Baltimore-area home sales dropped but home prices remained steady, according to data released Wednesday.
The dollar volume of homes sold last month in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties and Baltimore City fell to $621,829,463 from $867,842,415 in September 2006, a drop of 28.35 percent, according to Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc.?s monthly real estate data.
The actual number of units sold fell by 29.72 percent, to 1,975 from 2,810, and the average number of days on the market increased from 62 to 95.
But home prices remained stable, with the average sale price rising 1.95 percent to $314,850 from $308,841, according to the data.
Local Realtors said the numbers continue to reflect last year?s hot market returning to a more typical state.
“We keep saying, this is comparing against almost an inflation market,” said William L. Yerman, president of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors. “The fact is that the prices are not dropping and are up a little in some areas. … The values created during the inflationary rise are holding steady.”
Howard County saw the biggest drop in average home price, falling to $418,238 from $437,335, a drop of 4.37 percent. Baltimore County saw the largest increase, with prices gaining 4.17 percent to an average of $299,615 from $287,609.
Some of the stability may be due to a standoff between sellers hoping for increases in their property value and buyers waiting for the right moment, said Ilene Kessler, former president of the Maryland Board of Realtors and Realtor with RE/MAX Advantage Realty in Columbia.
