While housing prices are regaining some footing across the country, increasing slightly in October after a rapid fall in September, prices in the Baltimore region continue a steady gain.
The U.S. Commerce Department this week reported that the median price of a new home sold in October was $248,500, up 1.9 percent from the same month a year ago. The median price is where half sell for more and half sell for less.
In the Baltimore region ? Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties, Baltimore City, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties ? the median home price in October was $265,000, up 1.92 percent from the same month in 2005.
“A normal market is pretty much what we are in right now,” said Patrick Mace, a Realtor with Long and Foster. “It?s more of a buyer?s market.”
Walter Molony, a spokesman for the National Association of Realtors in Washington, said high prices in the nation?s capital where the median prices is $432,000 is helping to drive buyers to the Baltimore region.
“But what it gets down to is job creation and supply and demand,” Molony said.
There are more than 17,000 homes on the market in the five-county area and Baltimore City, with 2,810 sales recorded last month, according to Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc.?s real estate trend indicator. In October 2005, 3,616 homes were sold, MRIS reported.
Looking ahead, Molony said the Baltimore area should fare slightly better than the rest of the nation, where prices are expected to climb 1.7 percent.
“It?s hard to say if Baltimore will do better than that, but it will be in the single digits,” Molony said.
Mace said he expects sales price increases to outpace the national average in 2007.
“A fair appreciation is between 2 percent and 5 percent per year, but not the 2 percent a month like we had two years ago,” he said. “With our proximity to [Washington] D.C., Baltimore is becoming trendy. People want to move here.”
“Last year we had a record sales market and historically tight supplies of homes with buyers bidding over the asking price,” said David Lereah, chief economist with the National Association of Realtors. “With the market in full transition, buyers now have choices and sellers are more willing to negotiate.”
