Maryland Real Estate Trends 2009

It appears that the real estate market in the Baltimore Metro area is showing some signs of new life. Allthough the figures are not in yet, sales have increased in June and July of 2009. The strongest segment of the market seems to be in homes selling for $250,000 to $350,000.

The first quarter of 2009 was sluggish. Here are some of the sales statistics for the number of homes sold in the metro area for the 1st quarter 2009 compared to the same period for 2008;

1. Anne Arundel County - Down 15%
2. Baltimore City - Down 17%
3. Baltimore County - Down 18%
4. Carrol County - Down 24%
5. Howard County - Down 15%

June 2009, according to the numbers compiled so far from MRIS, faired much better. Here are the numbers for June 2009 vs June 2008;

1. Anne Arundel County - Down 1.26%
2. Baltimore City - Down .95%
3. Baltimore County - Down .15%
4. Carrol County - Down 5.19%
5. Howard County - Down 3.39%

Prices are still decreasing slightly but I do see it starting to level off and have experienced some multiple offers on some homes.

The highest average sales price is in Talbot County which is $559,900 with Montgomery County coming in second at $442,400. Howard County's Average Sold price dropped in the first quarter of 2009 to $378,600 which was a 8% drop. However Howard County's average Sold price for June 2009 was $398,637 which is a drop of 6.47 over June of 2008.

The buyers are starting to come out of the closet as they see the beginnings of a rebound in our economy and the prices are starting to level off so now is the best time to buy before there is any increase in price. Interest rates are still low at about 5.25% and as Wall Street improves these interest rates may rise.