Is rental market slowing down in northern VA this summer?

[Grace Wang]

I have a rental property in Sterling, VA. My current tenants will move out in mid July, so I started to post ad on craigslist, Zillow and Trulia last month. I received a lot of inquiries last month when I first posted the ad in early June, but didn't find a good fit. By the end of June, I got less and less responses. Is it because a lot of renters are taking vacation or the property stays in the market for too long? I thought it might be a wise idea to find a new tenant before the current lease expires, but now I'm wondering if I shouldn't start tenant search before the property is available for delivery. One of my real estate agent friends told me the rental market this year is not as good as last year because a lot of people are buying. Is this true? Any input will be appreciated.