Median sale prices in the Baltimore area fell for a 14th straight month in December, one more indicator of the worsening economic recession.
The median sale price – the price for which half of homes sold for more and half for less – fell 5.18 percent last month to $247,000 from $260,500 a year ago, according to data gathered by Realtor-owned Metropolitan Regional Information System Inc. The total number of units sold fell to 1,482 from 1,779 in December 2007, a 16.69 percent drop.
Baltimore City led the metro area with a 10 percent decline in median sale prices, a turnaround from recent months when it was one of the few areas to show gains. The number of units sold in the city also fell further than any other area last month, 28 percent to 319 from 445 a year ago.
Last month, state tax assessors said home values grew 21 percent in parts of Baltimore City including Fells Point and South Baltimore since 2005. The increase, however, represents the big jumps seen during the height of the housing bubble weighed down by decreasing values in the last year.
“Although the market is going down, you still have an increase that the [recent] decrease hasn’t gotten to yet,” said Owen Charles, supervisor of tax assessments for Baltimore City. “You still have an [overall] increase.”
Harford County saw the largest increase in median sales prices, up 8.16 percent to $265,000 from $245,000, as well as the only increase in sales volume, up to 160 from 159 last December.
The 17 percent drop in total units sold is slightly better than the roughly 30 percent year-over-year declines seen for much of 2008.
“I don’t think we’re at the bottom, but we’re getting there,” said Jed Smith, managing director for quantitative research for the National Association of Realtors, said at a local Realtors event Monday.
