Your monthly guide to rental conditions in NoVA. This is our August 2026 report, covering July 2026 rental data: what rents looked like last month, what's driving the market, and what it means if you own a rental home.
NoVA Rental Market Snapshot — July 2026
Here's where NoVA rents landed in July 2026, across all property types — apartments, condos, townhomes, and single-family homes.
NoVA's median rent landed at $2,673 in July 2026, up 0.56% year-over-year but essentially flat month-over-month (-0.31%), with homes averaging 35 days on market — a market holding steady despite the federal workforce cuts that have weighed on the region all year.
| Metric | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Median Rent (All Types, NoVA) | $2,673 | -0.3% MoM |
| Avg. Days on Market | 35 days | — |
| Rent Growth YoY | +0.6% | — |
Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, all rental property types, July 2026.
What's Driving NoVA Rental Market Conditions Right Now
NoVA Rental Supply and New Construction
New multifamily supply is cresting fastest along the Silver Line corridor in Loudoun County, where Ashburn, Loudoun Station, and One Loudoun hold the deepest pipeline of approved but unbuilt units, and in the Tysons Corner node of Fairfax County, where dense, high-rise residential is stacking up alongside mixed-use redevelopment. Statewide, 23,853 multifamily units were under construction in Q2 2026 (down 3% year-over-year), but completions jumped 37% from a year ago to 3,084 units in the quarter alone, so new supply is landing on the market even as the forward pipeline shrinks. If your property sits in or near those Silver Line stops or the Tysons corridor, you're competing against the freshest inventory right now; owners in established Arlington walkable villages, Falls Church City, or Old Town Alexandria face comparatively less direct competition from new builds.
Why People Rent in NoVA
Federal workforce cuts hit the region hard, with roughly 64,000 federal jobs shed between December 2024 and April 2025 and professional/technical services losing another 38,000 positions, but demand hasn't collapsed. Elevated mortgage rates near 6.66% are locking would-be buyers into rentals longer than they'd like, which is keeping occupancy tighter than the job-loss numbers alone would suggest. Renters also keep gravitating to specific NoVA anchors for good reason: Falls Church City draws school-focused families to its nationally ranked FCCPS district, Arlington's Courthouse-to-Ballston stretch pulls young professionals who want Metro access and walkable urban life, and Old Town Alexandria and Potomac Yard attract renters who prioritize waterfront character and a fast Blue/Yellow Line commute into DC.
What This Means for NoVA Landlords
The summer leasing window is closing fast, and the back-to-school rush that typically fills units in July is now behind you, so any vacancy sitting unfilled today will be harder to move once August fades. With the median rent at $2,672.84 and homes averaging 35 days on market, price your unit competitively now rather than hold out for top dollar into a slower fall season.
NoVA Rent by City — July 2026
Fairfax leads NoVA's suburbs with homes leasing in just 28 days, followed closely by Leesburg at 30 and Alexandria at 31, making these three the tightest markets in the region right now. At the other end, Fredericksburg sat at 47 days and Arlington at 43, both running well above the NoVA average and signaling softer demand in those corridors. Across the table, most cities clustered between 28 and 34 days, with Arlington and Fredericksburg as the clear outliers pulling the average up.
| City | Median Rent | 2BR Median | 3BR Median | Avg. DOM | MoM Change | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandria, VA | $2,467 | $2,532 | $3,666 | 31 days | -0.0% | +4.2% |
| Arlington, VA | $2,679 | $3,046 | $4,246 | 43 days | -0.7% | -1.2% |
| Leesburg, VA | $3,199 | $2,330 | $3,199 | 30 days | +1.6% | +3.4% |
| Manassas, VA | $2,681 | $2,031 | $2,766 | 34 days | +0.0% | +4.9% |
| Fredericksburg, VA | $1,813 | $1,725 | $2,600 | 47 days | -1.1% | -7.0% |
| Herndon, VA | $2,600 | $2,200 | $2,895 | 34 days | -1.9% | -3.7% |
| Fairfax, VA | $3,270 | $2,500 | $3,450 | 28 days | +0.0% | +3.4% |
| Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, all property types, July 2026. Median Rent is across all property types. |
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Alexandria, VA: Old Town's waterfront parks, King Street dining, and the Potomac Yard Metro stop attract renters who want DC access without DC prices, and the numbers back up the demand: the median rent held at $2,467 in June with 31-day average days on market, right in line with the metro's 32-day pace, and a 4.2% year-over-year gain suggests this submarket is absorbing the regional federal job losses better than most.
