At the end of September 2026, Loudoun County had 1,031 active listings. That is up 34.1% from a year earlier, according to the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors. Over the same stretch, closed sales fell 17.8% to 338, months of supply rose to 2.41, and the median sold price edged up 0.8% to $758,500. Read on its own, that looks like a market turning toward buyers.
For anyone shopping for a single-family home in Ashburn, it isn't. Nearly all of the extra inventory sits in townhomes and condos. In Ashburn's 20148 ZIP code, the number of homes for sale has been falling, not rising. A buyer who expects more choice and softer sellers because of the countywide numbers will find that is only true in some segments.
Split the Count and the Surge Belongs to Attached Homes
The Dulles Area Association of Realtors breaks Loudoun's numbers out by property type. Its August 2026 Market Indicators Report shows the two halves of the market heading in different directions.
| Loudoun County, August 2026 | Detached homes | Townhomes and condos |
|---|---|---|
| Active listings | 389, up 12.1% | 458, up 34.7% |
| New listings | 278, down 4.1% | 351, up 12.1% |
| Closed sales | 211, down 15.9% | 232, down 15.0% |
| Median sales price | $1,050,000, flat | $607,500, up 0.4% |
| Average days on market | 22, down 7.0% | 27, up 16.3% |
| Months of supply | 1.9, down from 2.0 | 2.0, up from 1.9 |
The new-listings row tells you the most. Fewer detached owners put their homes on the market in August 2026 than a year earlier. Detached listings still rose because pending sales fell 28.0%, so fewer homes left the market each month. Even so, detached supply got slightly tighter, and the detached homes that did sell went faster than in August 2025, averaging 22 days on market, down from 24.
The attached side is under pressure from both directions. More owners are listing, fewer buyers are closing, and the average time to sell grew by three days, from 24 to 27. That combination produces a growing pile of townhomes and condos for sale. On the detached side, the only thing that slowed was the number of buyers going under contract.
The Attached Pile Is a Regional Pattern With a Local New-Build Twist
Loudoun's pattern matches the rest of Northern Virginia. In September 2026, regional active listings rose 30.7% year over year. NVAR attributes that rise to a 49.7% jump in condo and townhome inventory, while detached inventory grew 5.7%. NVAR CEO Ryan McLaughlin summed it up in the association's September release:
"The significant growth in condo and townhome listings gives buyers more options in those segments, while the much smaller increase in detached homes shows that the change is not uniform across the market."
Condos are doing more of that work than townhomes. NVAR's August 2026 regional breakdown showed condo inventory up 44.8% and townhome inventory up 29.9%, while detached listings fell 8.5%. DAAR combines condos and townhomes in its Loudoun figures, so the county-level split between those two types isn't public. The regional ranking is still a useful guide.
In Ashburn, resale townhomes and condos also compete with new construction that comes with incentives. Van Metre's West Park III in Brambleton, at an Ashburn 20148 address, advertises up to $20,000 in paid closing costs on new townhomes priced under $1 million. At One Loudoun, DRB's Uptown community shows quick-move-in, two-level, townhome-style condominiums priced from $629,990 to $789,990, with move-in dates in November and December 2026. A resale seller three streets away competes with those offers whether or not the new homes ever show up in MLS counts.
More attached supply is planned. Loudoun Now reported that Rivana, the mixed-use community at the Loudoun Gateway Silver Line station area, broke ground in April 2026. It is planned for 3,700 homes, and a first phase of about 1,600 multifamily units is expected to be occupied in 2027. That is future supply rather than current resale stock. It does mean the area's added inventory will keep coming mostly as attached and multifamily homes, not detached houses.
Inside Ashburn, the Two ZIP Codes Diverged
The county total also hides big differences between ZIP codes. DAAR's August 2026 Key Market Trends found that countywide active listings rose 23.3% to 847. Listings in Ashburn's 20148 fell for the 10th straight month, down 43 from a year earlier. Sales in 20148 fell 33.8%, the sharpest drop in the county, and its median sales price rose $89,200. That brought the August 2026 median in 20148 to $935,000, up about 10.5% from a year earlier.
Ashburn's 20147 moved the other way. Pending sales there fell 36.9% in August 2026, the steepest decline in the county. Its median sales price was $685,500, about 8.6% below August 2025.
Both ZIP medians are affected by which homes happened to sell. DAAR's ZIP tables combine all property types. A month with more townhome closings pulls a ZIP's median down, and a month with more detached closings pushes it up. So a $935,000 median in 20148 does not mean the same house cost $89,200 more in August 2026 than in August 2025. What holds up better is the listing count. In 20148, fewer homes are for sale than a year ago, and that has been true every month since late 2025.
Which Days-on-Market Number You Read Changes the Story
Two respected sources put September 2026 days on market for Loudoun far apart. Bright MLS's September report gives a median of 19 days, four days faster than a year earlier. NVAR, working from the same Bright MLS data, reports an average of 31 days, 6.9% slower.
Both figures are right. The median says half of September's Loudoun sales closed out of a listing that lasted 19 days or less, and that typical pace got faster. The average is pulled up by a smaller group of homes that sat much longer. That fits the August property-type split, where attached homes were taking longer to sell and detached homes were selling faster.
What This Changes at the Offer Table
The practical result is that leverage in Ashburn depends on the type of home and the ZIP code, and the county headline understates the difference.
- Detached buyers should plan for a tight market. With 1.9 months of supply in August 2026 and detached homes selling at an average of 99.5% of asking price, there is little room to negotiate. Through the first eight months of 2026, detached homes averaged 101.1% of asking. In 20148, where listings have fallen ten months in a row, expect competition on well-presented homes.
- Townhome and condo buyers have more room. Attached homes in August 2026 sold at an average of 99.2% of asking, active listings were up by about a third, and days on market were rising. Asking about time on market, price history, and seller concessions makes sense here, especially for listings that have passed the county's 19-day median.
- Resale attached sellers are competing with builders. When a new townhome down the road comes with paid closing costs, a resale seller's price and terms get compared to that package. Presentation and pricing for the current month matter more in this segment than they did a year ago.
- Detached sellers still have the stronger position. Detached prices were flat year over year at $1,050,000 in August 2026, and supply held steady. Sellers of well-presented homes are working with tight supply and a steady price level.
DAAR's September breakdown by ZIP code and property type will show whether 20148's run of shrinking inventory reached an eleventh month.
If you're weighing a detached home in 20148 against a townhome in 20147, or deciding when to list in a segment where builders are competing on incentives, Konah Real Estate Group can run the comparison using current figures for your specific property type and ZIP code. Schedule a Consultation, and we'll show you where your leverage actually is in this fall's Ashburn market.
