still do very well, but only if you’re realistic about price and serious about preparation. Buyers are comparing more and tolerating less.

The Throughline: Strategy is the new advantage

Every person we’ve heard from – agents, lenders, and brokers – keeps circling the same core point: the winners aren’t the ones who guess the market perfectly. They’re the ones who show up with a strategy and execute.

Francesca says the skill set of the agent you work with matters right now. Bob says a good agent helps you rank-order preparations and avoid costly missteps. Eric says the buyers who win are moving decisively with a clear plan and an expert team. Joan’s Oak Hill example shows what happens when timing, pricing, prep, and promotion all work together. Even James’s first-time buyer optimism points to the same conclusion: opportunity increases when people understand the tools available – and act on them.

Spring 2026 doesn’t look like “easy mode.” It looks like a market that rewards the competent. Which, honestly, is how it should be.

If you’re ready to make your move in 2026, reach out to our professional, educated, and experienced agents who are ready to help you WIN!

Karisue Wyson

Karisue Wyson is the Director of Education for Corcoran McEnearney and was previously a Top Producing Realtor® in the Alexandria Office.

Visit corcoranmce.com to search listings for sale in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.

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