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Arlington, VA: The Orange/Silver Line villages of Courthouse, Clarendon, Ballston, and Rosslyn pull walkability-focused renters and young professionals who want Metro access and a social scene built around retail density. That renter pool is under pressure right now: the median rent slipped to $2,679 in June, down 1.2% year-over-year and 0.7% month-over-month, and homes sat 43 days before leasing, well above the metro average of 32 days, pointing to softened absorption in the urban core where federal workforce cuts hit hardest.
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Leesburg, VA: At $3,199 median rent in June, Leesburg was the second-priciest market in this report, and it showed no sign of retreating: rents climbed 1.6% month-over-month and 3.4% year-over-year, while homes leased in just 30 days, a tick below the metro average. Silver Line corridor demand and Loudoun County's strong school district reputation are keeping this submarket tight even as the broader region softens.
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Manassas, VA: Rents held flat month-over-month at $2,681 in June while posting a solid 4.9% year-over-year gain, the strongest annual increase in this report, and homes leased in 34 days, right at the metro average. For owners, that combination of price growth and steady absorption suggests demand in Manassas is holding firm despite regional headwinds.
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Fredericksburg, VA: Fredericksburg is the clear outlier in this data set: the median rent fell to $1,813 in June, down 7.0% year-over-year and 1.1% month-over-month, and homes sat 47 days before leasing, the slowest pace in the report. At the southern fringe of the NoVA commuter belt, this market appears to be absorbing the federal job contraction with less cushion than submarkets closer to DC.
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Herndon, VA: Rents in Herndon slid to $2,600 in June, off 1.9% month-over-month and 3.7% year-over-year, and 34-day average days on market puts leasing speed at the metro average but rent direction is moving the wrong way for owners. Pricing competitively from day one will matter here, since the broader regional softness is clearly weighing on this submarket.
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Fairfax, VA: Fairfax posted the highest median rent in the report at $3,270 in June while leasing in just 28 days, the fastest pace across all seven cities. Rents were flat month-over-month but up 3.4% year-over-year, a combination that points to a tight, well-supported market where well-maintained homes at the right price point are moving quickly.
NoVA Rent by Bedroom Count and Property Type — July 2026
Rent by Bedroom Count in NoVA
Rents in NoVA scaled steadily with bedroom count in July 2026, but the jump from 2-bedroom to 3-bedroom was the steepest in the lineup, at $922 per month. By comparison, moving from a studio to a 1-bedroom added $202, from 1-bedroom to 2-bedroom added $487, and from 3-bedroom to 4-bedroom added $674. The full spread across the market ran from $1,649 for studios to $3,934 for 4-bedroom rentals, a $2,285 gap from smallest to largest. Renters sizing up to 3-bedroom territory cross a meaningful threshold: that single step accounts for roughly 40% of the total rent difference between a studio and a 4-bedroom.
| Bedroom Count in NoVA | Median Rent (July 2026) |
|---|---|
| Studio | $1,649 |
| 1-Bedroom | $1,851 |
| 2-Bedroom | $2,338 |
| 3-Bedroom | $3,260 |
| 4-Bedroom | $3,934 |
| Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, NoVA, July 2026. |
Rent by Property Type in NoVA
Single-family homes led every other property type in July 2026, with a median rent of $3,623, which is $950 (35.5%) above the blended median of $2,673. Townhouses came in second at $3,229, a $556 (20.8%) premium over the blended figure, and they leased in 34 days, nearly as fast as single-family homes at 27 days. Condos rented below the blended median at $2,303, a gap of $370 (13.8%), while apartments sat furthest from the pack at $2,016, a $657 (24.6%) discount, and took more than twice as long to lease as single-family homes, averaging 61 days on market. The speed gap between apartments and single-family homes is the sharpest divergence in the data: 34 extra days to lease at $1,607 less per month.
| Property Type in NoVA | Median Rent | Avg. Days on Market | MoM Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Property Types (Blended) | $2,673 | 35 days | -0.3% |
| Single Family | $3,623 | 27 days | +0.2% |
| Condo | $2,303 | 30 days | -0.0% |
| Townhouse | $3,229 | 34 days | +0.1% |
| Apartment | $2,016 | 61 days | +0.8% |
| Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, NoVA, July 2026. |
Data Sources & Methodology
- Rental market data: Median rents, days on market, listing counts, and rent change figures. Sourced from county public records, deed and tax assessor data, and rental listings on publicly accessible platforms.
- Doorstead Platform Data: Internal leasing outcomes from Doorstead-managed rental homes across all property types, including days to lease. Trailing 12 months.
Data refreshed monthly. Doorstead benchmarks reflect managed properties only and may not be representative of the broader NoVA rental market.